Breathing is an involuntary act, but when you are lifting weights, you may forget to breathe. Holding the breath, called the Valsalva maneuver after a 17th century Italian physician, is a common reaction to heavy muscular exertion. The Valsalva maneuver can have negative physiological consequences, so even if you aren't sure if you are breathing correctly, when lifting weights just make sure to breathe.
Rhythm
The fundamental breathing technique during weight-lifting exercises is to inhale on the stretch and exhale on exertion. If you are performing an overhead shoulder press, the exertion phase is when you press the bar overhead. For a bent-over row, the exertion phase is when you are pulling the bar into your upper abs. The stretch phase is the lowering aspect of the movement.
Valsalva Maneuver
The Valsalva maneuver is the act of holding your breath during an exercise. You exhale against a closed airway. When lifting weights, you exhale forcibly against a closed grottis, which is the entrance to your throat, to execute the Valsalva maneuver. This creates intra-abdominal pressure. Some lifters feel this extra pressure helps stabilize their core when performing heavy lifts. Other lifters do not hold their breath on purpose but simply forget to breathe.
Effects
Performing the Valsalva maneuver while lifting weights increases your blood pressure. A 1992 study published in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine" found that the Valsalva maneuver produced the highest increase in blood pressure compared to other breathing patterns when lifting weights. This increase in blood pressure makes it more difficult for your heart to pump blood and results in reduced blood flow to your brain. This can make you feel dizzy or nauseous and can lead to fainting.
Expert Insight
The study had participants perform two other breathing techniques besides the Valsalva maneuver while doing a weight-lifting exercise. Subjects exhaled on the concentric or exertion phase during part of the study and they inhaled on the exertion phase during parts of the study. Both breathing techniques resulted in similar blood pressure responses, and neither technique offered any aerobic advantage, underlining that just breathing is the important thing.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Exercise Library: Seated Barbell Shoulder Press
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine": Effect of Breathing Techniques on Blood Pressure Response to Resistance Exercise; S. T. Linsenbardt et al.; 1992
- Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts; Hemodynamics of a Valsalva Maneuver; Richard E. Klabunde; April 15, 2007
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