When competing "who can hold their breath longer", can you exhale, or do you need to plug your nose?

Question

When competing "who can hold their breath longer", can you exhale, or do you need to plug your nose?

Answer 1

exhaling is cheating. plugging your nose ensures that your not cheating:P

have fun

Answer 2

if its underwater you can exhale, other than that plug your nose

Answer 3

you can't exhale.