Why do we hold our breaths when we push or pull on heavy objects?
In: 65
I don’t think anyone did a real ELI5 so I’ll try.
Imagine a can of coke, when it’s closed it is a very stable structure, you can put some heavy things on top of it and it won’t break. But if you open it and empty it then the story changes.
Your torso works basically the same way. On the back there is the spine and back muscles. On the front and sides there are stomach muscles and ribs. On the bottom there is the pelvic floor muscles. And on the top there is the diaphragm muscle. (The one tied to our breathing)
To lift something heavy and to not round our back (rounding makes muscles less effective and can also lead to injury) we need to have a rigid torso, so all 4 sided need to be ‘tensed up’. However if you just do that then what you end up with is an empty can with rigid walls – quite stable but nowhere near as stable as a full and shut can of coke.
So add this extra rigidity and to be able to lift more weight and to produce more force in general the human body does the hold the breath manoeuvre. You get a breath in (fill up the can), close your throat and pucker your anus (close the can) and then proceed to lift heavy things allowing the force to travel from the ground and into the heavy object through your rigid body.
Lifters (like Olympic lifters or powerlifters or regular gym goers) use this technique all the time. Its called bracing or the valsalva manoeuvre. It basically gives you the ability to lift much heavier things much safer. It’s like a special “lifting” mode your body can go into for a few seconds.
Latest Answers