Push-ups: How to breathe?

[Grog]

Am I the only one with this problem?

I have no problem exhaling but inhaling is an issue. Not a big deal when I was doing the short segments (3 to 8 push ups) but now that I'm doing more than 10 at a time it's a bit of a problem. I can exhale all right, every time I go up, but as I go up I am busy thinking about my core and if I do breathe in it's pretty shallow, so I'm out of breath by the time I'm done.

Suggestions? I will need to master push-up breathing if I am to start doing more than 20 at a time in the next few weeks!!!!

[NoNo]

Good question! I find that I start doing pups and then have to go "Breathe! BREATHE!!" because I forget and by that point it's too late. Suggestions would be most appreciated.

[SadieKate]

grog, are you breathing in as you push upward? Just making sure I'm interpreting your post correctly.

I have no idea if I'm doing it right but I do a forceful exhale through my mouth as I push up. This does two things for me: 1) I must breathe or die and 2) it seems to help me belly breathe mo' bettah. Oh yeah, this also help me maintain a rhythm which just helps the overall effort.

[Grog]

So what I'm DOING for sure is EXHALING when I push UP.

Thus I deduct that I should be INHALING as I go DOWN but somehow that doesn't seem to register in my head and body.

I guess thinking about belly breathing on the way down seems like a good idea. But then I'll need to get someone to count for me!!!

Suggestions welcome.

[TsPoet]

In weight lifting, they teach you to exhale on the force - so exhale up. You can inhale before you go down, if you'd like.
You can eventually teach yourself to breath rhythmically.
I don't know what the PUPs site says (torn rotator cuff means I'm not part of the fun), but with weightlifting, you should go fastish against the weight and slow to return - so I'd power my way up and control my way down on a push up. If you get all of that with the breathing, it becomes second nature.
I think it's why so many weightlifters grunt so much

[SadieKate]

I guess thinking about belly breathing on the way down seems like a good idea. But then I'll need to get someone to count for me!!!

Yeah, you can't count outloud and breathe properly. The forceful part of the exhale triggers the inhale . . . but you can't be doing no talkin'.

[ny biker]

I'm not in this challenge, and the most pushups I ever do in one set is 15, but I've been doing weight training for a long time. My advice is to just keep practicing until proper breathing becomes second nature, even if that means you keep to a low number of pushups a little while longer while you're getting the technique down.

Good luck!