I was reading up on a weight lifting site for more exercises I could do with my free weights, when I came across mentioning of the Valsalva manuever.

I googled it, but came up with mixed responses. It seems to me that it is pushing against a weight with your breathe held. I always thought it was when lifters made really heavy exhales when in a set through their teeth. Almost as if someone were trying to make sounds like a car's hydralics, at least thats what it sounds like.

Can someone clear this up for me?

Thanks

The Valsalva maneuver is used with patients who have suspected heart abnormalities, often in conjunction with echocardiography. The maneuver is based on the fact that when a patient forcibly exhales against a closed nose and mouth while bearing down, as if having a bowel movement, specific changes occur in blood pressure and the rate and volume of blood returning to the heart.

Comparing the changes in a diseased heart to those expected in a normal heart gives clues to the type and location of heart damage. In addition, when a doctor listens to the chest with a stethoscope during the Valsalva maneuver, characteristic heart sounds are heard. Variations in these sounds can indicate the type of abnormality present in the heart.

The Valsalva maneuver also corrects some rapid heartbeats originating in the atria. When the maneuver is done correctly, blood pressure rises. This forces the heart to respond by correcting its rhythm and beating more slowly. On rare occasions, the Valsalva maneuver can be used to diminish chest pain in patients with mild coronary disease.

I got that, but there was a reference to doing it while lifting weights, which is what interested me. What you posted was simply C&P from a website.

I was at the physio the other day, getting a few back problems checked out and I asked her to go over my squat technique with me.
As I was demonstrating, out of habit I would hold my breath then squat. The so called Valsalva maneuver.
Now the physio told me this is an out-date '80's way to lift and I should be breathing the whole way through the lift, not just in between reps.

I've had a look around the internet trying to find studies for or against this. All I can find is some which aren't credible at all. The ones for it seem a bit washy and the ones against talk about bench pressing like they are designed for the average "joe fitness". Not really what I'm after.

Does anyone know of a proper research paper into the Valsalva maneuver which studies heavy weight lifters? Like olympic lifters perhaps.

Also, do you hold your breath or do you breathe while lifting? I presume the large majority of people on here would hold their breath.

Invitation1 said:

Also, do you hold your breath or do you breathe while lifting? I presume the large majority of people on here would hold their breath.

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I don't hold my breath. I breathe out and empty my lungs whenever I'm doing a stressful exercise that puts pressure on the organs. Deadlifts, squats, rows... etc.

Otherwise it builds up too much pressure.


Hold your breath and do a heavy squat. You'll find out what I mean.

From Iron Addict (himself):

"From a performance point of view, just holding your breath works best for a LOT of people. From a health standpoint, breathing will keep blood pressure much lower. You pick your risk to benefit ratio."

the guys you hear hissing like a very flat tire have picked something in between, aiming for the best of both worlds.

I'm no expert about blood pressure but whats wrong with raising blood pressure for a few seconds ?? won't it stabilize after your set ??


Unless your grossly obese, out of shape and on the verge of having a heart attack from high blood pressure I don't think you would be lifting the amount of weight that requires structural support from holding your breath.

Invitation1 said:

I was at the physio the other day, getting a few back problems checked out and I asked her to go over my squat technique with me.
As I was demonstrating, out of habit I would hold my breath then squat. The so called Valsalva maneuver.
Now the physio told me this is an out-date '80's way to lift and I should be breathing the whole way through the lift, not just in between reps.

Click to expand...

Enjoy the extra stress on your spine for a lack of intra-abdominal pressure.

Find me numbers of the number of people dying and passing out while squatting and deadlifting because most people who know what they are doing are either holding their breath in their gut or are letting only small amounts of air out.

I noticed I was doing this today on incline bench press doing a set of 10.
Big breath, unrack
2 reps. Pause at top. Let out a little air, take a little back in, another 2 reps.
Repeat to 10 reps.

Letting out all that air on a bench set is going to cause you to lose tightness and steal strength and stability.

It's not going to matter so much if you're doing curls or db rows, but then again why do you need so much breathing out mid rep when one rep only takes like 1-3 seconds?

How can this be wrong? You do it NATURALLY. If you go to push something heavy across the room, out of human nature, you take a breath, hold it, and brace your abs while you push. You don't exhale quickly if at all. If anything you'd push it a little ways. Stop, take another breath, and do it again. Exactly like doing a set.

Alle_Gory said:

Otherwise it builds up too much pressure.


Hold your breath and do a heavy squat. You'll find out what I mean.

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Define "too much" pressure or are you just making up something again?

Are people bursting kidneys and stuff at an alarming rate i don't know about?

mrRuckus said:

Define "too much" pressure or are you just making up something again?

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When you feel like you're going to pop a blood vessel, that's too much pressure.

But that's just me...

I don't know how intense your workouts are.

Are people bursting kidneys and stuff at an alarming rate i don't know about?

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Depends on the movement and on the lung capacity. Squats for example, not a good idea. You need to breathe.

The Valsalva maneuver or Valsalva manoeuvre is performed by forcible exhalation against a closed airway. Variations of the maneuver can be used either in medical examination as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart, or to "clear" the ears and sinuses (that is, to equalize pressure between them) when ambient pressure changes, as in diving or aviation.
The technique is named after Antonio Maria Valsalva,[1] the 17th Century physician and anatomist from Bologna, whose principal scientific interest was the human ear. He described the Eustachian tube and the maneuver to test its patency (openness). He also described the use of this maneuver to expel pus from the middle ear.
A modified version is done by expiring against a closed glottis. This will elicit the cardiovascular responses described below but will not force air into the Eustachian tubes.

us marriage said:

The Valsalva maneuver or Valsalva manoeuvre is performed by forcible exhalation against a closed airway. Variations of the maneuver can be used either in medical examination as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart, or to "clear" the ears and sinuses (that is, to equalize pressure between them) when ambient pressure changes, as in diving or aviation.
The technique is named after Antonio Maria Valsalva,[1] the 17th Century physician and anatomist from Bologna, whose principal scientific interest was the human ear. He described the Eustachian tube and the maneuver to test its patency (openness). He also described the use of this maneuver to expel pus from the middle ear.
A modified version is done by expiring against a closed glottis. This will elicit the cardiovascular responses described below but will not force air into the Eustachian tubes.

Click to expand...

Or you could just go to the wiki page that's from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver