Holding your breath

[anthrax]

When you squat, deadlift or even bench press you hold your breath during the concentric portion but should you also do it during the eccentric phase ?

For me I feel that I need to hold my breath during the eccentric and through the descent during a DL and squat to protect my lower back

I then inhale/exhale at the top of the movement and before the concentric phase

 

[6_pak]

When you squat, deadlift or even bench press you hold your breath during the concentric portion but should you also do it during the eccentric phase ?

For me I feel that I need to hold my breath during the eccentric and through the descent during a DL and squat to protect my lower back

I then inhale/exhale at the top of the movement and before the concentric phase

Squating-- always feel up your stomach with air on the concentric phase of the lift, it stabilizes your back. The only way you could hold your breath on eccentric phase is if you paused, caught your breath and then held it again, IMO, too much time too waste. If your going to pause it should be at the start of each rep, not between. For chest too. Deads, i see your point, but the same applies. You need MORE stability on the concentric phase, rather than the eccentric, although your still controlling the weight on the way down, your not as worried about stability. Besides, more people get hurt at the beginning of the lift.

 

[gjohnson5]

I dunno.

I think heavy weights on those power lifts are just as anaerobic as sprinting a 100 yard dash. Breathing probably doesn't help in those instances.

 

[bignate73]

I hold it, unrack, do the lift and then let it out...

 

[H_T_]

you gotta keep tight with the big weights.

 

[anthrax]

OK, let's get into detail with the DL

You start with BB on the floor

You fill your belly with air, hold your breath, tighten your abs and push your stomach out
...then do the concentric portion
...pause 1 second at the top position
...and then do the eccentric portion still holding your breath (and only exhale when the BB hit the floor) !?

 

[Lee]

on deads i breath in before the rep, and as im going up slowly let it out. on squats, i inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.

 

[anthrax]

on deads i breath in before the rep, and as im going up slowly let it out. on squats, i inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.

 

[Illuminati]

When you squat, deadlift or even bench press you hold your breath during the concentric portion but should you also do it during the eccentric phase ?

For me I feel that I need to hold my breath during the eccentric and through the descent during a DL and squat to protect my lower back

I then inhale/exhale at the top of the movement and before the concentric phase

Anthrax,
you're gonna get varying responses to this question. ultimately you should do whatever feels more comfortable to you. personally, when im lifting a max weight, thinking about breathing is the last thing on my mind. whether im squatting, deadlifting or benching, i just concentrate on staying tight. during the lift, couldn't tell you what im doing. all i know is that im usually light headed, seeing stars, and my eyes are blood shot. so i guess that would mean that im holding my breath.

 

[Madcow2]

I hold it - it's just become second nature. I'm conscious of it when getting set before a lift and going through my little routine but once the lift goes I couldn't tell you. For the dead and specifically a heavy one, I am rather unconcerned what happens after I lock out but in thinking about it - I guess I don't exhale until after I return the bar. Having a prelift routine is valuable. It helps clear and focus the mind on the task - in constantly using it and working on it the process gains effectiveness. It's not like you have to return a tennis ball that you are reacting to. In a sport where you pull the trigger you'll find per-shot routines very popular (think golf, billiards, etc...). I have the old Ed Coan tapes which I value largely for the vintage footage. The most impressive thing in those tapes (besides the 901 deadlift) is his prelift routine. It is the same on every lift whether it's a max or just the bar. He is always focused. Obviously you need to monitor emotional arrousal levels (major depleters of CNS) so you don't want to be going nuts or overly psyching on your prelift routine but having a good consistent on for each lift is very valuable.