Don't Stress About Your Breathing

Q Here is one that has been confusing me for some time: breathing during weight/strength training. At times it feels very natural to breathe out as I, for instance, go to lift a barbell during upright rows and breathe in as I lower the barbell. That is, breathe out as weight is lifted. But other times, it feels just as natural to breathe in as I lift the barbell. I am practically breathless trying to make sense of it.

-- Anonymous

AYour problem isn't so much your breathing as your brain. By which I mean, sucking in and expelling oxygen isn't tricky. But thinking about it is.

That's why Lynda Espada, the fitness director at Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center, tells her clients not to stress about it. The rule is that you're supposed to be exhaling on exertion and inhaling on release. Reversing these two -- or even worse, holding your breath -- can raise your blood pressure and make you dizzy. But when she tells people to focus on their breath, their form generally turns atrocious.

She's gotten the best results by encouraging air flow in tricky ways: "I tell them to relax their mouths. If I see some teeth, I know they're breathing." Another good one is just to keep them engaged in chitchat. When they have air coming in and out, but aren't thinking about it, they start breathing correctly while maintaining form.

No lifting partner to keep you talking during your strength training sessions? Try softly singing along to the music playing in the gym. You may look a little silly, but you'll be breathing right on cue.

I have a naturally small frame and have been trying for about two months to increase the size of my butt, but there hasn't been any change. My measurement is exactly the same as when I started. I have been drinking protein supplements (usually within an hour of working out) and doing squats with progressively heavier weights. I'm currently using 40 pounds and am moving up to 45. Are there any other exercises that I can do to see any gains? Thanks!

-- Tiffani