Breathing and Bracing

Hello Drs.

I’ve seen the following two methods being popular among strength coaches and athletes as observed on YouTube:

  1. Inhale as much air as possible and brace as hard as possible. But this seems impossible as I can barely get a whiff of air during relatively heavy squats.

  2. Set and brace yourself first, before breathing without loss of position.

Could you give us a few cues on how to breathe and brace before worksets in the big 4 (such as how much to inhale, how deliberate you need to be with your brace, how not to get light-headed etc), and what you find faulty in most people with regards to this?

Thanks.

I find that most people who have tried to go down the rabbit hole here are WAY too concerned about a process that happens automatically during exertion. I also find that nearly every “expert” talking about this is giving poor advice. This leads to the idea that bracing and breathing are a panacea for lifting performance, when really people should focus on their training rather than how they’re breathing.

The way you set up and breathe is likely to be unique to you the individual and the lift itself. In general, prior to the start of the lift, we recommend taking a moderate-sized breath and squeezing all voluntary muscles of the trunk “tight”, then beginning the lift.

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