At my most recent physical exam my doctor told me I had something called rectus abdominis diastisis. I asked him if I could keep on weight training, and he said not to worry about it. He said it was mostly a cosmetic thing. He also told me that there is surgery for it, but the history of success is not great, i.e, a lot of complications; the cure is worse than the disease. Then there is the part where insurance doesn’t pay for it because they also say it’s a cosmetic issue. It kind of looks like a baby Nerf football is growing out of my abdomen, but it only looks like that when I’m sitting up out of bed. So, who cares. What I do care about is continuing to weight train. I didn’t have this issue before I started the Starting Strength novice progression. I had worked out before, but had never done the valsalva maneuver. I would just inhale on the eccentric part of a movement, and exhale on the concentric. I didn’t think to ask my doctor about proper breathing for my condition while working out. I still plan to get back with him on this issue, but I’m thinking I can’t be the only person with this concern, and would really like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Do you think continuing to weight train is ok? Should I change how I breathe during movements, particularly the squat and deadlift? Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this matter.
My bias is that the total benefits of training outweigh the theoretical risk of worsening this condition. Additionally, it is not possible to lift relatively heavy loads without some sort of abdominal brace / valsalva, and your intra-abdominal/intra-thoracic pressure will increase regardless of whether you hold your breath or not.