Muscle Nerd Articles Bad Bodybuilder BreathDo YOU Have "BAD BODYBUILDER BREATH?
By The Jeff Anderson "Muscle Nerd"
Don't worry...I'm not telling you you need to cover your mouth and begin searching for your toothbrush! I have better advice than this for helping you out in the gym (although if you start to see the guys around you start dropping like flies when you're breathing out on that last rep, you may want to re-evaluate the first sentence ;-)
Instead...
What if I told you that doing the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you were taught to do in the gym could bring you up to 20% more strength...INSTANTLY!
Do I have your attention?
Good!
Chances are you've been taught to EXHALE throughout the concentric portion of an exercise (this is the phase of the repetition when you are pushing or pulling the weight, contracting the muscles).
However, this happens to be one of the most misguided pieces of advice floating around the "iron rumor-mill".
Let me explain...NO WAIT...
Let me DEMONSTRATE!
First take a breath...slightly more than normal but not extremely deep, and hold it.
Now flex your muscles HARD!
There! Feel the power in those guns?
Now, do the exact same thing, only THIS time, after you've started flexing, begin to EXHALE...while maintaining your "flex"...until the air is out of your lungs.
Did you feel how your strength began to disappear little by little as you exhaled?
Well the same thing is happening to your strength as you're trying to thrust that barbell into the air. By exhaling too soon, you're giving your muscles less stability and oxygen to peform the extra effort you're asking of them.
This means LESS STRENGTH, LESS MUSCLE MASS, and an INCREASED chance of INJURY!
On the other hand, when your breath is held you create a very RIGID torso, from hips to head, that gives your muscles something to "push" off of in order to lift heavier weights. (It's kind of like the difference between doing pushups on a cement floor versus a floor made of lime Jell-O!)
Now before I get a bunch of nasty emails saying...
"But I thought holding your breath while lifting a weight would make you PASS OUT from the increase in blood pressure!"
...let me explain the correct way to breathe for maximum strength and muscle gains WITHOUT jeapordizing your safety.
Follow these 4 simple tips and turbocharge each rep...
1. Just before you begin the concentric portion of your repetition (in the bench press for example, it would be at the bottom position when the bar is at your chest), take a slightly more than normal breath.
(Note: Taking TOO EXTREME of a deep breath COULD create TOO MUCH pressure. Your breath should feel "natural" yet deeper than normal.)
2. Begin your "pushing" movement (or "pulling" for exercises such as lat pull down or cable rows) while holding your breath tight.
3. Once you've just passed the "sticking point" of the movement (this is the "hardest" part of the movement, usually about the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the way to full contraction), breathe out slowly through your teeth. You should have exhaled fully exactly at the point of full contraction (for example, the "up" position if performing a bench press).
4. Inhale again slowly as you return to the "start" position.
This may take a bit of practice, but you should find that your body is already pre-programmed to operate this way...if you let it.
Everyone who knows me though my Optimum Anabolics Program understands how big a fan I am of "listening" to your body in order to let it tell you how to build muscle.
Well, your body knows it needs a stable core to push off of to create maximal force. Listen carefuly to it while using the above procedure and you're sure to see new gains!
By The Jeff Anderson "Muscle Nerd"
Don't worry...I'm not telling you you need to cover your mouth and begin searching for your toothbrush! I have better advice than this for helping you out in the gym (although if you start to see the guys around you start dropping like flies when you're breathing out on that last rep, you may want to re-evaluate the first sentence ;-)
Instead...
What if I told you that doing the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what you were taught to do in the gym could bring you up to 20% more strength...INSTANTLY!
Do I have your attention?
Good!
Chances are you've been taught to EXHALE throughout the concentric portion of an exercise (this is the phase of the repetition when you are pushing or pulling the weight, contracting the muscles).
However, this happens to be one of the most misguided pieces of advice floating around the "iron rumor-mill".
Let me explain...NO WAIT...
Let me DEMONSTRATE!
First take a breath...slightly more than normal but not extremely deep, and hold it.
Now flex your muscles HARD!
There! Feel the power in those guns?
Now, do the exact same thing, only THIS time, after you've started flexing, begin to EXHALE...while maintaining your "flex"...until the air is out of your lungs.
Did you feel how your strength began to disappear little by little as you exhaled?
Well the same thing is happening to your strength as you're trying to thrust that barbell into the air. By exhaling too soon, you're giving your muscles less stability and oxygen to peform the extra effort you're asking of them.
This means LESS STRENGTH, LESS MUSCLE MASS, and an INCREASED chance of INJURY!
On the other hand, when your breath is held you create a very RIGID torso, from hips to head, that gives your muscles something to "push" off of in order to lift heavier weights. (It's kind of like the difference between doing pushups on a cement floor versus a floor made of lime Jell-O!)
Now before I get a bunch of nasty emails saying...
"But I thought holding your breath while lifting a weight would make you PASS OUT from the increase in blood pressure!"
...let me explain the correct way to breathe for maximum strength and muscle gains WITHOUT jeapordizing your safety.
Follow these 4 simple tips and turbocharge each rep...
1. Just before you begin the concentric portion of your repetition (in the bench press for example, it would be at the bottom position when the bar is at your chest), take a slightly more than normal breath.
(Note: Taking TOO EXTREME of a deep breath COULD create TOO MUCH pressure. Your breath should feel "natural" yet deeper than normal.)
2. Begin your "pushing" movement (or "pulling" for exercises such as lat pull down or cable rows) while holding your breath tight.
3. Once you've just passed the "sticking point" of the movement (this is the "hardest" part of the movement, usually about the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the way to full contraction), breathe out slowly through your teeth. You should have exhaled fully exactly at the point of full contraction (for example, the "up" position if performing a bench press).
4. Inhale again slowly as you return to the "start" position.
This may take a bit of practice, but you should find that your body is already pre-programmed to operate this way...if you let it.
Everyone who knows me though my Optimum Anabolics Program understands how big a fan I am of "listening" to your body in order to let it tell you how to build muscle.
Well, your body knows it needs a stable core to push off of to create maximal force. Listen carefuly to it while using the above procedure and you're sure to see new gains!
