Bench press and breathing

[jonnyb60]

First of all thank you for all you do, including addressing breathing in your books. This question might be considered "splitting hairs", but I am curious what your opinion is. You address holding your breath (if possible) to keep good form through a set of bench presses. When I am completing 5x5 and when that last rep arrives I am exhausted. I cannot hold my breath through this set but I am able to breathe at the locked out position (and keep good form). Is it worth it to hold the locked out position for, lets say, 5 seconds to breathe a couple of times, or should I just push out 5 reps as quickly as possible while keeping good form? Like I said, this might be simply a matter of opinion, but I am curious what you think. Once again, thank you for the books and this forum!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Breathe any way you need to during lockout at the top. Just don't breathe on the way down or up.