How to Breathe While Lifting - Hold Your Breath & Brace (Valsalva Maneuver)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- You should hold your breath and brace while you lift to increase your rigidity and prevent energy leaks for the squat, deadlift, and bench press. You do this with the Valsalva maneuver. Learn how to breathe while lifting in this video.
Breathing in the gym is often overlooked. Or, if not overlooked, bad advice such as recommendations to breathe in on the way down and breathe out on the way up abound. You should hold your breath while lifting weights.
We want to put ourselves in the best position biomechanically to lift the most weight. Our torso or core does not directly contribute to moving the weights, but it must remain rigid to prevent energy leaks. In other words, if you're core isn't tight and rigid, you may not be able to lift as much weight.
To breathe properly while lifting weights, you get in the correct start position, take a big breath, hold it, and then begin the lift or unrack the barbell. We call the action of holding our breath and closing our glottis the Valsalva Maneuver.
Some worry that the Valsalva Maneuver for lifting is unsafe because of a misplace risk of a stroke or aneurism. Blood pressure spikes while lifting, but the pressure within the arterial wall increases, but so does the pressure outside the arterial wall. The pressure remains equal.
Because of the equal internal and external pressure (plus both anecdotal and scientific evidence), you need not worry about the holding your breath while squatting or deadlifting, if strength training is not contraindicated.
The other component of a tight core and rigid torso is bracing your core. Bracing your core is not sucking in, nor is it pushing your belly out.
Bracing your core is what you do if someone were to hit you in the belly or if you bear down. What you're doing is tightening not only your abs but the muscles that surround your spine. The combination of the full lungs and the braced core provide the maximum rigidity for your torso.
Breathing while squatting and breathing while deadlifting are a little different, though the principles of breathing and bracing, holding your breath, and executing the Valsalva Maneuver remain the same.
The squat and bench press are similar in that both begin in the top position. Breathing also occurs in the top. For both these lifts, you get set up and tight, take a breath and hold it, and unrack the bar. Typically for the bench press you do not need to breathe again before rep 1. For the squat, most people take an additional breath after they walk back and get set up.
The press begins in the bottom position, but we typically default to breathing in the top between reps. Similar to the squat and bench press, get set up, take a breath and brace your core, unrack the bar, step back, and press the bar up to the top. Following that initial rep, exhale and inhale in the top. You then bring the bar down to the bottom without pausing.
The deadlift is the hardest lift to get set up for and to breathe and brace properly. The bottom position is uncomfortable, and many people struggle to set their back properly.
In the deadlift you breathe and brace in the bottom. Some people breathe before they set their back, some breathe after. This really comes down to personal preference, as long as you can properly set your back and brace your core.
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0:00 Breathing - Why Does This Matter?
1:39 YES - This is Safe
2:57 Held Breath - Valsalva
3:28 Lift Demonstrations
Learn more:
Video page: barbell-logic.com/how-to-brea...
Breathwork: barbell-logic.com/breathing-a...
Q&A & Valsalva: barbell-logic.com/241-saturda... --------------
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Great explanation!
Awesome, thanks for the watch & comment!
Much appreciated!
Your comment is much appreciated!
Breathe in, HOLD & TIGHT, breathe out...ask us your BREATHING questions below.
Thanks 😊
Thank you!
thanks Barbell logic , it helped!
awesome
Does that do have three legs? That's awesome.
Thanks for putting this out! I’m still a tad confused about where the breath needs to be focused when taking the breathe in. I hear you need to think about breathing into your belly first, then bracing down. SS & your video seem to imply you take a big breath, like you’re about to swim underwater, then brace down.
My question is, which one is correct? It seems like belly breathing is more of a cue, this version that you teach seems to be a general simplification. Thank you!
Great explanation as always. Barbell Logic has the best videos about lifting in TH-cam ❤
Thanks!
I've seen some research about those with eye issues like ocular migraines are more at risk for things like glaucoma if they hold their breath under tension like this. Any advice in these cases? Thanks for your video!
I think ive just transcended time i just realize this posted a minute ago
That's pretty cool
You are the first youtuber mentioning salva breathing. This is key to any lift.
First part just isnt true lmao
Thank ya.
@@OMAR-vk9pi That is true, we're not the first person to ever mention it, but we'll take the complement.
How do you ideally breathe on a triple or 5 reps of heavy deadlifts? I find it increasingly difficult to get enough air in with every further rep without sacrificing tension. Also "taking your time" between reps which is somewhat possible with squats to my experience works the least for deadlifts.
Decide on a number of breaths between reps and stick to it. Probably 1 or 2, but if you need 3, that's okay (but really try for 1 or 2).
Also, have the goal of simply getting through the deadlift quickly. Find a cadence (again, 1 or 2 reps).
Lastly, you might add in a bit of HIIT to work on your ability to not get gassed on the lifting.
@@BarbellLogic
thanks a ton, sounds reasonable!
@@simonadventures3727 Thanks.
I find it difficult to maintain back tightness AND perform the Valsava while setting up for the deadlift. If I tighten my midsection, then squeeze my chest up, the midsection becomes loose. Any tips?
You might reverse the order, so set the back first, then take a breath and brace. Try that.
I strongly suggest taking and holding a deep breath, but keeping your mouth open (so you are holding the breath in with your throat).
Very good video but I was really hoping you'd show more than 1 rep, because I get the idea is the same but I really struggle getting a good breath out and then in, in a short space of time. With squats for example I end up taking longer and longer between reps.
I did see you recommend HIIT to someone else, maybe I'm just getting gassed too easily.
I think your idea here about HIIT is a good idea. Try to keep the number of breaths the same between reps (1-2 is ideal).
@@BarbellLogicif I take more than 1 it feels like it's really upsetting my rhythm, and if I'm going for 8+ reps it actually feels like an eternity to get to the end if I'm pausing at all between them.
So I am probably just struggling to get enough air in with 1 breath if I'm gassed, so I'll try up my fitness level as mentioned.
It's s really cool you still reply to comments on older videos and thanks again.
Is this only on big compound mouvements? Or isolation too
Yes it's meant for big compound movements, but there are some others too: overhead press, z press, etc, exercises that benefit from trunk rigidity.
I get lightheaded when I hold my breath while doing squats and deadlifts. Am I doing it wrong?
Maybe, hard to tell from just this comment.
There's a thousand books now suggesting that we should breathe in and out through the nose (see the Oxygen Advantage method), even when exercising. Any thought on that?
We argued our case (in a short video). Those books argue their case. You get to pick. No thoughts on that, no.
@@BarbellLogic Thanks for your response and the video. Greetings from Montreal, Canada.
@@lppageot Greetings. Thanks for the kind follow-up comment. Difficulty (really with anything in life) is experts disagree.
Is this breathing technique still recommended for women who are postpartum and reintegrating heavy lifting back into their routine? I am more so trying to figure out if this will be too much intra-abdominal pressure on the weakened pelvic floor muscles.
Hey, really good question...I'll get back to you on this.
Okay, asked one of our coaches who is a bit more familiar with training pregnant and post-partum women. Couple thoughts.
Take it easy, in general. Compare things to your baseline. You might decide to let some air out. BUT, really specific advice is hard to give without more background.
She did share this article as well. It might not apply to you, but it's at least related. www.briannabattles.com/diastasisrecti/
So how about when your not lifting the bar in between reps
Exhale at the top (or bottom for deadlift), inhale & Valsalva.
For certain lifts (bench press and maybe press) you can knock out a few reps on one breath (wouldn't recommend for a beginner).
@@BarbellLogic but when you exhale, you lose tightness with 225 on your spine? Is that safe?
@@galacticwarrior4089 People do it regularly with a LOT MORE than 225 on their spine. Yes. Don't flex your thoracic spine, but exhale, inhale & valsalva and keep going.
The only alternative in your line of thinking (if we're understanding you correctly) is to not breathe from before you unrack the bar until you rack the bar...that might present some potential safety issues, especially if you're doing a set of 8 or 12 or something.
brace abs, breathe in or breath in, brace abs?
breathe in then brace abs
@@BarbellLogic wrong.
@@SJ-xb7lg thanks for commenting
High blood pressure for 40 years. Would that why Eddie hall passed out during a heavy deadlift?
The sudden return of blood flow after its restriction is what causes that. Deadlifting 1000 pounds is not a normal thing
1:07
Rips blue books my bible 💙 🙌
cool
Why do we have to breathe in from the mouth? It’s dryer and not good for face structure.
Great tips. Could do without the music.
So I used to do this as a kid because it felt normal. But then some one told me that I need to breathe but now you guys are saying hold your breath. 😭 Help
So, obviously we are going to agree with what we are putting out.
We would argue that the held breath that fills your lungs, when performed as part of the Valsalva Maneuver, increases the support of your spine, which is important.
I grit my teeth when I valsalva. If I hold my breath in my face, I get lightheaded. Maybe it’s my carotid.
Some people may need to do a martial arts "kyah" during it, as we've had clients who struggle with getting light-headed (the press is another big one).
Some people wear a mouth guard. You shouldn't be tensing in the jaw, so you might try to adjust how you brace, but a mouth guard is an option as well.
I always breathe out at the top of the DL.
That's not the end of the world
3 minutes of valsalva myth, breezed past the actual title topic
I don't know if this is the pun with the "breezed past" but thank you for the view & comment...good luck with your training.
You got anything to add?
Lol uh, no. My cardiologists, and surgeon all disagree with you. That spike in blood pressure stresses all your heart valves. Some of his patients are bodybuilders that once had healthy hearts, but developed leaky valves from doing exactly this. I've had a valve replacement and I am allowed to lift lighter weights, higher reps, as long as I absolutely do not perform the valsalva. My new valve works okay, but they don't want me stressing it. You're not supposed to be straining during poops either. We all do because we're in a rush and also probably don't have eat healthy enough to have smooth poops. The goal is to keep your heart healthy and not strained.
Sure bud, they totally developed leaky hearts from bracing during exercise and not from blasting tren and t. Unless your cardiologist is with his patients 24/7 to see their habits day in and day out, his guess is as good as anyone’s.
DO NOT DO THIS, MY LUNG COLLAPSED using this method. Valsava while lifting is dangerous.
sorry that this happened to you...hundreds of thousands of people do this and this does not happen