Valsalva maneuver: def;

A maneuver in which a person tries to exhale forcibly with a closed glottis (the windpipe) so that no air exits through the mouth or nose as, for example, in strenuous coughing, straining during a bowel movement, or lifting a heavy weight. The Valsalva maneuver impedes the return of venous blood to the heart. *

The Mick Valsalva Story

Many years ago, in a non-descript gym in a borough of Brooklyn, New York, a power lifter named Mick Valsava tried to lift the heaviest weight he had ever attempted..  As he went deep into his repetition, (glancing all the while at a pretty girl out of the corner of his eye,) he knew that there was no way he would be able to lift with proper technique.  But he felt all eyes were on him and he wasn’t going to let down his fans-so he gave it his best anyways.   Unfortunately his best wasn’t good enough, and as he went deep into his repetition, he tried to recruit all the assistance he could get from anywhere in his body.  His eyes bulged; his neck strained trying to help lift the too heavy weight, and his form deteriorated until he appeared as if he was a constipated turtle trying to get his head free from his own keister. 

It was at this point that he could have asked for assistance, or simply dropped the weight and saved the hearse’s gas money, but pride was on the line, so instead he winked at the pretty girl one last time (some thought it was an involuntary, performance enhancing induced twitch) and attempted to lift the weight in one quick motion-all the while holding his breath..   Seconds later Mick’s head exploded spectacularly, and the weight dropped gently to the ground, with his arms still attached.  For once Mick had lifted properly, but he wouldn’t be there to witness it.  The explosion was heard from a mile away and the gym had to close for a week. Special cleaning equipment had to be brought in to ensure a thorough job-namely a squeegee, a paint scraper, and a scoop shovel. 

Oddly enough any cleaning job done in a gym that utilizes a squeegee, a paint scraper, and a scoop shovel is now referred to as the Mick Valsalva clean. 

The moral of the Mick Valsalva story is that it is not good to hold your breath when lifting weight-in fact it makes about as much sense as holding your breath when sprinting-it just isn’t a good idea.  So anytime someone is lifting weight (especially heavy weight) and holding their breath, that is referred to as the Valsalva maneuver and is heavily discouraged by any clear thinking simian.                                                         

*http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=6250