8 Tips to Breathe & Brace CORRECTLY When Lifting Heavy (Also: #1 Mistake!)
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Let’s cover 8 tips on how to breathe and brace when lifting. Tips #1-4 cover how to do this correctly while tips #5-8 cover what not to do (i.e., common mistakes).
Tip #1: If the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.
Breathe in at the start of the movement, hold that breath throughout the entire rep, and then breathe it out at the end of the movement.
Remember this – if the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.
Breath is support, and thus we want to hold a nice full breath in our lungs when lifting. For example, in the squat, take a breath in at the top of the rep, hold that breath all the way down and back up again, and then release it after you’ve locked out the rep.
On the deadlift, breathe in when the bar is on the floor, hold that breath all the way up to lockout and then back down again, and then release that breath only when the bar is back on the floor.
Tip #2: How do you hold your breath correctly?
Specifically, you perform a Valsalva maneuver, i.e., you forcefully hold your breath against a closed glottis. Put another way, you hold your breath in your throat.
If you’re not sure how to do this, say the word “hick” and hold the “ck’ sound. If you do this, you’re performing the Valsalva maneuver correctly.
Tip #3: Get ready to take a punch.
As you perform your Valsalva maneuver, you’re going to make your midsection tight and rigid. Tighten every single muscle in your trunk (never say “core” unless you’re a “too-tight-polo-shirt-wearing-clip-board-holding-personal-trainer”). Pretend you’re about to take a punch right in the gut, and you’ll probably be doing this very well indeed.
Keep these muscles flexed rigidly all the way down and back up again (or all the way up and down again in the case of the the deadlift), and you’ll be bracing correctly.
Tip #4: Belt
Use a lifting belt.
Among other benefits, a belt provides excellent proprioceptive feedback on what you’re doing with the muscles of your midsection. Also, since you now have something to brace against, you can brace harder, i.e., you can use those trunk muscles more effectively with a belt than without a belt.
Tip #5: Don’t breathe like a buffoon when deadlifting.
Don’t release your breath at the top of the deadlift.
Remember – breath is support, so keep that support until the bar is resting on the floor again.
You’re not hanging out at the top of the deadlift for long – you’re not going to pass out before the bar is back on the deck, so this is easy to do in the technical sense, but releasing your breath at the top can be a difficult habit to break if you’ve been making this error for a while.
To fix this, cue yourself to “lift silently.” From the time the bar starts moving, your mouth shouldn’t make any noise until the bar is resting on the floor again, and this cue does an excellent job reminding you of this.
Tip #6: Don’t “bear down.”
The cue “bear down” is sometimes used to remind people to get tight and brace hard.
However, you never want to push anything in a downward direction when bracing correctly. You are not giving birth, nor are you pooping (although both involve the Valsalva maneuver), so don’t push anything downward when getting tight unless you want to be changing your pants after squatting.
Again, simply think of getting tight as preparing to take a punch. If anything, you can cue yourself to “bear in” (or “bear upward”) as if you’re trying to crush your belly button.
Tip #7: Don’t overcomplicate this.
You’ve been breathing your whole life without thinking about it. You’ve also been performing the Valsalva maneuver your whole life without thinking about it (e.g., anytime you’ve tried to push a stuck vehicle or heavy box).
With that said, now that you’re focused on breathing and bracing correctly, it’s easy to complicate it, and the “fitness social media” world loves to make this worse.
Take a big breath, brace hard like you’re going to get punched, and hold that through the entire rep.
Don’t buy into that old 80s and 90s fitness magazine nonsense about “breathing in on the way down and breathing out on the way up.” Again, if the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.
Tip #8: Don’t hold your breath with puffed out cheeks.
If you’re holding your breath with puffed out cheeks, i.e., if you’re holding your breath against your lips, you’re performing the Valsalva maneuver incorrectly.
This is probably the most common breathing and bracing error we see, so remember – you hold your breath in your throat and not in your mouth against your lips. If you’re doing it correctly, you should be able to Valsalva with your mouth closed or open. Try out the “hick” method back in tip #2, and you’ll be doing it correctly.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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