Inhale/Exhale which is correct way to lift weights?

What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?

On Dec 15, 4:10 am, "Starman" <iknowbutidontk...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
> then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
> there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
> other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
> blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?

First thing to realize about weight-training, running, dieting, and
health and fitness in general:

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CONTRADICTORY ADVICE. ALWAYS.

That's because we're all very different, but mostly because no one
truly knows yet. They've really only just begun studies into it all,
and sample sizes remain very small, etc.

That said, here's the conventional wisdom:

Yes, holding your breath during intensive exertion raises blood
pressure. That's usually not a problem, however, for someone who's
fairly young and in moderately good health. Moreover, most people
can't really hold their breath that long, anyway -- especially under
intensive exertion -- so the gains far outweigh the remotely possible
costs.

What are those gains? Intrathoracic pressure, which allows your torso
to be "stiff" and solid enough to exert maximum effort on heaving
heavy weights when performing squats and deadlifts with correct form
and technique. It's basically what you may already have a natural
tendency to do, anyway. For those few seconds -- three to five
(likely no more than five) -- your support and stabilizer muscles in
the torso are stiff and solid to provide a "foundation" on which the
"cranes and pulleys" of your arms and shoulders, say, are able to do
their job.

That's how I do my bench presses now, though I used to breathe in and
out during the lowering and the raising of the barbell. Ever since I
started doing squats and deadlifts, I hold my breath throughout ~80%
of the motion, only breathing in when first starting out and breathing
out at a "sticking point" (if I'm having some difficulty) or after
having gotten past it (when "the coast is clear").

I think both methods of breathing is "safe," generally speaking. It's
only a problem when some other factor is involved; say you happen to
twist a muscle while holding your breath, for example, or twist
another while exhaling...I don't think the breathing pattern is really
at fault. The main concern involves suddenly heightened blood
pressure at extreme levels, and even the sudden and extreme decrease
in pressure thereafter...but I suspect that's a matter of a pre-
existing health problem, and not, again, due to any particular method
or pattern of breathing per se....

I know the runners' advice is simply to just breathe spontaneously:
let your body decide how it wants to breathe. I think even for
lifters, it's generally sound, with maybe a specific modification here
and there (like what I've outlined above regarding squats and
deadlifts).

On Dec 15, 4:10 am, "Starman" <iknowbutidontk...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
> then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
> there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
> other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
> blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?

I'm not correct or medically safe half the time (hmm, perhaps my
correct:incorrect ratio is worse than that, actually), BUT I will add
that I take a big inhale as I lower a weight and then exhale while I
lift a weight. And though it's probably causing my blood pressure to
spike momentarily, I have also held my breathe through two repetitions
or more. In other words, I'll take that big inhalation of air as I
unrack a bar and then hold it while I perform the majority of two
reps, exhaling as I complete the second rep.

How are you currently breathing during exercise?

--

Prisoner at War <prisoner_at_war@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:9d25255f-b064-429d-8d48-942838f16b17@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com:


> THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CONTRADICTORY ADVICE. ALWAYS.
>

And his is ALL WRONG! So don't listen to the dummy. You should hold your
breath, from the first lift until you finish you should take NO breaths.

"Curt" <hold it while I perform the majority of two reps, exhaling as I
complete the second rep. How are you currently breathing during exercise?
>
>

You like to inhale as they slide it in, exhale as they pull out.

"Starman" <iknowbutidontknow@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:rSM8j.24015$CN4.16560@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting
> weight and then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've
> researched this and there are contradictions by many, some experts say
> inhale when lifting while other medical experst say exhale when
> lifting as inhaling can cause high blood pressure, what is the correct
> and medically safe method to use?

There is no one right answer, e.g., if you are doing Hindu squats, which
are bodyweight squats usually done for high repetitions, you exhale as
you lower and inhale as you stand up - this is often called 'anatomical'
breathing because it's natural to exhale as the body folds and inhale as
it straightens. If you are doing heavy weighted squats, you will very
likely want to hold your breath through the entire movement, and if
you're doing something in between, you may find yourself inhaling as you
lower and exhaling as you stand up, the opposite of the first example
that I gave.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

"Starman" <iknowbutidontknow@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:rSM8j.24015$CN4.16560@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight
> and then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this
> and there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting
> while other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause
> high blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?
>
>

Suck the weight down and blow it up!

Burr

i'm usually breathing like a steam engine by the time i'm halfway
through a set. sometimes there's a natural cadence to the breath and
stroke. sometimes there isn't. sometimes the body will seem to
naturally want to hold in a deep breath on the descent of a squat.

limiting yourself to a certain type of...breath out on the positive
and in on the negative, or vice versa...leads to what a running coach
might refer to as "oxygen debt." the anaerobic versus aerobic work/
contraction argument only confuses the situation.

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 09:10:47 +0000, Starman wrote:

>
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
> then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
> there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
> other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
> blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?


"The best general recommendation personal trainers can give their clients
about when and how to breathe during a resistance exercise is to exhale
through the sticking point (the most difficult part of the exercise)
during the concentric or exertion phase and inhale during the the easier
part of the exercise (the eccentric phase)." "NSCA's Essentials of
Personal Training" pg. 297 (ISBN 0-7360-0015-1)

That is, in general, the way to do it. Some situations will require
different methods. For instance, for non-beginners performing structural
exercises, the same book recommends the Valsalva Maneuver which is a
slight variation.

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:02:02 +0000, Fakeguy wrote:

> Prisoner at War <prisoner_at_war@yahoo.com> wrote in
> news:9d25255f-b064-429d-8d48-942838f16b17@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
>
>
>> THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CONTRADICTORY ADVICE. ALWAYS.
>>
>
> And his is ALL WRONG! So don't listen to the dummy. You should hold your
> breath, from the first lift until you finish you should take NO breaths.


And what is Your reasoning for that?

Shava_X <voodopeople@rocketNOSPAMmail.com> wrote in
newsan.2007.12.17.00.34.57.395269@rocketNOSPAMma il.com:

>> And his is ALL WRONG! So don't listen to the dummy. You should hold
>> your breath, from the first lift until you finish you should take NO
>> breaths.
>
>
> And what is Your reasoning for that?
>
>
>
>

It makes me really dizzy after several minutes, then about 8 minutes in, I
pass out.

"Starman" <iknowbutidontknow@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:rSM8j.24015$CN4.16560@news-server.bigpond.net.au:

>
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting
> weight and then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've
> researched this and there are contradictions by many, some experts say
> inhale when lifting while other medical experst say exhale when
> lifting as inhaling can cause high blood pressure, what is the correct
> and medically safe method to use?
>
>

If you are breathing while you lift, you are allowing your ki energy to
escape. Hold your breath for the duration of your set. If you can't
maintain your energy stasis and you allow your ki to escape, your sets are
too long.

Try working in the 4-6 rep range at first, to work on your muscular
endurance and hypertrophy. Later, when you are able to, work in the 10-15
rep range for power and strength.

Peace.

On Dec 17, 8:23 pm, Mark <jacka...@centurytel.net> wrote:
[...]

> If you are breathing while you lift,

My workouts last about an hour or so. While I've held my breath for
two minutes (bored at church as a kid... began to see stars at around
one minute 45 secs), I don't see myself NOT breathing while I lift.

> you are allowing your ki energy to escape. <snip>

Sorry. I blame the cabbage.

--
Curt

On Dec 15, 4:10 am, "Starman" <iknowbutidontk...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
> then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
> there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
> other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
> blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?

Starman, on bench press I do an 8/6/4 pyramid. On the set of 8 and 6,
I use my breathing to make sure that I do smooth, solid reps, so I
take about half of a lungful of breath while keeping the bar all the
way up, finish breathing in while lowering the weight, and then
completely expel while raising the bar.

On the last set of 4, I tend to just do whatever I can to get the
weight out, and don't have it in me to worry about breathing right
then. And even though I just bench pressed about 8 hours ago, I have
no idea if I even breathed during that set of 4 :-)

I have found that doing it this way has caused a major increase in my
lifting. The first couple of weeks were hard because I was using less
momentum in moving the weight, but as my muscles adjusted, the push
just became more natural.

FWIW, I'm 175lbs, and am now benching around 375. My set of 4 today
was using 335lbs, and although I haven't maxed in awhile, I SHOULD max
somewhere around 375.

Jason Carlton wrote:
> On Dec 15, 4:10 am, "Starman" <iknowbutidontk...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> What is the proper way to weight life, do you inhale when lifting weight and
>> then exhale when releasing (lowering the weight)? I've researched this and
>> there are contradictions by many, some experts say inhale when lifting while
>> other medical experst say exhale when lifting as inhaling can cause high
>> blood pressure, what is the correct and medically safe method to use?
>
> Starman, on bench press I do an 8/6/4 pyramid. On the set of 8 and 6,
> I use my breathing to make sure that I do smooth, solid reps, so I
> take about half of a lungful of breath while keeping the bar all the
> way up, finish breathing in while lowering the weight, and then
> completely expel while raising the bar.
>
> On the last set of 4, I tend to just do whatever I can to get the
> weight out, and don't have it in me to worry about breathing right
> then. And even though I just bench pressed about 8 hours ago, I have
> no idea if I even breathed during that set of 4 :-)
>
> I have found that doing it this way has caused a major increase in my
> lifting. The first couple of weeks were hard because I was using less
> momentum in moving the weight, but as my muscles adjusted, the push
> just became more natural.
>
> FWIW, I'm 175lbs, and am now benching around 375. My set of 4 today
> was using 335lbs, and although I haven't maxed in awhile, I SHOULD max
> somewhere around 375.

Good solid advice. Keep it simple and just lift the iron with strict form.

--
Bob Volkmer