When breathing before a big squat or deadlift how do you take your air in? Do you bring your abs in toward your spine and then fill your lungs and belly or do you NOT bring the abs in at all and just fill the belly while pushing the abs out? I’ve read where the former is the correct way to stabilize the spine. Elaborate if you could please. Thanks
[quote]bigg mike wrote:
When breathing before a big squat or deadlift how do you take your air in? Do you bring your abs in toward your spine and then fill your lungs and belly or do you NOT bring the abs in at all and just fill the belly while pushing the abs out? I’ve read where the former is the correct way to stabilize the spine. Elaborate if you could please. Thanks[/quote]
What would you do naturally before lifting something big?
before i bench, (unracking it) i suck in ahuge breath so my chest is expanded and i touch higher, then on the way up i breath out once it starts moving which helps me keep it moving, same with squats, i breath in until im coming out of the hole then if its alot of weight i usually grunt 
[quote]bigg mike wrote:
When breathing before a big squat or deadlift how do you take your air in? Do you bring your abs in toward your spine and then fill your lungs and belly or do you NOT bring the abs in at all and just fill the belly while pushing the abs out? I’ve read where the former is the correct way to stabilize the spine. Elaborate if you could please. Thanks[/quote]
Speaking for just myself, I pull my abs in and fill my chest before a big lift.
I do it for benching too because it just feel natural, but I started it because it helps stabilize my back for heavy squats.
[quote]bigg mike wrote:
When breathing before a big squat or deadlift how do you take your air in? Do you bring your abs in toward your spine and then fill your lungs and belly or do you NOT bring the abs in at all and just fill the belly while pushing the abs out? I’ve read where the former is the correct way to stabilize the spine. Elaborate if you could please. Thanks[/quote]
People tell you to “push your belly out,” but what you’re actually doing is contracting the transversus abdominis, the abdominal muscle that assists with expiration, against a closed glottis (the flap of tissue that covers the trachea when swallowing).
So, your belly should be pushed out (which is what should normally happen after a deep breath) and you should be trying to exhale against a closed airway.