day 105: grunts

Confession: I’m a weight room grunter.

Granted, I don’t grunt loud enough to incite stares from my fellow gym-goers, but those last couple reps are usually tough enough make me go “UGH”.

People seem to be at odds about whether or not grunting has a place in proper gym etiquette. I always feel embarrassed for the guy that groans at the top of his lungs from the very first rep as people around him roll their eyes. He’s clearly just trying to get attention and it’s distracting. That said, I’ve never been bothered by people grunting in order to push themselves harder. Some might say if you’re not grunting then you’re not lifting heavy enough!

I think that grunting helps me on two levels.

It’s psychological. The grunt is really empowering. It stimulates me to push myself harder and it makes me feel stronger. While I grunt I’m usually repeating “Come on, come on, come on” to myself in my head for extra motivation. Am I just as strong without the grunt? I think so. Does it help? I know so.

It’s also physical. How often do you catch yourself holding your breath while trying to lift a heavy weight? It’s a natural reaction. The problem with it is that you actually lose strength because your blood pressure increases and prevents proper blood flow to the muscles and back to the heart. Grunting is just another way of exhaling.

If you find that you hold your breath while lifting weights and don’t want to be the grunter at your gym then here are some proper breathing techniques:

Exhale when lifting (ie. contracting your muscles)
Inhale when lowering (ie.extending the muscles)

Simple as that. It’s remembering to breathe that’s the tough part!

Are you a grunter?