The TRUTH About Breathing, Bracing, and Lifting Heavy

Stop making this mistake. It’s inefficient, it’s unnecessary, and it makes you look like you’ve been reading too many 80s and 90s fitness magazines.

The mistake we’re discussing is that of breathing like a buffoon when lifting.

This error shows up in a number of ways, but a very popular version of this mistake is seen when people breathe in on the way down and breathe out on the way up. We have a lot of old fitness magazines and books to thank for this preposterous way of breathing, and in short, don’t do it.

Your body intuitively knows that this is silly nonsense. You don’t breathe like this when you’re constipated, and you don’t breathe like this when you’re trying to push a stuck vehicle out of a ditch. In these situations, your body automatically takes the correct and most efficient action - you take a big breath, you tighten your abs and “bear down,” you then push as hard as you can, and you don’t release that breath until the effort is over.

The same is true in lifting, and the way to remember this is simple: All breathing (both in and out) takes place only at one location - the start and finish point of the lift.

Put another way - if the barbell is moving, you’re not breathing.

Let’s cover the specifics of this for the squat, bench, press, and be sure to read all the way to the end for the deadlift since that’s the lift in which people breathe the silliest.

The Squat
Take a breath in at the top, hold that breath all the way down and back up again with every muscle in your trunk bracing hard, and then release the breath. Be sure to watch the video below on how to brace correctly (i.e., perform the Valsalva maneuver).

The Bench Press
Breathing for the bench press is identical to that of the squat - take a breath in at the top, hold it all the way down and back up again, and then release it.

The Press
Unlike the squat and bench, in which each rep starts from the top of the lift, the press starts at the bottom of the movement, so the breathing takes place at this location instead. In the press, take a breath in at the bottom and get tight, press the bar up, then lower it (don’t blow out your air at the top), and then release your breath when you’re back at the starting position.

The Deadlift
Don’t do it. Just don’t. I die a little bit inside every time a lifter makes this error in the deadlift . . . don’t blow out your air at the top of the lift.

Breathing for the deadlift is identical to that of the press since the lift starts at the bottom, so take a breath when the bar is on the floor, set your back, pull the bar up to the lockout position, set it down quickly, and then release your breath.

If you’ve been releasing your breath at the top of the deadlift, it can be a hard habit to break, but it’s not a physically difficult challenge. People have performed long, grueling pulls - 8, 9, and 10 second deadlifts - and then set the bar back down before releasing the breath. If they can do it, you can do it.

Remember that breathing only takes place in one location - the start (and finish) point of the lift - and you’ll be good to go. Breath is stability, so hold that breath until you’re back where you started.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

4 Simple Exercises to Get Stronger, Feel Better, and Have More Energy in 2025

Want to get stronger, feel better (look better too!), and have more energy in the new year? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers 4 simple exercises to help you achieve your fitness and health goals.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The #1 Rule for Strength Training

What's the most important thing in strength training? It might not be what you think it is. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Training with Injuries: Should I Train or Should I Quit?!

When dealing with an injury, the right questions can make all the difference. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers discusses the difference between "Should I train?" and "How can I train?" and gives some useful tools for training when injured.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 09/05/22)

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

The TRUTH About Lifting (What No One Tells You!)

Lifting is a rather stupid activity.

Now - when I say that, of course I’m being a bit facetious, but you easily can see where I’m coming from. You pick up weights and then you set them right back down again. You squat weights down and then squat them right back up again. The barbell ends up right back in the same place it started.

It’s like running the 400m dash in track - all that work and you end up right back in the exact same spot.

So what’s the point? If you literally accomplish no work whatsoever (and it’s true - you do zero work against gravity when it’s all said and done), then what’s the point of all this effort?

The point is that training makes the quality of your life better.

Don’t get me wrong - the act of training itself is not always enjoyable. There will be days when you enjoy your training, of course. On the other hand, there will also be plenty of days when you’d rather not head to the gym, and on those days you go anyway because you understand that sometimes - most of the time, even - you just need to punch the clock and put in the work.

However, we’re not talking about the training itself - we’re talking about the results of training. This is what makes life better.

You train because you get stronger in the process, and getting stronger makes everything else easier.

If you’re in high school, this means you get better at your sport. The stronger version of you can now generate more force than you could previously, and you’re now a stronger, more powerful athlete who can practice harder and longer.

But as we get older - as we enter our 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond - this newfound strength has a far more profound effect. It is absolutely life changing. Getting stronger changes the quality of your life, and the logic is pretty straightforward.

You’ll note that your training never gets any easier. You absolutely get stronger, yes, but you simply add more weight to the bar, so your training is always challenging. But because of this - because your training never gets any easier, what you do out there - in life - does become easier.

Suppose I’m eighty years old, weak, and have never trained before. Now, I come in and start to train. My squats on day one are only a couple inches deep (just to a relatively high box), and perhaps I’m not strong enough to use a barbell yet. But I start training.

Slowly, day by day, I squat lower and lower and soon get to the point where I can squat to depth. Then I add a light barbell - perhaps 10-15 lb or even less. Then, session by session, I add a little more weight to the bar. Over time, I get my squat up to 50 lb, 75 lb, 100 lb, etc. The exact numbers don’t matter. 

What does matter, however, is that I have gotten significantly stronger. I’ve gone from originally not being able to squat my own body more than a few inches all the way to squatting 100 lb all the way down and back up again. It is very possible - and we see this all the time - for a new lifter to double their strength in a short period of time under the guidance of excellent coaching.

everyone can get stronger. everyone.

Now, as a result, every step that I take up a flight of stairs is much easier than it used to be - in fact, it only takes half as much effort as it used to. By the time I get to the top of the stairs, I’m no longer exhausted like I used to be.

I’m not exhausted after climbing those stairs, so I’m much more stable, which means I’m not at risk of falling anymore, either. At the very least, the risk of falling is significantly reduced, and even if I do fall, everything about me is stronger. My bones are denser and my tendons and ligaments are more resilient because not only do your muscles get stronger when you barbell train - everything else does as well, so even if I do fall (and we all trip now and then), I stand a much greater chance of surviving that fall relatively unscathed.

This is why our motto is “Get Stronger. Live Better.” Strength makes everything better. It increases the quality of our lives. It never gets easier in here (i.e., the gym), but because of that, everything out there does get easier.

This is why you train. This is why you do Stupid Things like picking up barbells and setting them back down again.

Keep doing Stupid Things. As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

How to Easily Build a Lifting Platform (and the EASIEST way to cut stall mats)

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 11/04/22)

A lifting platform is a very important part of your gym - it protects your equipment as well as your floor, it dampens the noise and vibrations of deadlifts, cleans, snatches, etc., and it clearly delineates the lifting space. This last factor - the abundantly clear “stay out of my lifting space” effect of the platform - is very useful when you have a training partner or little kids with you in the gym.

Fortunately, building a lifting platform is quite easy. In fact, “building” is a rather generous term for the process - we’re pretty much just assembling a platform. We’ll lay out the steps below, but I’d strongly recommend watching one of the videos linked throughout this article for a better understanding of the process.

First, lay two 4’ x 8’ sheets of OSB next to one another. I’d recommend what is commonly referred to as 3/4"-thick OSB, but the actual dimension will be listed as 23/32”.

Laying down the base layer of OSB sheets

These two sheets will run lengthwise, i.e., they’re run front-to-back. The sheets will probably have a slight bow to them (i.e., a curvature), and you’ll want to make sure that the crown of the board is up (so the board should make a mountain, not a valley).

Next, lay two more sheets of the same OSB on top of the base layer. These sheets will be perpendicular to the base layer sheets, so they’ll run side-to-side. Again, the crown should be up. Then you’ll use 1-1/4” screws to attach the second layer to the base layer. We use three screws on the short end of each board and four screws along the long end.

Laying down the 2nd layer of OSB sheets

Then, for the top layer, you’ll use a sheet of 3/4”-thick MDF to run down the middle. You could use something nicer like oak, but we like MDF as it’s nice and heavy and causes everything to lie nice and flat. You’ll need to do some cutting on the MDF as they are sized at 49” x 97”. You’ll cut the length to 96” (8 feet), and we recommend cutting the width to 42” (3.5 feet) as this gives you ample room between the plates and the MDF when you set down your deadlifts, cleans, etc (you can go with 4 feet wide, but 3.5 feet makes it much less likely that you’ll chip the MDF over time). You can do this yourself, or your lumber store may be willing to rip it for you.

Finally, you’ll use 3/4”-thick horse stall mats for the rest of the top layer. Stall mats are typically 4’ x 6’, so you’ll have some cutting to do here. The bigger piece on each side will be 72” x 27” (i.e., 6’ x 2’3”), and the smaller piece on each side will be 24” x 27” (i.e., 2’ x 2’3”). 

To attach the top layer to the second layer, use 1-5/8” screws. We put six screws into the MDF - three in front and three in back. For the stall mats, we simply put screws around the outside, front, and back of the platform - we don’t put any screws down the rubber edge near the MDF so that we can’t accidentally set our metal plates or bumper plates down on a screw that might be a bit proud.

Last note - when cutting stall mats, use a jig saw. It is - by far - the best way to do it. Check out the video above to see this process.

We hope this helps you quickly and easily build a lifting platform, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

Finished platform - complete with Addy, Milo, & Parker

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?