Breathing And Exercising

Breathe Better. Lift Better.

Inhale as You Load. Exhale as You Exert.

Most strength training exercises have two phases:

• Eccentric (ee-SEN-trick): The lowering or loading phase. Also a word you might use to describe your crazy uncle, although that's a different article.
• Concentric (con-SEN-trick): The lifting or exertion phase.

Our general rule is simple: Inhale as you load. Exhale as you exert.

For example:

• Squat: Inhale as you lower yourself. Exhale as you stand.
• Push-up: Inhale as you lower your chest. Exhale as you push yourself up.
• Row: Inhale as you extend your arms. Exhale as you pull.

The timing matters. Begin exhaling as soon as you begin the exertion. If you wait until the repetition is complete, you've held your breath through the hardest part.

And as the weight gets heavier, your body needs more stability. That's where bracing comes in.

Brace Your Core. Keep Breathing.

Your diaphragm and abdominal muscles work together to help stabilize your spine and trunk. As the demands of an exercise increase, so does the need for stability.

Here's the trick: Maintain your brace while you exhale.

One way to learn this is by blowing up a balloon.

Take a comfortable breath, purse your lips around the balloon, and blow. Feel how your abdominal muscles engage to create the pressure needed to inflate it?

That's similar to the muscular effort we're looking for when lifting something heavy.

We actually keep balloons at the front desk for people to practice with. A few gentle attempts should give you the idea. Stop if you feel lightheaded.

Or imagine blowing out your birthday candles. If you breathe on them like you're fogging a mirror, you probably won't get very far. Especially if you're at the age where there are more candles than cake.

But take a breath, purse your lips, and give it a good blow, and you'll have much better luck.

If you slobber on the cake, that's on you.

Bringing It Back to Exercise

When lifting, we want to create a little resistance as we exhale. This helps engage the abdominal muscles while allowing air to keep moving.

Try one of these techniques:

• Purse your lips and blow steadily.
• Make a sustained "ssss" or "shhhh" sound.
• Narrow the opening of your mouth or use your tongue to create a little resistance.

Begin the exhalation as soon as the exertion starts, and sustain it through the challenging portion of the movement.

The harder the exercise, the more stability you'll need. Adjust your bracing and breathing together, using enough effort to stay stable without straining excessively.

Now Let's Get a Little Nerdy.

Breathing does three important things for us:

• Biomechanical: Your diaphragm and other breathing muscles help stabilize your trunk, manage internal pressure, and support movement.
• Biochemical: Breathing brings oxygen into your body and removes carbon dioxide. As exercise intensity increases, your breathing adjusts to meet your body's changing demands.
• Psychophysiological: Breathing interacts with your nervous system, influencing your heart rate, stress response, and sense of control. Slow, controlled breathing can help you relax, while breathing naturally becomes faster and deeper as physical demands increase.

These three systems work together continuously, whether you're relaxing on the couch, carrying groceries, or working through a challenging set of squats.

A Real-World Example

Imagine you're doing a set of eight goblet squats. Your coach encourages you to try a heavier weight.

You pick up the dumbbell. It's heavy.

You brace yourself, take a breath, lower into your squat, stand back up, and finally let the air rush out of your wide-open gob.

Then you do it seven more times.

By the end, you're panting like a dog on a hot day, wondering why eight squats just about killed you.

Sound familiar?

Here's what may be happening:

Biomechanically: Holding your breath helps create trunk stiffness, but it can also generate substantial internal pressure. Your blood pressure may rise considerably, especially as the effort increases.

Biochemically: Your breathing is interrupted during each repetition. You're still using oxygen and producing carbon dioxide, and the repeated breath-holding may contribute to your discomfort and breathlessness.

Psychophysiologically: The weight feels intimidating, you're getting uncomfortable, and your instinct is to tense up even more. Your breathing and your perception of effort may be making the whole experience harder.

Let's try that again.

This time, inhale as you lower, begin a controlled exhalation as you stand, and maintain enough abdominal tension to keep your trunk stable.

You may find the movement feels smoother, more comfortable, and easier to control.

And if the weight is too heavy to maintain good form and breathing, we'll lighten it until you can.

Practice Makes Progress

Synchronizing your breathing with movement takes practice. Fortunately, our bodies are remarkably good at learning.

During your next training session, pay attention to a few things:

• Are you inhaling as you load?
• Are you beginning your exhalation as soon as you exert?
• Can you maintain a stable trunk while exhaling?
• Does your breathing become more difficult as the weight increases?

If you're having trouble, ask your coach. We'll help you find a rhythm that works.

And remember, breath-holding during strenuous lifting can cause substantial increases in blood pressure. This is particularly important for people with hypertension or other cardiovascular concerns.

When Breathing Needs More Attention

If you regularly experience unusual shortness of breath, dizziness, or difficulty coordinating your breathing, it's worth discussing with your healthcare provider.

Breathing involves your respiratory muscles, cardiovascular system, and nervous system. Depending on what's happening, a physician, physical therapist, or respiratory specialist may be able to help.

One Last Breath

Good form includes technique, posture, range of motion, motor control, breathing, and awareness.

It seems like a lot because it is.

Fortunately, our bodies are pretty amazing. They learn, adapt, and coordinate an extraordinary number of moving parts without requiring us to think about every one of them.

With a little practice, effective breathing becomes second nature.

So take a breath, brace your core, and go do something really cool.

Curious to learn more about Vitruvian Fitness?

We encourage you to do a 30-Day Trial Membership. In 30 days, you will get a 1-on-1 introductory onboarding session with Functional Movement Screen® plus 8 completely customized strength training sessions doing the program we design based on that first session. And you’ll get to be a part of one of the most inviting, inclusive, and fun communities you’ll find anywhere. At the end of your trial, you get to decide if you liked it and if you want to continue with a regular 6-month membership. All the options and prices are on our Membership page.

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Our facility is conveniently located on the northwest corner of Denver in beautiful downtown Wheat Ridge.