Do you know about the Italian physician and anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666 - 1723)? Probably not, and that’s O.K., but every time you lift, you perform a maneuver - the Valsalva maneuver - that is named after him. To Valsalva is to hold your breath against a closed glottis, or perhaps more simply, to take a big breath and “bear down.”
You Valsalva instinctively when you are trying to push a stalled or stuck car, you Valsalva when you’re constipated and trying to poop, and fighter pilots Valsalva as part of their Anti-G Straining Maneuvers (AGSMs), which are performed to avoid passing out when subjected to high G-forces in the cockpit.
Now, let’s chat about the Valsalva maneuver and the deadlift.
You’ve been coached on the setup for the deadlift, so you’ve got the 5 steps down pat:
Stance - take a relatively narrow stance with your shins about 1” from the bar.
Grip - take a narrow grip on the bar (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).
Shins - bend your knees to bring your shins into contact with the bar (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).
Chest - squeeze your chest up to set your back in rigid extension (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).
Pull - drag the bar up your legs.
