If the Bar is Moving, You Shouldn't Be Doing This
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We humans like to complicate things. Complication is cool. Complication is interesting. Complication is sexy.
Complication is also - very often - stupid.
Complicated breathing when lifting is such a case. Old 80s and 90s fitness magazines would have you “inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up,” and although this silly nonsense is far less prevalent than it used to be, this advice is still all too common (YouTube comments provide solid evidence of this).
Your Body Knows the Truth
Your body already knows this type of breathing is stupid. You don’t breathe this way when performing any short-term, hard physical endeavor.
Trying to push a stuck car? You hold your breath.
Constipated? You hold your breath.
You hold your breath because breath is support and stability, and these things are important when trying to do something physically hard.
When lifting weights, take a similar approach and remember this rule . . .
If the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.
Keep It Simple
When lifting, simply take a breath before the rep starts, hold it by tightly contracting every muscle in your trunk (don’t say “core”), perform the rep while holding your breath and tightly contracted muscles, then release your breath after you return to the starting position.
In practice, this is what it looks like for a few lifts:
Squat
Breathe in at the top, hold your breath while squatting down and back up again, then release your breath.
Bench Press
Breathe in at the top, hold your breath while lowering the barbell to your chest and pressing it back up again, then release your breath.
Press
Breathe in at the bottom (when the bar is resting below chin height), press the bar to lockout, lower the bar back to the starting position, then release your breath.
Deadlift
Breathe in at the bottom (when the weight is on the floor), drag the bar up your legs to lockout, set the bar down again, then release your breath.
(Every time you release your breath at the top of your deadlift, a small, cute puppy dies. Knock that garbage off.)
Keep it simple. Inhale, perform the rep, then exhale.
If the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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