Breathing & Bracing in Weightlifting

A popular topic right now is the "What is the CORRECT way to breathe and brace while lifting?”. If you know me, you know I typically avoid endorsing a single "correct" method. That's because in weightlifting and strength training, the best approach can vary based on factors like body size, experience level, and individual pain or mobility issues. So just like everything else, there are some standards and points to recommend, but without any strict guidelines!

Are you experiencing PAIN while lifting, whether during squats, deadlifts, presses, or Olympic lifts? Common areas of discomfort include the lower back and hips. Often, these pain issues can actually improve a lot when we learn to breathe and brace ourselves more effectively while lifting! Imagine having pain that prevents you from tolerating your squat sessions, and feeling frustrated with strength plateaus — but then experiencing newfound improvements because you’ve learned how to maintain pressure and tension more effectively when you move. Imagine the progress you’ll make!

This is such a fun topic, and there’s a lot to discuss about breathing and bracing, so I’ve organized these topics into sub-categories. Let’s dive in!

Spine & Relevant Muscle Groups

With most breathing and bracing methods, you’ll see a recurring theme of mentioning spine position and muscle groups involved. Again, there are no STRICT guidelines, for this, but there are some points to discuss here.

•  Spine Position: Have you ever been told that flexing the spine is BAD for you? On the contrary, have you been told that flaring your ribs/arching your back should be avoided too? When what the heck should you do?! I like to help people find where they best feel the activation of their abdominal muscles. This is usually a neutral to slightly flexed position of the spine. My cue for you is to bring the top of the pelvis and the bottom of the rib cage closer together. This will put the pelvis in a slight posterior tilt, and help the spine become relatively flexed from it’s resting position. (If someone has a more natural flexion of the spine, I am not necessarily making them flex it MORE. Instead, I’ll help them do the muscle activation cues, outlined below, even MORESO). 
•  Muscles: Some key players here include: Latissimus Dorsi, Transverse Abdominus,  and don’t forget the role of the lumbar paraspinals, hip flexors, and deep glutes! We’ll talk more about how to activate these as we go along for specific lifts. If weak here, or if you have more of a flexed posture to begin with, and lack the training or ability to brace these surrounding muscles of the spine, spend more time training how to turn them on and FEEL yourself using them. These neuromuscular connections occur quickly during strength training and can help you progress well on the front end.
•  Lats: especially if the bar is in the back rack position, pull your shoulder blades down toward your pockets. The lats connect from the low back to the shoulder, and building tension through these muscles helps build a strong and stable spine when lifting, as well as maintain overall pressure and tension throughout the lift.
•  Transverse abdominus: think about the cue of the ribcage down + pelvis up, but also think about drawing your bellybutton in toward your spine. These muscles are important for creating inter-abdominal tension, and to build positional awareness when we lift.
•  

Valsalva

Ok, let’s get this out of the way: VALSALVA IS OKAY!!! It’s not only safe, but recommended to help build intra-abdominal pressure, maintain tension in aforementioned muscle groups, and control the body in space as you move. The thing is, the breathing and bracing process is all about pressure management. 

•  What is valsalva? This is a process of inhaling, followed by a forced exhale against a closed glottis (airway). Yes, this means you’re holding your breath when you lift and no, this isn’t bad for you. When you perform this maneuver, perform it PRIOR to initiating the lift, when keep holding the breath/inter-abdominal pressure while moving through the lift. 
•  For example, if you're performing a back squat, then while standing with the bar on your back — inhale, then exhale against your closed airway. You will feel your belly expand, stay that way. Hold this as you descend and return, and don’t release your breath until you are standing up.

Again, the goal is pressure management. We want the athlete to learn how to build and create pressure, learn how to maintain it through a lift, and do this while managing variables including ranges of motion and load. Even if this means we only practice this gently at first, that can be very therapeutic for an athlete that may be weaker in surrounding muscle groups, and is just learning how to create pressure in their torso for the first time when lifting. This is great for training throughout rehab, especially in cases of low back/ hip pain, motor learning, and pelvic floor conditions including leakage, etc. 

Depending on the case, this maneuver may be performed more gently or more forcefully compared to others. An elite powerlifter attempting a heavy 1RM squat might create more pressure/ more force when doing this, while a postpartum woman learning how to build and manage intra-abdominal pressure again may be doing this softly and through controlled ranges of motion at first. This can be modified to fit the needs of the athlete, which is the beauty of pressure management training. 

Belts

Okay, let’s get this one out of the way too: NO, BELTS ARE NOT BAD!!! Belts do NOT mean you are weak, they are NOT a crutch, so stop avoiding using them! 

 Quick side story. I was at CrossFit one time doing Cleans with one of my friends, and as we both climbed towards 90%+ of our maxes, she began to miss the lifts. I recommended she try a belt, as this is extremely helpful for building more tension and pressure in her spine, and even provided bracing cues. Her response was “if I have to wear a belt, it’s too heavy. It’s bad for my back!” Oh man. I wanted to stop what I was doing and jump on my soap box, but we didn’t have the time! :) 

Belts assist the athlete in building and maintaining the intra-abdominal pressure. The belt should be above the iliac crest (pelvis), and wrapped around the torso. Then, when you are inhaling before bracing, think about the belly pushing OUT into the belt, in a 360deg expansion. This will increase the intra-abdominal pressure, which helps the surrounding muscles of the spine have more tension. 

**When to Use a Belt?**

I believe belts aren’t inherently harmful, but athletes should first focus on building strength, activating key muscle groups, and how to support their spine before moving external loads, without one. Typically, belts are recommended for experienced lifters working above 80% of their one-rep max (1RM). Beginners and those in rehabilitation might not reach those numbers and should concentrate on core stabilization first.

Belts can be helpful for providing support and tension during heavy lifts, but they shouldn't replace the foundational work. They aren’t “bad for the back” or an indication of weakness; rather, they are useful tools for advanced lifters. It’s essential to learn how to engage and strengthen surrounding muscles before incorporating a belt for heavier lifting.

Front Rack/Press Bracing

When the bar is in the front rack before doing a Front Squat or a Press, I sometimes cue a bit more upper chest breathing, as opposed to belly breathing, before bracing.  

Some individuals may disagree with this school of thought, as it differs from when the breathing is directed at the muscles around the spine to create intra-abdominal pressure. Here, when the breath work is directed more towards the chest, upper chest will expand and create a more rigid shelf for the bar to rest on, creating tension through the shoulders. Additionally, doing so can sometimes help prep the scapular muscles responsible for scapular elevation, which facilitates tension and readiness for a press. This also creates more activation in the upper back to maintain control of the bar during a Front Squat.

When doing so, the upper back becomes taller; this can sometimes influence an athlete to arch their lumbar spine and flare out their ribcage; I normally try to train the athlete to still do this chest lift, but keep their ribcage pulled down toward their pelvis. Therefore, the abdominal muscles are still engaged while creating this tension, and there is no loss of intra-abdominal pressure. 

Back Squat Bracing

In a back squat, the bar will be behind the back, which puts your shoulders in a position where the LATS can be used to assist with the bracing. Here, I am cuing more of the torso-expansion to create intra-abdominal pressure during then valsalva. I am cuing this in tandem with pulling down on the bar, aka bringing the elbows toward the body. This activates the Lat muscles to facilitate the tension around the spine when bracing before the lift. 

Additionally, I also cue the patient to let themselves lean forward slightly when squatting. No, don’t DROP the chest down, but allow for some inclination. This helps keep the spine neutral, as opposed to trying to arch it significantly to “keep the chest up”. This is another topic for another post, but the key takeaway here is that slight torso angle will help facilitate appropriate bar path, neutral spine, and therefore, improved bracing effectiveness. 

Deadlift Bracing

Did you know it’s OKAY to allow a slight rounding of your lumbar spine during a deadlift? This slightly flexed position can actually ENHANCE stability for bracing, and help generate better intra-abdominal pressure from the surrounding muscles 

When you set up, pull UP on the bar (to build tension in the shoulders), pull the shoulderbaldes down toward the pockets (activate the lats), breathe out through the belly/torso (into the belt if you have one on), then drive your legs through the floor. Your back may round as you initiate the lift, and I didn’t mention to try to keep it perfectly straight. The breathing and bracing you just did creates rigidity and stability through the spine, keep this as you lift. The spine is resilient, especially when we learn to activate and maintain muscle tension as we lift!

Snatch/Clean Set-Up Bracing

Similar to the deadlift, the set up will entail pulling up on the bar and pulling the shoulders down to create tension. In the Olympic lifts, athletes normally start with their hips much lower than they would a deadlift (see photo below). Here, we won’t experience as much lumbar flexion, and would likely be able to maintain a more upright torso (see more information in a new blog post about the Lift Off coming soon). The important thing about bracing in this position is to make sure we pull UP on the bar in the set up (literally pulling the metal of the bar up into the metal of the plates, before initiating the lift), + pulling the shoulders down toward your hips. This will help facilitate the tension and stability through the shoulders and spine! 

Overall, if you’re having pain with the foundational lifts or the Olympic lifts, it could be a matter of bracing, tension-building, spinal stability, and overall body awareness. It’s important to review these concepts and learn how to build muscle tension through breathing and bracing before we lift! 

Ready to learn more? Have specific pain problems that are limiting your performance goals? Czarbell is here to help. Reach out at [email protected], or schedule an appointment with me through the main page of this website, to learn more!