Articles and Education

Apr 27, 2024
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Breathing and Bracing in the Bench Press

Just because you're creating a global arch with the bench press, doesn't mean that the rules change for the breathing and bracing mechanics. It's going to feel a little bit different because you're not in that completely stacked position. However, when you're set up in your optimal global arch, the trunk still doesn't move, we shouldn't be seeing differences in spinal position in the mid-movement, and for the reason of trunk stability, the rules around breathing and bracing still apply.

Apr 27, 2024
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Breathing Is The Catalyst To Better Bracing

If you’ve attended any lifting competitions or gotten any training from a gym on weight lifting, I can bet that you’ve heard “BIG AIR” being yelled at the top of a coach’s lungs. Some of you may have even learned the generic breathing strategy to “inhale on the way down (such as lowering the bar to your chest during a bench press or on the way down in a squat) and exhale on the way up or during exertion (as you press the bar off your chest or as you squat up).” Maybe someone has given generic advice that the “Valsalva maneuver” isn’t good for you. Why does the technique of breathing–besides the fact we have to do it to live– matter? Why this emphasis on breathing?

Apr 27, 2024
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Using Your Body's Mobility and Stability Mechanisms to Drive Performance

As a performance guy, I absolutely hate the ‘traction control’ button that they put in a number of vehicles today. If you aren't aware of what this button does, it operates by detuning the engine and, in some cases, the transmission. By retarding the engine timing to reduce its output and slowing the shift patterns, it effectively improves the traction but really no more than if you purposely stepped on the gas pedal a little softer and with better control. With less power, the detuned powertrain has less chance of losing control on an unstable surface and causing you to crash and injure yourself.