Quote: (04-18-2012 10:28 PM)HiFlo Wrote:
Exhale forcefully on the concentric (when you push, lift, heave), inhale on the eccentric (when you put the weight back down).
This is incorrect. Taking a big, deep breath and holding it throughout the lift increases the intra-thoracic pressure and subsequently the intra-abdominal pressure. This pressure acts like a pneumatic brace against the anterior portion of the spine while the erectors of the back brace it from the posterior. This increases the support of the spine, and more support means more strength. This is related to why it is good to wear a belt when training.
The belt’s purpose is to constrict the abdominals to give them something to contract against. This contraction of the abdominals with an appropriately tightened belt is like trying to increase the volume in a non-expansible container — it increases the pressure even more. Not only is it helping to increase the intra-abdominal and thoracic pressure more than without the belt, but the abdominals also contract harder into the belt to do so. More pressure is more support which means more strength to do the task at hand.
http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2009/12/belt-me-up-scotty/