Valsalva Maneuver

How Does the Valsalva Maneuver Work?

During the Valsalva maneuver, you take a breath and attempt to exhale against a closed airway while keeping your abdominal muscles engaged. This increases the pressure inside your chest and abdomen, making your torso more rigid and helping you maintain a stable position when lifting heavy weights.

The idea isn't to hold your breath for as long as possible, but to maintain this pressure during the demanding part of a repetition.

When Should You Use the Valsalva Maneuver?

The Valsalva maneuver is particularly useful during heavy compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts and bench presses. It can also help with overhead presses and other movements where maintaining a stable torso is important.

You might even use a similar technique without thinking about it in everyday life. For example, when lifting a particularly heavy box off the ground or helping someone move furniture, your body may naturally respond by briefly holding your breath and bracing your abdominal muscles.

How to Perform the Valsalva Maneuver

Here's how you can use the technique during strength training:

• Prepare: Before starting the repetition, take a breath and brace your abdominal muscles, almost as if someone were about to punch you in the stomach.

• Build Pressure: Briefly close your airway and maintain tension in your abdomen.

• Perform the Lift: Keep your torso stable and maintain the pressure during the demanding part of the movement.

• Breathe Again: Once you've completed the repetition and reached a stable position, exhale and take another breath before continuing.

You can repeat this process for each heavy repetition, rather than trying to hold your breath throughout an entire set.

How Should You Breathe During Other Exercises?

For exercises such as bicep curls, lateral raises or tricep extensions, there's usually no reason to deliberately hold your breath.

A simple approach is to exhale during the lifting phase and inhale while lowering the weight. For example, during a bicep curl, you breathe out as you bring the weight up and breathe in as you lower it again.

This also works for many other exercises performed with moderate weights, where additional pressure from the Valsalva maneuver isn't particularly useful.

Possible Risks and Side Effects

The Valsalva maneuver can temporarily increase blood pressure, and prolonged straining may occasionally cause dizziness. However, brief and controlled use is a common part of heavy strength training.

If you have high blood pressure or an existing cardiovascular condition, it's worth discussing the use of deliberate breath-holding during heavy exercise with your doctor.

Closing Words

Breathing is easy to overlook when you're concentrating on lifting weights, but especially during heavy exercises, proper bracing can make a noticeable difference.

Update Status:
Originally created post: 09/2017
Last updated: 10/2026