Do you hold your breath while lifting ?

Vieope · 02-26-2004, 09:22 PM

Sometimes I can´t breath while working out. I know that it is a big problem, just because it is an anaerobic exercise doesn´t mean that you don´t need to breath.

I usually can´t breath while bench pressing.

Do you hold your breath while lifting ?

**P-funk** · 02-26-2004, 09:27 PM

No way. Always breathe!!!

I have seen freinds pass out because they weren't breathing. Get bloody noses. Blood coming out the ears....etc.

Vieope · 02-26-2004, 09:43 PM

Yes, I am worried about that too but I have somekind of psychological block.

myCATpowerlifts · 02-26-2004, 10:09 PM

well u might wanna just lift light weights for a little and get control of it

since its easy to handle, you can focus less on it and more on ur breathing!

In on the eccentric

and out on the concentric portion

KiDNotorious · 02-26-2004, 10:35 PM

inhaling better is my problem, exhaling now comes natural

Trap-isaurus · 02-26-2004, 10:49 PM

I try not to but often forget and catch myself holding my breath.

Big Smoothy · 02-26-2004, 11:37 PM

The solution: breath.

Next....

squanto · 02-27-2004, 01:05 AM

holding breath while weight training is very bad for you. i know people who have done it, but it just puts way too much stress on your body. nobody i know does it anymore.

**CowPimp** · 02-27-2004, 02:19 AM

You should always inhale as your muscles relax and exhale as they contract. Muscles need blood pumping to them for oxygen, or they will become tired much sooner. Not only is it potentially bad for your body because you are depriving it of oxygen when it really needs, but your lifting will suffer even if your health isn't affected.

Michael D · 02-27-2004, 02:26 AM

According to Mudge's link on the how to bench topic, you are supposed to hold your breath for sets of 3 and less.

Of course that is just the man's opinion who wrote it.

I personally need to work on my breathing as I hold mine too.

Spitfire · 02-27-2004, 07:23 AM

I did before i read this thread.

Thanks again

Paynne · 02-27-2004, 07:31 AM

A few months ago I got a horrible headache while doing neg only preacher curls. On each of the next 4 days I got the same headache instantly as soon as I lifted something. One day I took 20 tylenol and it didn't help(yeah i know now, don't DO that). Doc sent me for an MRI and said go to the emergency room if it happens again. It was nothing and went away after I took a week off.

I bet anything I held my breath by accident and strained too much. Many ppl say to hold your breath during squats to stabalize your core. I'll just lift lighter weight thank you.

supertech · 02-27-2004, 07:42 AM

I find myself holding my breath while doing squats,I try not to but do it any way.One of these days I am going to pass out.

x~factor · 02-27-2004, 08:26 AM

I hold it for a sec to get pass the sticking point. Does that count?

Flex · 02-27-2004, 10:17 AM

I either do what x-factor said^^

or

I just yell "LIGHTWEIGHT" in b/w reps

**I Are Baboon** · 02-27-2004, 10:49 AM

I make a conscious effort to breathe properly while lifting. That said, I sometimes do hold my breath for the last few reps of an ab set because of how hard I am struggling.

ALBOB · 02-27-2004, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by I Are Baboon I sometimes do hold my breath for the last few reps of an ab set because of how hard I am struggling.

I found an easy cure for that......................I don't do abs.

QuestionGuy · 02-27-2004, 05:44 PM

i dont hold my breath while lifting but when i do puchup i alway hold my breath and god damn i hate it, sometimes i try not to do it but still its just better, when i breathe after every puchup i get really tired fast, like after 30 of them its really hard to breathe but when i hold my breath it is easier to go on

aztecwolf · 02-27-2004, 06:11 PM

i'm with flex, to help yourself not hod your breath, breath in on the way down, and explode(grunt) on the way up, just don't be one of those jacks that yell really really annoyingly loud

Vieope · 02-27-2004, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aztecwolf
i'm with flex, to help yourself not hod your breath, breath in on the way down, and explode(grunt) on the way up, just don't be one of those jacks that yell really really annoyingly loud

UHHHH AHHH lol
I know what you mean.

willus72 · 02-27-2004, 09:06 PM

i was having the same problem today with my bench. i just kept forgetting to breath,lol. but on my last rep of my last set i was having a tough time getting it up and about halfway through i realized i was still holding my breath. i took a breath and put the rest up easily. so i think it helps.

CourtQueen · 02-27-2004, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aztecwolf
i'm with flex, to help yourself not hod your breath, breath in on the way down, and explode(grunt) on the way up, just don't be one of those jacks that yell really really annoyingly loud

Like David??

glassman · 02-27-2004, 10:35 PM

Yeah unfortunatly I do. I try like hell to breathe while working out but it doesnt always happen. When I was a teen, I used to hold my breath all the time. Then one day it felt like someone had rammed an ice pick in the center of my head. Holy S@@t I thought that I was dying ! I went to the doctor and told him about it and his advise was to stop lifting

Maybe he was a horse doctor

So sometimes now when I hold my breath, I can feel my head spliting open again so I try to breath. And then there are no problems

Vieope · 02-28-2004, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by glassman
Yeah unfortunatly I do. I try like hell to breathe while working out but it doesnt always happen. When I was a teen, I used to hold my breath all the time. Then one day it felt like someone had rammed an ice pick in the center of my head. Holy S@@t I thought that I was dying ! I went to the doctor and told him about it and his advise was to stop lifting

Maybe he was a horse doctor

So sometimes now when I hold my breath, I can feel my head spliting open again so I try to breath. And then there are no problems

You should post this problem at the "General Health & Awareness" forum. I am not trying to scare you but this condition is not normal.

Paynne · 02-28-2004, 06:43 AM

I wouldn't be overly concerned Glassman, an MRI might not be a bad idea though. Like I said I got the headache thing too. I just don't do that thing that you see in the muscle mags where they hold their breath, tense every muscle in their body, and get all red in the face

Now I'm fine

glassman · 02-28-2004, 08:03 AM

Well, yeah. But that was years ago. I'm not dead yet. LOL I'm not really worried about it. I just try to breath and it doesnt happen. Why it happened, I dont know. Maybe an MRI would do the trick.

165r · 02-28-2004, 08:11 AM

supply your muscle with O2 and they grow. At least that's what I have heard.

glassman · 02-28-2004, 08:35 AM

Good point 165r! This is what my head feels like.

LOL

Johnnny · 06-28-2004, 11:04 AM

Sometimes I find myself holding my breath on certain reps of a heavy set but I really try to breath to help output power.

Say on flat bench, incline bench, & military press in the front I take a huge breath as I bring the weight down, & then force out all the air while I push the weight back up.

It's important on every rep to breath as whatever muscle you're working for whatever exercise you're doing for that muscle, the muscle needs a certain amount of oxygen coming into the system to be at it's strongest.

Akateros · 06-28-2004, 11:25 AM

Not on purpose. But I do apparently grit my teeth something awful. After a heavy leg or chest day, my back molars will be all tender. They're ninety percent metal, so that's not such a great thing.

More about various exercise-induced headaches. I think it is the "Valsalva manoeuvre" that is the culprit in most of the cases above.
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/...eb/mccrory.htm

View Poll Results: Do you hold your breath while lifting ?
Yes	12	21.05%
No	45	78.95%
Voters: 57. You may not vote on this poll

02-26-2004, 09:22 PM	#1
Vieope Monochromatic Bunny Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: drinking coffee.. Posts: 14,967 Photos: 10	Do you hold your breath while lifting ? Sometimes I can´t breath while working out. I know that it is a big problem, just because it is an anaerobic exercise doesn´t mean that you don´t need to breath. I usually can´t breath while bench pressing. Do you hold your breath while lifting ?

02-26-2004, 09:27 PM	#2
P-funk Patrick Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AZ Posts: 31,700	No way. Always breathe!!! I have seen freinds pass out because they weren't breathing. Get bloody noses. Blood coming out the ears....etc. E-Book: Take Charge! Everything You Need To Know To Write Your Own Training Programs Online Consulting/Program Design Reality Based Fitness Podcast Check me out on Twitter! Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter! "In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts there are few." -Buddha's Little Instruction Book

02-26-2004, 10:35 PM	#5
KiDNotorious Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 313 Michigan Posts: 102 Photos: 1	inhaling better is my problem, exhaling now comes natural "Real Eyes........Realize.........Real Lies"

02-26-2004, 10:49 PM	#6
Trap-isaurus Just me, being me. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: !Da' Gym! Da Gym In Canada. Posts: 2,450 Photos: 3	I try not to but often forget and catch myself holding my breath. *^All good things come to those who weight (lift!!!)^* ^I'm the thread killer I'm the thread killer I'm the come from behind I'm the post attacker^

02-26-2004, 09:43 PM	#3
Vieope Monochromatic Bunny Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: drinking coffee.. Posts: 14,967 Photos: 10	Yes, I am worried about that too but I have somekind of psychological block.

02-26-2004, 10:09 PM	#4
myCATpowerlifts Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: The lone star state Posts: 6,261 Photos: 2	well u might wanna just lift light weights for a little and get control of it since its easy to handle, you can focus less on it and more on ur breathing! In on the eccentric and out on the concentric portion

02-26-2004, 11:37 PM	#7
Big Smoothy Windy City Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 3,267	The solution: breath. Next.... Military men are dumb, stupid animals, to be used as pawns for foreign policy – Henry Kissinger (January-February 2003 edition of Eagle Newsletter)

02-27-2004, 01:05 AM	#8
squanto Fitness Celebrity Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Cheese Cottage Posts: 1,471	holding breath while weight training is very bad for you. i know people who have done it, but it just puts way too much stress on your body. nobody i know does it anymore.

02-27-2004, 02:19 AM	#9
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,615	You should always inhale as your muscles relax and exhale as they contract. Muscles need blood pumping to them for oxygen, or they will become tired much sooner. Not only is it potentially bad for your body because you are depriving it of oxygen when it really needs, but your lifting will suffer even if your health isn't affected. The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... Belligerent Bovine badass YouTube Videos

02-27-2004, 02:26 AM	#10
Michael D Working on a new me! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: East Coast US Posts: 393 Photos: 4	According to Mudge's link on the how to bench topic, you are supposed to hold your breath for sets of 3 and less. Of course that is just the man's opinion who wrote it. I personally need to work on my breathing as I hold mine too. "Fear profits man nothing."

02-27-2004, 07:23 AM	#11
Spitfire Im hungry Elite Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: South Florida Posts: 2,781 Photos: 2	I did before i read this thread. Thanks again Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. Abraham Lincoln I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me. Hunter S. Thompson RIP

02-27-2004, 07:31 AM	#12
Paynne ╔═╬═╝ Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Southern NJ Posts: 686	A few months ago I got a horrible headache while doing neg only preacher curls. On each of the next 4 days I got the same headache instantly as soon as I lifted something. One day I took 20 tylenol and it didn't help(yeah i know now, don't DO that). Doc sent me for an MRI and said go to the emergency room if it happens again. It was nothing and went away after I took a week off. I bet anything I held my breath by accident and strained too much. Many ppl say to hold your breath during squats to stabalize your core. I'll just lift lighter weight thank you.

02-27-2004, 07:42 AM	#13
supertech American BadAss Elite Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,969	I find myself holding my breath while doing squats,I try not to but do it any way.One of these days I am going to pass out.

02-27-2004, 08:26 AM	#14
x~factor Just Lurkin' Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Valley Stream, NY Posts: 243	I hold it for a sec to get pass the sticking point. Does that count?

02-27-2004, 10:17 AM	#15
Flex FLEXecutioner Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Pomping Iyuhn Posts: 6,278 Photos: 2	I either do what x-factor said^^ or I just yell "LIGHTWEIGHT" in b/w reps You're a funny guy, Sully, I like you. Dat's why I'm going to kill you lahst. * Got juice?Need Motivation?How to Train* Arnold vs. Ronnie vs. Haney vs. Sergio YEAH BUDDY...LIGHT WEIGHT!Ahhnold*

02-27-2004, 10:49 AM	#16
I Are Baboon pedal pedal pedal Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Beerville Posts: 11,942 Photos: 4	I make a conscious effort to breathe properly while lifting. That said, I sometimes do hold my breath for the last few reps of an ab set because of how hard I am struggling.

02-27-2004, 05:44 PM	#18
QuestionGuy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 2,741	i dont hold my breath while lifting but when i do puchup i alway hold my breath and god damn i hate it, sometimes i try not to do it but still its just better, when i breathe after every puchup i get really tired fast, like after 30 of them its really hard to breathe but when i hold my breath it is easier to go on

02-27-2004, 06:11 PM	#19
aztecwolf Sackin' up every day Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: san diego Posts: 1,267 Photos: 3	i'm with flex, to help yourself not hod your breath, breath in on the way down, and explode(grunt) on the way up, just don't be one of those jacks that yell really really annoyingly loud

02-27-2004, 09:06 PM	#21
willus72 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 161	i was having the same problem today with my bench. i just kept forgetting to breath,lol. but on my last rep of my last set i was having a tough time getting it up and about halfway through i realized i was still holding my breath. i took a breath and put the rest up easily. so i think it helps.

02-27-2004, 10:35 PM	#23
glassman Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Pa Posts: 20	Yeah unfortunatly I do. I try like hell to breathe while working out but it doesnt always happen. When I was a teen, I used to hold my breath all the time. Then one day it felt like someone had rammed an ice pick in the center of my head. Holy S@@t I thought that I was dying ! I went to the doctor and told him about it and his advise was to stop lifting Maybe he was a horse doctor So sometimes now when I hold my breath, I can feel my head spliting open again so I try to breath. And then there are no problems

02-28-2004, 06:43 AM	#25
Paynne ╔═╬═╝ Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Southern NJ Posts: 686	I wouldn't be overly concerned Glassman, an MRI might not be a bad idea though. Like I said I got the headache thing too. I just don't do that thing that you see in the muscle mags where they hold their breath, tense every muscle in their body, and get all red in the face Now I'm fine

02-28-2004, 08:03 AM	#26
glassman Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Pa Posts: 20	Well, yeah. But that was years ago. I'm not dead yet. LOL I'm not really worried about it. I just try to breath and it doesnt happen. Why it happened, I dont know. Maybe an MRI would do the trick.

02-28-2004, 08:11 AM	#27
165r COUP COUNTER Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: nj Posts: 69	supply your muscle with O2 and they grow. At least that's what I have heard. "A camel would sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man make it into heaven." JESUS

02-28-2004, 08:35 AM	#28
glassman Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Pa Posts: 20	Good point 165r! This is what my head feels like. LOL

06-28-2004, 11:04 AM	#29
Johnnny Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,844	Sometimes I find myself holding my breath on certain reps of a heavy set but I really try to breath to help output power. Say on flat bench, incline bench, & military press in the front I take a huge breath as I bring the weight down, & then force out all the air while I push the weight back up. It's important on every rep to breath as whatever muscle you're working for whatever exercise you're doing for that muscle, the muscle needs a certain amount of oxygen coming into the system to be at it's strongest.

06-28-2004, 11:25 AM	#30
Akateros I read it someplace. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ontario Posts: 481	Not on purpose. But I do apparently grit my teeth something awful. After a heavy leg or chest day, my back molars will be all tender. They're ninety percent metal, so that's not such a great thing. More about various exercise-induced headaches. I think it is the "Valsalva manoeuvre" that is the culprit in most of the cases above. http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/...eb/mccrory.htm "It is a wearisome illness to preserve one's health by too strict a regimen." -François de la Rochefoucauld

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