Breathing is essential

Whoever prescribed how we should breathe during exercise? The more I experience life the more that I learn that what works for one person may not work for another person. In my research of this topic, I have learned that some coaches advocate that it is more natural to breathe out during the eccentric phase and in during the cocentric phase. It may be natural but does it pass the real world test. Most trainees breathe out during the cocentric phase and in during the eccentric phase. Who is right?

I can tell you that I have had more success with breathing out during the cocentric phase and in during the eccentric phase. Will that work best for everyone? Of course not! Training is the art of finding out what your body adapts best to. It could be because my body has adapted to breathing this way in the 16 years I have been lifting weights. I can tell you if that is the case, but I can tell you that I improve my lifts, feel more natural, and lift with more purpose breathing this way.

I feel more comfortable breathing my way when I am lifitng big weights because I have conditioned my body to breathe this way. Trust me you want to have confidence when you have some weight on the bar. You do not want to lose your concentration by wondering when to breathe in or when to breathe out. Stick to what you know if you keep improving from week to week. When the progress stops then you should be looking to make changes.

There are even some instances when holding your breath is beneficial. It helps to your hold your breath in the acceleration phase of a short sprint. If you master it, it will knock off some time off your ten yard sprints. I cannot give you the science behind this but I can give you results. It took my 10 yard dash from 1.68 to 1.47. This method can also help you when doing a 225 rep bench test in the first 10 or so reps. I think it causes the body to panic which triggers the brain to produce more force. I have found the quicker you can execute the first 10 reps in this test the less likely lactic acid will catch up with you and muscle fatigue. Don't knock these techniques before you try them. If it works for you keep doing it.