Breathing for Warriors

Video Book Workshop

Breathing for Warriors: Mixed Martial Arts I

 
 
 
Vertical breathers are more easily suffocated, Horizontal breathers are harder to kill.
— Bas Rutten
  • Jargon-free, intuitive, easily applicable information.

  • All research-driven material, specific to fight sports.

  • Most importantly, increase your endurance, without more cardio.

The best fighters understand every nuance of their bodies. The sooner you start analyzing and training your breathing in your practice, the more control you’ll have of your nerves and your energy, and the faster you’ll be able to access to your intuition and get in the zone consistently. 
— Bas Rutten and Dr. Belisa, Breathing for Warriors: MMA

Endurance
=
cardiovascular fitness
+
respiratory muscle strength

Endurance or “gas” isn’t just cardio. Cardio is your heart. The best-conditioned athletes address both. How? In the way you strengthen any muscle – make sure your “form” is good by taking your Breathing IQ, then add weight to strengthen the muscles by adding Breathing WODS to your training. 

As a fighter, not working and focusing on your breathing means you’ll telegraph your moves to your opponent, you’ll have energy that will be all over the place and run out of gas, you’ll be more prone to get injured, and your recovery, between bouts and between fights, will take longer. 

If two guys are equally skilled, the one with the more stamina wins.

You will Learn

  1. All about your body’s breathing biomechanics; you’ll learn how to optimize your Range of Motion (ROM) and Location of Movement (LOM). The Breathing IQ is a screening of ribcage expansion. Better BIQ means bigger lung capacity.

  2. The importance of strengthening breathing muscles and detailed understanding of your own.

  3. How to get a baseline measurement of the mechanics of your breathing.

  4. How to increase your endurance, without more cardio.

  5. An active breath-led meditation that will help you detoxify and recover.

Learning how to breathe diaphragmatically will 

  • Lower your center of gravity (better balance)

  • Expand your lung capacity

  • Allow you to control your heart rate more effectively

We’ll cover critical topics for fighters when it comes to breathing: 

  1. Targeted Breathing – how to breathe in each part of the ring/cage

  2. Metaboreflex and Blood Stealing

  3. Tactical Breathing and the Vagus nerve

  4. Importance of diaphragmatic breathing for balance, detoxification, and for recovery

  5. Breathing in Quadrants & “Breathing Behind the Shield”

  6. Respiratory Muscle Training (IMT and EMT)

  7. Controlling your arousal (tactical breathing, and vagus nerve involvement)

  8. Power training that involves breathing/locomotive pairing

You have over ten pounds of breathing muscles in your body, and if you aren’t training them separate from your sport, they are not in optimal shape, your chances of losing just increased.

Finally!

  1. Get a good explanation on how breathing helps with your “nerves” and how to make this work to your advantage.

  2. Practical programming to get a baseline on yourself and start training right away.

  3. Discussion and lectures specifically about fight science and combat sports and learn breathing from the best in the field.

Dr. Belisa Vranich teaches tactical breathing to military, law enforcement, first responders and combat and tactical athletes. She is the author of Breathing for Warriors: Master Your Breath to Unlock More Strength, Greater Endurance, Sharper Precision, Faster Recovery and an Unshakable Inner Game. 

Bas Rutten is a UFC champion, 3x World Champion in Japan, a UFC Hall-of-Famer, fight commentator, actor, TV host, author of the biggest MMA instructional book in the world, inventor (o2trainer), coach to fighters, law enforcement & special forces and a gym owner.

A portion of the proceeds from this video goes to a nonprofit we support.

This month, join us in upholding our promise to our fellow citizens and allies. Operationrecovery.org. This donation is in memory of Max Soviak.

Follow Us on Social Media

General inquiries: info@breathingforwarriors.com

For information about private sessions or group workshops, please contact:
Bas: Karin@basrutten.com
Dr. Belisa: info@breathingforwarriors.com

 Breathing for Warriors

Video Book Workshop

Breathing for Warriors

Master Your Breath to Unlock More Strength, Greater Endurance, Sharper Precision, Faster Recovery, and an Unshakable Inner Game

order now

 
 
 

Praise

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Wow! Breathing for Warriors is the single best resource, for the greatest revolution in wellness, performance and health in our times! Where was this book when I was a young infantry officer trying to max the PT test?
— LT. COL. DAVE GROSSMAN Author of On Killing, On Combat and Assassination Generation
Dr. Belisa is able to explain breathing for athletes with the importance it deserves. Whether you are a pro, amateur, just work out or compete, she is your go-to when it comes to breathing for strength and endurance.
— Juliana Malacarne, Bodybuilder and four-time winner of Olympia Women’s Physique Showdown.
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Dr. Belisa’s knowledge of breathing is awesome. I appreciate her ability to translate complex pulmonary information and make it interesting and practical. It is an essential part of physical, emotional and mental health.
— Laird Hamilton, American Big Wave Surfer.
This book is a wake-up call. Most health problems are caused by what you least expect. If you want to feel better and move with less pain and more power, this is a practical guide that gives readers the ability to do just that.
— Adam Bornstein, New York Times bestselling author, chief of nutrition at Ladder, former editorial director at LIVESTRONG, and Fitness Editor at Men’s Health.
Rhythmic breathing revitalized my running career and helped me discover my true potential. Whether you’re a runner, lifter, or athlete in any other sport, the techniques in Breathing for Warriors can help you discover yours.
— Budd Coates, author of Running on Air, longtime coach and advisor to Runner’s World magazine, and four-time Olympic Marathon trials qualifier
Replacing reps and time with breaths has been the single biggest game-changer in over a decade for the mobility routines I coach. Discover how much better you’ll move and feel when you breathe more efficiently. This book shows you the way.
— Joe DeFranco, world-renowned strength and conditioning coach to NFL, MLB, and NBA players, WWE superstars, UFC fighters, and Olympic and Division I athletes.
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Proper breathing is a key part of creating tension, which is the key to strength training. While breathing correctly may seem simple and natural to do, but it’s hard to explain. Sabin and Vranich went to great lengths to find the right cues, from the right people, to help you move, lift, and perform better.
— Dan John, lifting and throwing coach, Highland Games competitor, and author of Never Let Go and several other bestselling books on weightlifting and health.
Breathing is a hot buzzword nowadays, and with that comes a lot of misinformation on the topic. In this book, Vranich and Sabin do a great job of talking about how impactful proper breathing is, and give you actionable and practical advice to implement properly into your own training.
— Mike Robertson, high-performance coach and co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (I-FAST) in Indianapolis and was named one of America’s Top 10 Gyms by Men’s Health.
A treasure of information on how to get the most out of your mind and body. It all starts with breathing!
— BAS RUTTEN, UFC Heavyweight Champion
I trust Dr. Belisa more than anyone in the category of breathing dysfunction. No one is more comprehensive. She is the giver of life through breath.
— JEN WIDERSTROM, celebrity trainer from TV’s “The Biggest Loser,” Fitness Director of SHAPE Magazine.
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Finally, there is a guide on breathing to enhance injury resilience and performance. Sabin and Vranich have created an utterly engrossing read, founded in science, and buttressed with real-world validity and application tips for the strength athlete or the endurance athlete alike.
— STU MCGILL, Ph.D. and Professor Emeritus of Spine Biomechanics, University of Waterloo,
Breathing for Warriors inflates your awareness and deflates myth while giving practical training tips for using your own wind instrument. Belisa and Brian turn up the gas on the most important vital sign for humans, breath. The pages deftly flow through the history of breath training (yogis, greeks, romans, elite athletes, warriors!) along with research and modern day experimentation. Whether you’re an athlete, clinician, a recovering smoker or curious about how to improve your stress resilience, you’ll never think about your lungs the same way.
— JILL MILLER, author of The Roll Model: A Step by Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility and Live Better in Your Body
Vranich and Sabin have written the ultimate book about breathing for athletes and those with active lifestyles. I now regard proper breathing as being as important to performance as any other aspect of training, or even more so.
— SEAN HYSON, Editor-in-Chief of Onnit, Author The Men's Health Encyclopedia of Muscle, 101 Best Workouts of All Time, Training Director for Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
Breathing for warriors is not only a “how-to” but a “you can” in a world of complex scientific research on the impact of breathing and proper mechanics. Dr. Belisa and Brian have expertly crafted THE reference guide of breath and its vital importance for all coaches and athletes. This should be everyone’s first book when diving into the world of health and fitness literature.
— SHARON A. MOSKOWITZ, MS Ed. Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, USA Wheelchair Rugby
One of the greatest promises of sport is achieving your highest potential. The best coaches on the planet know this and take lessons learned in high-performance environments and distill them down into essential behaviors for the rest of us mortals. Formula 1–type human performance is more than just entertainment, it is our living laboratory. (With BREATHING FOR WARRIORS) you are holding the lab notes. Go and see what’s possible.
— Dr. Kelly Starrett, DPT, New York Times bestselling author, and cofounder of The Ready State.
I have had the pleasure of taking Dr. Belisa’s class and training on breathing and it is life changing. From performance enhancements during physical movements to relaxing and fall asleep faster. Both ends of the spectrum and everything in between are covered by this book and Dr. Belisa’s coaching. She is making lives better with what she does and writes.
— STEW SMITH, CSCS, US Naval Academy, Navy SEAL Officer

Breathing for Warriors

Video Book Workshop

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Warrior workshop

This BREATHING FOR WARRIORS workshop is about endurance, strength, precision and recovery.

Registration Open - Secure your space

SPRING 2023

Enrollment for the next live virtual class is taking place now. Sign up (no credit card needed), and you will be contacted once the class is filled and ready to start.

Class will be taking place Saturdays at 8:30 am PST, 11:30 am EST, and 4:30 pm GMT

*If you live in a time zone where this is impossible, please let us know, and we’ll try to accommodate you.

*If you have several friends interested in taking the course, email us for group pricing.

Course Schedule

Saturdays | 2 hr sessions

Orientation (1-hr) with Crystal
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Session 1 with Crystal
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Session 2 with Crystal
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Session 3 with Crystal
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Session 4 with Crystal
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Break
Saturday, TBD, 2023

Session 5 with Crystal (Final presentations)
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

Session 6 with Dr. Belisa in San Diego or Zoom group
Saturday, TBD, 2023 @ 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST

WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR

Breathing for Warriors is an intensive workshop for athletes and coaches. It is based on the newest proven research conducted on breathing muscles and lung capacity measures.

WHY TAKE THIS WORKSHOP

This class goes into depth expanding the concepts addressed in the book Breathing for Warriors with a focus on endurance and strength.

what is breathing for warriors

Breathing for Warriors is an intensive workshop that goes into depth on the theory related to breathing exercises that improve endurance and stress management techniques to optimize sports performance. The workshop covers both research and practical application as it relates to respiration.

Dr. Belisa has worked with hundreds of athletes, agents, officers and first responders (Homeland Security, DEA, EMS, SWAT, Border Patrol, US Marshals) in US Department of Justice offices and fight dojos throughout the country. Her work has received outstanding reviews regarding: managing anxiety and panic, regulating adrenaline, enhancing center of gravity, improving endurance and conditioning, and effectively fighting fatigue.

Most recently I utilized her expertise during a defensive tactics program conducted at the Manhattan DEA office. Dr. Belisa’s reviews were outstanding. We trained approximately 30 Agents from the DEA and US Marshals Service. The feedback was fantastic.
— Steve Kardian, former Chief Investigator, NYC Department of Investigation, New York
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Dr. Belisa had an idea for people just like me—weekend warriors who get an adrenaline rush from Saturdays engaged in mock heroics but spend the week as mere mortals . . . I reached a sort of super-oxygenated Zen peace. It made the mud pit look like a tiptoe through the tulips. I left that night, floating around the West Village like a deep breathing sage. The relaxation lasted all weekend—and into Monday.
— Joshua David Stein, DuJour Magazine
By thinking out of the box, Dr. Belisa has mastered breathing techniques for controlling stress, improving lung health, and boosting performance.
— Sean Hyson, Training Director for Muscle&Fitness, Men's Fitness Magazines
Dr. Belisa’s class was awesome! The class was a workout in the beginning, then the relaxation part the lightest I’ve ever felt….I feel happy, almost giddy..as if she has lifted something off my shoulders. I can’t wait to do it again; I highly recommend it.
— Julie Carlson Howard M.Ed., ATC, CSCS, Semper Fit, Health Promotion Director Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego
Dr. Belisa has coaching me on my breathing and the results have been crazy. I’ve seen huge improvements in my endurance and cardio in 10 days by only adding breath exercises. This is Rickson Gracie breathing to the next level times 10!
— Henry Akins, JiuJitsu black belt under Rickson Gracie, Owner Dynamix MMA, LA
Innovative and effective stress relief. Amazing experience. It made a such a difference in my clarity, and energy. Just spectacular!
— Dr. Mathew Reid, Cpt - US Army Medical Corps, Emergency Dept, Atlanta, GA

Previous Breathing for Warrior Workshops