Breathing

murraykil

What is the purpose of exhaling out on exertion and inhaling on relaxation?

It's the opposite to what I would do naturally and I'm if I try to do it the other way it takes all my attention and I can't count reps!

Hanley

murraykil wrote: »

What is the purpose of exhaling out on exertion and inhaling on relaxation?

It's the opposite to what I would do naturally and I'm if I try to do it the other way it takes all my attention and I can't count reps!

Blood pressure control.

murraykil

Hanley wrote: »

Blood pressure control.

:eek:

Thanks for the feedback!

aaakev

I fin i get a better lift holding my breath when im going heavy

murraykil

I found an article on this and it says that weighlifting will increase your blood pressure.

According to the article, it's temporary and fine for most people who have normal blood pressure. In fact is says that this exercise, like most exercise, should in fact lower your blood pressure over time.

Weightlifting can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure. This increase can be dramatic — depending on how much weight you lift. But, weightlifting can also have long-term benefits to blood pressure that outweigh the risk of a temporary spike for most people.

Regular exercise, including moderate weightlifting, provides many health benefits, including helping to lower blood pressure in the long term.

MayoClinic

If you have high blood pressure then you should seek medical advice before starting any exercise regime.

If you have high blood pressure, talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program. Your doctor can help you develop an exercise program tailored to your needs and medical conditions.

MayoClinic

However, holding your breath is not a good idea according to the article (although this is mentioned under a section entitled "If you have high blood pressure, here are some tips for getting started on a weightlifting program").

Don't hold your breath. Holding your breath during exertion can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure. Instead, breathe easily and continuously during each lift.

MayoClinic

deadlybuzzman

Im guessing you're not lifting all that long so if you dont feel a need to change your breathing but as the weights increase taking in and holding a big breath helps with the big lifts.
With the likes of bicep curls......meh!
BTW the person giving this advice gets nosebleeds every time he squats, my resting BP is perfect though

murraykil

@deadlybuzzman

It's somewhat correct to say that I haven't been lifting long; I have used dumbbells often over the years but I often stop for long periods and always start off very slowly again.

Right now I'm lifting fairly light weights and only increase once a month! I have injured my back before by trying to increase weights too frequently and since my posture is probably very bad, I'm better off on lower weights for as long as possible! :pac:

My original question was more about the order of inhaling and exhaling while doing a rep.

The advice I often (always??) hear in videos is to exhale as you push up the weight, and inhale as you lower the weight.

I would naturally do the opposite, inhale as I push up, and possibly hold my breadth as I reach the top, and I exhale as I lower the weight.

I found that it took all my attention to change the order of my breathing and I could not keep track of my reps. :pac:

I also had no idea why the order was important and wanted to know if it had an effect on how effective the weight training would be.

Edwardius

you're better off holding your breath through the duration of a lift as it will pressurise your torso and help stabilise the trunk. Emptying your lungs on the way up sounds like either a recipe for injury or sub optimal training effect. A small release of air on the way up might lower the load on the circulatory system but you shouldn't really exhale fully.

..unless you faint when holding your breath under exertion or have pre-existing blood pressure issues

murraykil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXfraCdHBwE

It's from this guy that I most recently heard "exhale on the way up"; but I think that this is what most other instructional videos have said also.

But it's not natural for me to do it and with the advice I got on here; I'll stick to inhale or hold breath on way up, and exhale on the way down.

On a side note, irrespective of his advice on breathing, what do you guys think of his shoulder workout?