When doing strength training, should you exhale or exhale?

Exhalation and exhalation are themselves different terms for the same physiological action. Under normal strength training conditions, you should exhale (that is, exhale) during the exertion phase, and inhale during the recovery phase. It's that simple.

Many friends who have just joined the gym will be confused by these two words. One moment they hear the coach shout "exhale when exerting force", and the other moment they see fitness bloggers saying "exhale when exerting force". They think they are some opposing technical schools. It is purely a mistake of terminology translation and expression habits. What we really need to understand is the matching logic of breathing and movement.

Next time you practice dumbbell chest pressing, you can try it. Lie on the bench press bench and open the dumbbells to both sides. When you feel the stretch of the chest muscles, slowly inhale. When you want to press the chest in the middle to exert force, follow the force of the push and let the air out from your throat evenly. When you reach the top of the push, you will just finish the breath. It is much more stable than holding your breath and pushing hard. You may be able to push 2.5 kilograms more. I didn't believe in this evil when I first started squatting. I always felt that I would be stronger if I held my breath in. I was holding my breath from the end of the squat until I stood up, and my face turned red. After 10 sets of squats, I was holding on to the squat rack and it took me three minutes to recover. Later, I changed my breathing rhythm.

But if you often go to the strength area, you must have seen the kind of big guy who charges heavy weights. Before deadlifting 1,780 kilograms, he took a deep breath until his neck was thick. He didn't take a breath during the whole pull, and he didn't vomit until the barbell was locked and he stood up straight. Qi, this is not because people are unruly, it is the Watt-style breathing method commonly used in powerlifting circles - by holding in the breath to increase the intra-abdominal pressure, the entire torso is stretched like a solid bucket filled with air, and the stability of the waist and spine is directly stretched, making it less likely to slip. But this thing is only suitable for hitting the extreme weight of 1RM and 2RM, which can be done once or twice at most. If you usually do more than 8 times of muscle-building sets, don’t imitate it blindly. If you hold it in for a long time, your blood pressure will soar, and you will have a headache for a long time after training.

These are not the only two breathing methods. I have seen CrossFit friends practice power cleans. The movements are fast, and the breathing becomes fast inhalation and fast exhalation. It is completely different from the slow inhalation and slow exhalation of traditional bodybuilding. I can’t say that they are wrong. After all, the training goals are different. People have to take into account cardiopulmonary and explosive power, so they naturally have to adapt to different breathing rhythms. There are also some enthusiasts with high blood pressure and basic cardiovascular diseases. The coaches will specifically tell them to try not to hold their breath no matter what they do. Even if the weight is a little heavier, they should maintain a uniform rhythm of exhaling forcefully and restoring inhalation. Safety is always more important than weight.

In fact, there is really no need to make a golden rule about breathing. It is normal for novices to not care about breathing when they first start practicing. First, they should get the movement pattern right. After practicing more, they will naturally adapt to the breathing rhythm. There is no need to silently recite "Should I vomit or exhale" every time before exerting force? It is just a practice, there are not so many rigid rules.