Breathing

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I doubt that we're risk-free either way. But I wouldn't be squatting over 400 if I weren't pressurizing my internals. Like you, I'll stay oxygenated: you saw the results of the experiments with - what was that called? - using balloons to cut off the oxygen to the muscles? It didn't do any good in the end result.
Matter of fact, I tend to suck a lot of air to oxygenate my blood before a set. I'll hope now that it possibly will alleviate aneurisms to the brain or eyes. Aneurisms are a danger for us older lifters. Funny how we never hear of strokes or any such things, but here again, it could be that there are more injuries out there than are reported.
 
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(faz @ Apr. 18 2008,10:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">i breath in, hold it, squat,and breath out at the top,thats natural to me.</div>
Faz, isn't that essentially the Valsalva manuever?
 
I would pretty much expect that some conditioning is involved here too. So, if you haven't been holding your breath during a heavy lift and then you decide to give it a shot, don't just try it with a heavy load first time. Build up gradually and allow your body time to acclimatise to the increase in pressure. Starting off doing this at the start of a typical HST cycle makes sense as the loads are fairly light.

If I'm squatting with heavier loads ~5RM I tend to release some pressure as I get near the completion of each rep. Some folks grunt to do the same thing.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">- what was that called? - using balloons to cut off the oxygen to the muscles?</div>

Blood occlusion. Occlude means to restrict or block passage. I think its mostly used in the medical science fields &amp; biology. It works for a little while and then stops, if I recall.
 
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(colby2152 @ Apr. 23 2008,3:24)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(faz @ Apr. 18 2008,10:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">i breath in, hold it, squat,and breath out at the top,thats natural to me.</div>
Faz, isn't that essentially the Valsalva manuever?</div>
dont know matey,its what is natural for me,as lol said sometimes near the top i breath out,then breath in to restart.
 
Well Faz, if you are not even capable of determining what is and what is not a Valsalva maneuver, why do you feel competent to comment on it?
 
my commrnt was on breathing while squating and because i beleive as i have already posted,i said you should breath naturaly,and as this has to be learned its not natural.

and this is what i got up when i looked up valsava

The Valsalva maneuver is performed by attempting to forcibly exhale while keeping the mouth and nose closed. It is used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the condition of the heart and is sometimes done as a treatment to correct abnormal heart rhythms or relieve chest pain.
that doesnt look like anything i do
 
I have noticed that with heavy weights the Valsalva really helps. There are diverging opinions on how safe it is but I think that if it was really unsafe we would have consistent evidence of it.
Unfortunately my problem is not how to breath, but that I start breathing erratically if I am not focusing on breathing, and if I am, I tend to lose form. Guess I'm just slow. Anyway I hope that the saying &quot;practice makes perfect&quot; holds true.
 
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(electric @ Apr. 24 2008,12:28)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I have noticed that with heavy weights the Valsalva really helps. There are diverging opinions on how safe it is but I think that if it was really unsafe we would have consistent evidence of it.
Unfortunately my problem is not how to breath, but that I start breathing erratically if I am not focusing on breathing, and if I am, I tend to lose form. Guess I'm just slow. Anyway I hope that the saying &quot;practice makes perfect&quot; holds true.</div>
How long are you taking to perform a rep? If you inhale (or take a top-up breath) prior to each rep I find it hard to see how you can have a problem with erratic breathing unless you are taking a long'ish' time to complete each rep. As each rep is all over in a few seconds surely you can learn to exhale at the end of each rep rather than in the middle somewhere. Perhaps practicing a bit of rhythmic breathing before starting a set will help you.
 
Lol, I think that the problem is that when I start concentrating on the lift I end up forgetting to exhale after the rep and end up only exhaling when I am out of breath. I guess that it is a no-brainer, I just have to practice synchronizing the breathing with the lifting.
 
Or roar like a lion at the top...
cool.gif
...it's good for scaring the gym squirrels and ticking off the fitness crowd.
 
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(quadancer @ Apr. 24 2008,6:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Or roar like a lion at the top...
cool.gif
 ...it's good for scaring the gym squirrels and ticking off the fitness crowd.</div>
Yup, and the heavier the deadlift, the heavier you get to roar...!
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(TunnelRat @ Apr. 25 2008,10:09)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(quadancer @ Apr. 24 2008,6:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Or roar like a lion at the top...
cool.gif
 ...it's good for scaring the gym squirrels and ticking off the fitness crowd.</div>
Yup, and the heavier the deadlift, the heavier you get to roar...!  </div>
Squats, of course, may be a different story. At the top of the rep, I don't have a lot of breath left to roar...
sad.gif
 
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