Breathing and Bracing Under Heavy Loads

A Deep Breath → Proper Bracing → Full Body Tension → Solid Trunk → Strong, Healthy Movement

“Strength is the ability to produce force. The harder you can push or pull a weight, the stronger your muscles are. Stability is the ability to resist movement at one part of our body while movement takes place around it. A stable spine resists being bent in two by the massive weight of the barbell.”

Squat University gives a valuable look into the importance of bracing, how we can strengthen our trunk stability, and the very technique of breathing to handle heavy weights.

Think of your trunk like a soda can – if that can is filled with soda (air, breath), it can support a lot of weight. If the can is empty, it crumbles quite easily.