How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights

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How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights? You breathe non-stop everyday so it seems like it should be a no-brainer that breathing would come natural when you workout.

The reality is that you may not be breathing properly and getting all you can from the exercises you perform.

Why Does it Matter How I Breathe?

How you breathe affects the rest of your body - your heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, and more. If you have a tendency to breathe shallow, your body is simply not getting the necessary oxygen to function at its best.

When you exercise, breathing becomes an important part of every movement. Mastering correct technique of How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights will provide your body with enough oxygen to perform properly.

Your breathing also helps you maintain the mental focus it takes to maximize results. All of this adds up to increased power and a stronger body.

Your Breathing Muscles Work To Make You Strong

When you breathe, your diaphragm, abs, back muscles, and intercostals (muscles between the ribs) are all involved and working together.

Your diaphragm is the dome-shaped muscular wall between your chest and abdominals. As you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and moves downward, drawing in fresh air and opening your ribcage.

As you exhale your diaphragm relaxes, rises and lets out the used air. Your breathing muscles stretch when you inhale and contract as you exhale.

When you breathe correctly during an exercise you engage the muscles that stabilize your midsection. When you stabilize your midsection you emphasize proper form and develop a stronger core.

Think About How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights

As you inhale, consciously think about where your breath is going. Expand into your ribs, back, belly, chest, and lungs.

As you exhale pull your belly button in and feel your rib cage lower while you maintain a posture tall. This breath awareness engages your core and creates the power for lifting weights.

Just How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights?

When you perform a weight training exercise there are two phases involved with the movement. There is the challenging part of an exercise where you push or pull the weight to move it followed by the return phase where you bring the weight back to the starting point.

There are also two parts to your breathing- inhale and exhale. What you want to do is combine movement and breath.

Exhale as you push/pull the weight. Inhale and return the weight to the starting position.

An example of How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights…

The Barbell Bench Press

Lie face up on the weight bench, barbell in your hands with your arms straight. Take a breath in to prepare and exhale to set your midsection. Inhale as you lower the bar towards your chest.

Exhale as you push the bar back up. The breath is important for engaging the core muscles to keep your back from arching off the bench and to give you the power to push.

To break it down even more… this is an exercise where you push the weight. Set yourself up. Exhale as you push, inhale as you return the weight.

There are a few other ways to remember How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights.

-Inhale when gravity is helping to lower the weight, exhale as you lift against gravity.

-Inhale to prepare, exhale to exert.

-Always Exhale on Exertion- breathe out on the hardest part of the exercise.

The most important factor is that you are breathing.

Now that you know How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights its time to practice what you have learned during your next workout.

It may be challenging at first to control your breathing when you exercise. Be patient, focus, and the more you practice the more natural it will feel.

Ask your personal trainer to help you master this very important technique. They will be able to monitor how you are breathing and remind you exactly when to inhale and exhale.

Beyond the Weight Room…

Now that you have mastered How Do You Breathe When You Are Lifting Weights, try to become aware of how you breathe during other activities. Take the time to learn how to breathe when you are doing cardio, pilates, yoga, etc…

You will find that being more conscious of your breathing during exercise positively affects other areas in your life such as how you respond to stress and anxiety. Learn how to appreciate what breathing does for you. Inhale. Exhale. Enjoy.

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