Exercise technique is a major focus for strength coaches, and rightly so. Better technique will allow you to target the intended working muscles more accurately during an exercise and also often allow you to lift more weight in the short and long-term.

However, a hugely overlooked skill in the weight room is breathing technique. Effective breathing technique is widely accepted to allow you to lift more weight during heavy compound exercises, improving long term strength.

How Does Correct Breathing Increase Strength?

Correct breathing during resistance training increases intra-abdominal pressure, stabilising and stiffening the spine, which allows you to lift more weight. This is not to say that the spine shouldn’t and can’t move during heavy lifting, but more spinal stability is still likely to help.

For general lifting -

• Breathe in at the top of a rep.

• Hold your breath on the way down (during the eccentric phase).

• Exhale through the sticking point on the way up from the lift (during the concentric phase).

Common Strength Training Breathing Mistakes

Breathing Too Shallow

The key to increasing spinal stability for lifting heavy is intra-abdominal pressure, where we create pressure against our abdominals, which is where the idea of belly breathing for lifting Barbells originates. It is therefore important to aim for a deep ‘belly breath’ as you inhale, instead of a shallow breath into the chest.

Holding Your Breath For the Whole Rep

Holding your breath for the entire rep can cause dizziness and is usually the cause of people fainting during heavy deadlifts.

Breathing Too Rapidly

A full inhalation takes time. If you rush this inhalation, you will reduce the amount of intra-abdominal pressure you can achieve, negatively affecting your lift. Instead, breath in until you have a full inhalation before starting your rep.

Should You Breathe Through Your Mouth or Nose When Exercising?

There is no specific rule here. You can do which ever you feel more comfortable with. But for a full inhalation it can be useful to fully inhale with your mouth and then further inhale through the nose to create as much stability and tension through the core and spine as you can.

If you are an advanced lifter, you may also look to incorporate the Valsalva Manoeuvre.

What is the Valsalva Manoeuvre?

This is named after Antonia Maria Valsalva, an Italian anatomist from the 17^th century who described the technique. The manoeuvre involved a forceful exhalation against a closed airway, very similar to the feeling of a forced bowel movement. In the context of strength training, the Valsalva manoeuvre would look like the following -

• Breathe in at the top of a rep.

• Hold your breath on the way down (during the eccentric phase).

• Hold your breath on the way up (during the concentric phase).

• Exhale at the top of the rep.

It is suggested that a brief Valsalva Manoeuvre prior to an exhalation is a natural bodily response to lifting heavy loads over 80% of your 1RM, but further intentional Valsalva Maneuverer, where the breath is held for the whole exercise, should only be used by elite strength athletes due to the huge increase in intra-abdominal pressure.

Is the Valsalva Manoeuvre Dangerous?

Holding your breath throughout the entire rep could help you lift more weight but can also cause huge spikes in blood pressure which can make people feel dizzy or even faint under extreme conditions.

For this reason, the Valsalva Manoeuvre is recommended to only be used for up to 3 seconds and should be avoided by the following populations -

• Beginner lifters.

• Those with, or at risk of, cerebrovascular disease.

• Those with, or at risk of, cardiovascular disease.

• Those with, or at risk of, respiratory disease.

• Those with, or at risk of, hernias.

Next time you are in the gym, take note of your breathing and make sure you are doing so correctly to get the most out of your session. If you are looking to experiment with the Valsalva Manoeuvre, we recommend consulting with a doctor for a health check to make sure that are free of any pre-existing health issues. If you get the all clear, then follow the steps mentioned above for an effective Valsalva manoeuvre on your high intensity sets.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength