Breathing on bench

[Lord Burly]

I'm working hard to eliminate some bad habits I acquired before discovering your books. I have tried to fix my breathing patterns, among other things, and have grown comfortable with the Valsalva maneuver on most of the lifts.

I still have one question about breathing during the bench press. I understand that a huge breath precedes the first rep. Should this breath be taken just before I unrack the weight, or should I take it once the bar has reached the correct position over my chest?

[Mark Rippetoe]

That depends on whether you have a spotter giving you a hand-off or not. If you do, take the bar from the spotter, set the chest up, take the breath, and then start the rep. If you have to take it out of the rack yourself, you'll need to do it on a breath before you move the bar, then you can decide whether to just hold the breath during a short set-up or take another one before the rep starts. If it doesn't take long to set the chest, I'd just use the same breath as the take-out.