Valsalva Maneuver

[hithebeach]

Hi Coach,


In your book you recommend using taking a big breath to the lunges and holding it through the rep, but a lot of other coaches think its better to take a big breath to your belly. do you think each method has its own advantages or its more of an individual thing?
because breathing to the lunges makes my bench, press and power clean go more easily but breathing to my belly gives me stronger reps in the deadlift and squat.



Thanks,
Dave

[Mark Rippetoe]

I think you mean "lungs", the place where all of your air always goes. You do understand that air cannot go into your "belly", i.e. stomach, right?

[gman]

I think he may be referring either to the valsalva maneuver or diaphragmatic breathing.

[hithebeach]

well you can breath to make your diaphragm bigger and you can breath to make your chest bigger

[Homb]

I can get air into my "belly" by swallowing it (or by shotgunning a beer, thought that would technically be CO2 and not "air".) I assume that the preferred protocol for barbell training is air loading of the lungs and not the belly. Anyone in doubt should experiment by drinking beer quickly until they feel full. Jump around a bit. Then do a heavy squat. Make sure you take a vid.

[LudwigVan]

I think this is an interesting question, and it's one I've given some thought to, although hithebeach has perhaps not explained it well. Breath always goes into the lungs, but there is more than one way to take a breath. Most untrained adults told to take a big breath will do so by lifting the upper chest. Singers are trained to engage the diaphragm when they breathe such that the breath expands the abdomen and not the chest. This wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragmatic_breathing) is a bit silly and yoga-centric, but the basic idea is there, as well as some links. I'd be interested to hear some opinions on this.

[George Noble]

I'm guessing you're talking about the distinction between breathing in with only your diaphragm (ie. not letting your chest/shoulders rise) as opposed to breathing in normally. I have found this undesirable for a few reasons:
1. I can't get as much air in. More air = more stability.
2. it feels unnatural. This means I have to think about doing it, and thinking about things is the last thing I need to be doing for a heavy squat or deadlift.

But if you've found differently, maybe it's an individual thing.

[Jon Nosferatu]

Hi Coach,


In your book you recommend using taking a big breath to the lunges and holding it through the rep, but a lot of other coaches think its better to take a big breath to your belly. do you think each method has its own advantages or its more of an individual thing?
because breathing to the lunges makes my bench, press and power clean go more easily but breathing to my belly gives me stronger reps in the deadlift and squat.



Thanks,
Dave

Taking a breath "into your belly" and pushing it out helps to exploit the benefits of a belt. However, you can get a similar effect with a modified Valsalva maneuver - take as large a breath as possible "into the belly" and then try to pull your navel towards your spine. You won't actually 'suck in your gut' because of the air, and the stability/pressure it provides is huge.

[kfreeman]

More to the point if air is getting into your stomach when you breath you have serious anatomy problems and need a medic... NOW.

I bet you're talking about something to do with breathing with the thoracic diaphragm... A lot of martial artists talk about "breathing with the belly." It's not really breathing with the belly.

I bet coach means "take a big breath of air and hold it through the rep" just like he says.

If you don't get this after a little research you should try swallowing air like you would food and holding it durring a rep... if you want to puke or hurt yourself.

[vxmorpheusxv]

Taking a breath "into your belly" and pushing it out helps to exploit the benefits of a belt. However, you can get a similar effect with a modified Valsalva maneuver - take as large a breath as possible "into the belly" and then try to pull your navel towards your spine. You won't actually 'suck in your gut' because of the air, and the stability/pressure it provides is huge.

I've always found when I try to pull my navel in like that that I have a much less stable base. Instead I take as deep a breathe as I can and tighten everything in general, without pushing in or out. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, though.

[Marcus Eligius]

This is all really cute. No really. Even if the OP's original way of phrasing the question is poor, it obviously doesn't mean swallowing air to the stomach. I mean how goddamn dumb are you if you seriously thought that is what was implied. After reading through it a single time, it is clear he meant breathing and raising the chest versus breathing and pushing out your abdomen. Those of you that understood, I applaud you.

[juicysweet]

After reading through it a single time, it is clear he meant breathing and raising the chest versus breathing and pushing out your abdomen.

Who knows what he meant. Normal inhalation does not isolate the diaphragm from the rest of the muscles involved in inspiration or the other way around. And deliberately taking a bigger than normal resting breath-- which you most certainly need to do to stabilize effectively under a load-- requires both.

[JEP]

I asked Rip this question at the cert and got the same logical answer. The air all goes to the place.

I think the difference is more in how you flex your abs. Instead of flexing like you want to show Legs your six pack, you need to push your gut out like you have a beer belly.

Stand up straight and have someone try to make you bend forward at the hip while flexing your abs both ways and compare. It should be a lot harder to make you bend forward when you're shoving your gut out. Also, it's a bit more comfortable when you're setting up to pull a clean or a snatch. You can shove your gut in between your knees and get closer to the bar.

Probably didn't pick all the right words to explain that, but I tried. I learned that from my OL coach, BTW, so you're getting it second hand...