Breathing Under Load, step by step
The Valsalva manoeuvre and its safer alternatives.
- Breathe in before the repInto the belly, not the upper chest.
- Brace the trunkTighten as if about to be punched. This stiffens the spine.
- Hold briefly through the hard partOne rep only. This raises abdominal pressure and supports the spine.
- Exhale on the way upOr immediately after the sticking point.
- Reset between repsNew breath, new brace. Do not hold across several reps.
Caution
- Raises blood pressure sharply during the hold
- Not advised with uncontrolled hypertension or some heart conditions
- Ask a clinician if either applies
Educational reference. For light loads, simply exhale on effort and skip the breath hold entirely.
Questions about the Breathing Under Load poster
- What’s on the Breathing Under Load poster?
- 5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The Valsalva manoeuvre and its safer alternatives. Breathe in before the rep — Into the belly, not the upper chest.; Brace the trunk — Tighten as if about to be punched. This stiffens the spine.; Hold briefly through the hard part — One rep only. This raises abdominal pressure and…; Exhale on the way up — Or immediately after the sticking point.; Reset between reps — New breath, new brace. Do not hold across several reps.. Educational reference. For light loads, simply exhale on effort and skip the breath hold entirely.
- Who is the Breathing Under Load poster for?
- Breathing Under Load belongs to the Body & health section rather than to a school year, because health is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning movement can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Breathing Under Load poster?
- Brace before the effort, exhale through it. Never hold a maximal breath for multiple reps. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Breathing Under Load belongs on the wall where that health work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Breathing Under Load?
- Common Injuries, The Core and The Hip Hinge sit alongside Breathing Under Load in the Body & health section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Common InjuriesThe CoreThe Hip Hinge
- Is the Breathing Under Load poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Breathing Under Load downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Body & health section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Breathing Under Load poster print at?
- Breathing Under Load is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Breathing Under Load loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Breathing Under Load on the same wall.
Browse every Body & health poster, or start from the full catalogue.