From: "Lloyd W. Hanson"
Subject: Weight Lifting and the Voice
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Hello Dr. John and Vocalists

On 02-Jan-00, john schweinfurth wrote:

> I believe the point there is that when you strain against a weight, you
> want to be constantly exhaling smoothly, not holding your breath, as this
> increases the pressure on your vocal cords, increasing your risk of a
> hemorrhage.

Is there not also the possibility that holding the breath during weight
training will tend to develop and enlarge the ventricular folds (false
cords) such that they will partially obstruct the airway during phonation?
I have noticed a rather "husky" vocal quality from many weight trainers
which is usually a symptom of partial closure of the ventricular folds.


Regards
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Vocal Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011