Breathing correctly during resistance exercise is simple:
- take deep breaths, expanding your lower abdomen
- exhale when you lift the weight or your own body (contract your muscles)
- inhale when you lower the weight or your body (elongate your muscles)
- breathe to full capacity
- save the conversation for after the workout
More detailed explanation:
The best general breathing recommendation is to exhale through so called “sticking point” during the concentric phase ( when pushing or pulling the weight) and inhale during the eccentric phase (when you are releasing the weight back to the starting position).
Sticking point is the most difficult part of exercise – you should exhale. Than inhale during the easier part of the exercise.
Typically, the sticking point occurs soon after the transition from when you are releasing the weight back to the starting position to the period when you are pushing or pulling the weight.
For example, since the sticking point of the shoulder press exercise is reached when the machine handles are about halfway up, you should exhale through this portion of the movement. As the bar or handles are lowered back down to the starting position, you should inhale. These breathing strategy applies to nearly all resistance training exercises (weight lifting exercises).
Example:
Exhale, while lifting dumbbells, in these case biceps curling dumbbells up – you are exhaling while lifting dumbbells up:
Inhale, while lowering dumbbells, in these case biceps curling dumbbells down – you are inhaling while lowering dumbbells down:
Example:
When doing push ups, you are lifting your own body weight. Apply the same principle: Going down, lowering your body, you are inhaling:
Going up, lifting your body, you are exhaling: 