I always forget if I'm supposed to inhale when I'm picking up the weight or as I release. Can you explain this to me? And does it really make a difference?

It does make a difference. Sometimes it is more efficient, sometimes more stable. Imagine how hard it would be to do a crunch while inhaling instead of exhaling.

Exhale when your muscles contract, and inhale when they lengthen as they return to the starting position. It is understandable why this is so confusing, because our muscles move our limbs in so many planes and directions.

1. For pressing or extending motions
   (moving the weight away from your body)
   Exhale when you push and inhale when you return to the starting position. These movements include leg extensions, press machines, overhead shoulder presses, back and lateral shoulder flies and triceps presses or extensions.

   Here's the first confusing part: On leg presses or squats, you also exhale when you push, but your legs are straight to begin with. Inhale as you squat, but exhale as you stand. That's when your quadriceps and hip extensors (glutes) contract.

   All of the muscle groups involved in those exercises are called extensors. They put distance between us and the weight or floor (in the case of squats, lunges and push-ups).

2. Moving the weight toward your body
   Exhale when you pull and inhale when the muscle is lengthening. These movements include hamstring curls, rowing motions (seated or bent over), lat pull-downs, chest flies and biceps curls. The muscle groups that perform these tasks are called flexors.

Much of our confusion over when to breathe out comes from not knowing which phase (contraction or lengthening) we're in when we start an exercise.

• Because your arms are stretched out at the start on pull-downs and curls, it's easy to feel that you should exhale as you pull the bar down or curl the weight up, and then inhale as you return to the starting position.
• On presses it's more confusing because your arms are extending away from you. Your triceps extend and straighten your elbows (essential to doing a press), but your shoulder or chest muscles are contracting, so you should be exhaling.

It makes people nervous when trainers are on their case about breathing properly -- so much that it can detract from the actual exercise. When someone is having trouble getting the sequence right, I tell her just to breathe. Even breathing in reverse is much better than not breathing at all. Make sure you breathe throughout each repetition. If you're not doing that, you'll be able to tell, because you will be out of breath by the end of the set.

Created on: May 20, 1999
Reviewed on: November 30, 2000

Post your questions and comments on the Fit by Friday message board!