Breathing patterns during jerk

Someone asked a question on IGS about breathing during jerks, and I remembered seeing an article on Rostov Site http://www.fgsrostov.aaanet.ru/Tihonov_Mishin.doc *, written by reputable authorities: one is S Mishin, the coach of the National Russian teams at the moment of writing, another, V Tikhonov, PhD, was already featured on this blog. Below is its short translated version.

We observed that many gireviks even at the level of MS strain in overhead fixation phase. This strain complicated the technique and delays the development of physical qualities of gireviks. Our observations show that after such strain the athlete needs 6 – 8 breathing cycles in rack position order to be ready for the next repetition.

Incorrect breathing rhythm leads to excessive movements of arms, legs and trunk and consequently the loss of the economy of movement and inferior results. Straining also leads to the dysfunction of the cardiovascular system as it causes congestion in the inferior vena cava and reduction of the pulling forces created by the negative pressure in the chest cavity. The goal of the current work was to determine the optimal proportion of types of breathing – thoracic or diaphragmatic – that can lead to elimination of straining. It was especially interesting to observe the coordination of breathing with specific movements of the jerk.

From 2005 the authors videotaped and observed the athletes of various levels and ages. They also questioned the coaches, athletes and competition judges in regards to breathing techniques.

Most gireviks use thoracic (chest) breathing during jerk. Diaphragmatic breathing in rack position was observed in 24 – 34% of athletes (more often in youngsters). During fixation it was observed in 8 – 15% of athletes. The rate of breathing is the function of rate of lifting. In gireviks ranked level one and KMS we observed 6–8 breathing cycles while in rack between reps, already after 3 minutes of competition. Athletes of high qualification do 1–3 breathing cycles. During the actual jerk the number of breaths varies between 1.5 (inhale-exhale-inhale) to 3.5 (4 expirations and 3 inspirations), depending on the variant of breathing.

There are many variants of breathing, but they can generally be divided into four main groups.

First.
First dip – exhalation
Movement to fixation – inhalation
Fixation – breath holding (strain)
Descent and amortization – sharp exhalation
Total - 1.5 breathing cycles.

Second.
First dip – exhalation
Movement to fixation – inhalation
Fixation – exhalation
Descent – inhalation
Amortization – exhalation
Total – 2.5 cycles

Third.
First dip – exhalation
Pushing the bells up – inhalation
Second dip – exhalation
Getting up after the second dip – inhalation
Fixation – exhalation
Descent – inhalation
Amortization – exhalation
Total – 3.5 cycles

Fourth.
First dip – exhalation
Pushing the bells up – inhalation
Movement to fixation - exhalation
Fixation – inhalation - exhalation
Descent – inhalation
Amortization – exhalation
Total – 3.5 cycles

The first variant of breathing is observed in athletes of low qualifications. Second one – in highly qualified athletes. Third variant is common in athletes in whom the duration of the second dip and getting up after the second dip is longer than in others (0.56 to 0.64 seconds). The fourth version is common for athletes with the longest fixation phase (0.6 to 1.5 seconds); in other words, in those who rest overhead.

In the literature breathing techniques are described in detail. However, there are no recommendations regarding diaphragmatic or thoracic types. Or, the literature answers the question “when to breathe” but not “what to breathe with” or “how” (deeply, superficially, fast or slow).

In rack position, if the elbows rest on the abdominal muscles and bells are resting on the chest, the breathing will be difficult. In beginners it is common to observe the bells moving up and down with respiration. This, of course, reduces the economy of movement and fatigues breathing muscles of the chest. However, if the elbows are resting on the iliac crests (or the belt), respiration becomes easier, and it is possible to use either diaphragmatic or thoracic breathing. During the first dip the abdominal and thoracic cavities are compressed and girevik naturally exhales. While pushing the bells up the compression is released and the athlete inhales.

According to the rules, fixation is visible stopping of the bells in fully extended arms. For athletes of low qualifications it is difficult to fulfill this requirement. As they lack skill, they hold their breath from fixation to the moment of lowering the bells to the chest. During breath holding on inhalation during fixation overhead the bells do not stop moving horizontally. During fixation overhead the position of the arms and scapulas, and the degree of strain of the muscles required for this fixation causes difficulty and even inability to use diaphragmatic breathing. However, the diaphragmatic breathing is not limited; rather the problem lies in the coordination of breathing and relaxation of the abdominal muscles not participating in overhead fixation.

The authors suggest that using diaphragmatic breathing reflects more rational and economic technique of the jerk. They make an example of D Benidze, who was the winner in 2007 Russia Cup with 80 jerks. Analyzing the video you could see that during rack and overhead fixation he was doing two inhalations-exhalations using diaphragmatic breathing. Comparing this with the video of him done in 2005 you can see that he was using the first, most inefficient variant of breathing described above. His result then was 13 jerks. The advantages of diaphragmatic breathing are obvious from the fact that leading gireviks of Russia were using this type of breathing long before the new rules of 2005 (which emphasize stricter overhead fixation).

The conclusions of the article:

Diaphragmatic breathing in rack and overhead fixation is more common in athletes of high qualification.

First variant of breathing described above is typical for athletes of lower qualifications; second variant is typical for masters of sports; variants three and four are used by masters of high level. There are no special exercises and methods used for teaching various ways of breathing in GS.

There is some data that diaphragmatic breathing is superior in girevoy sport (compared to thoracic) and improves aerobic component during competition lifts.

End of article. Wow. It is amazing how many details come up when someone studies something in detail. For me it is difficult to make definite conclusions from this work. Are masters better because they use specific way of breathing? Or are they breathing this way because they are strong and have great endurance? At the very least the breathing pattern reflects the level of skill in GS. It also makes sense to concentrate on the abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing during jerks as it just makes sense from what these guys are saying. It also makes sense to take and extra breath in fixation phase as this will emphasize and may improve it. All this comes back to the correct technique.

*ОСОБЕННОСТИ ДЫХАНИЯ В УПРАЖНЕНИИ ГИРЕВОГО СПОРТА ТОЛЧОК ДВУХ ГИРЬ ОТ ГРУДИ. С.Н. Мишин, Заслуженный мастер спорта России, Главный тренер сборных команд России, г. Калуга. В.Ф. Тихонов, к.п.н., доцент кафедры физического воспитания и спорта Чувашского госуниверситета им. И.Н. Ульянова, г. Чебоксары