A Simple Technique to Fix a Common Exercise Mistake: Exhaling (Okay, It’s Not That Simple)

Have you ever been struggling to solve a problem, only to suddenly realize that the answer was embarrassingly simple? I had that happen to me the other day when I was watching a group of people in the gym performing back squats. According to the “mainstream” consensus on back squat technique, the people were squatting with good form, or at least weren’t committing any egregious errors (e.g., knee valgus, coming up on their toes, etc).  I noticed, however, that many of them were squatting in such a way that, at least according to some strength coaches and physical therapists, was sub-optimal: they were performing the exercise from a position of gross spinal extension. In other words, they had “tight arches” in their lower backs (and were thus stabilizing themselves through the passive restraints in their spines), their chests were up, their necks were extended, and their heads were up.

First of all, why might this technique–which is correct according to conventional wisdom–be considered sub-optimal? From a big picture standpoint, performing exercises in this manner can not only acutely stress muscles and joints in deleterious ways, but might also create and reinforce postural habits that lead to impaired health and performance. Put more concretely, when someone performs an exercise with their lower back locked into hyperextension, their ribs bilaterally elevated, and their neck hyperextended, their lumbar erectors attempt create some semblance of stability, causing the posterior aspects of the vertebrae to jam together. At the same time, the anterior core musculature is passively stretched and unable to contribute much stability during the set. When understood like this, it’s not especially surprising that people who squat in this manner often complain of lower back pain afterwards.

In addition, training in a position of excessive extension reinforces this postural pattern, which I refer to as a position of “inhalation” or “hyperinflation.” In this hyperinflated posture, certain muscles (e.g., the lumbar erectors, lats and hip flexors) are chronically tight, while other muscles (e.g., the hamstrings and anterior core musculature) are chronically lengthened. As a result of these chronic imbalances, there may be predictable patterns of pains and injuries, such as lower back pain and hamstring strains. This posture may also shift the autonomic nervous system into a more sympathetic-dominant state due to mechanical stress placed on the cell bodies of sympathetic neurons within the spinal cord, which can hinder recovery and subsequent performance.

An important caveat is that current evidence suggests that specific postures don’t necessarily cause chronic pain.  Interestingly, the converse relationship appears to exist, where chronic pain can affect muscle activity and influence movement patterns, although this topic is outside the scope of this article.  Maintaining postures of extreme end-ranges in the presence of heavy loads, however, can be problematic, especially when done repeatedly. A useful analogy for this is cigarette smoking: smoking one cigarette may not do much to harm your health, but habitual smoking will worsen your health. Similarly, I caution people to not repeatedly perform high-intensity exercises in end-range positions.  Further, the literature on chronic pain has to date mostly investigated issues in the general population.  Athletes and people who find themselves performing frequently repeated maximal-intensity movements, on the other hand, are a different population in which the relationship between certain postures and injury risk may be applicable.  It is only fair to note that the research on this relationship in this population is scant, but it is also worth noting that the absence of evidence does not equal the evidence of absence.  In other words, just because there is a lack of controlled research supporting the relationship between posture and injury in the athletic population does not mean that that relationship does not exist.  In fact, anecdotally speaking, both Peter and I as well as a myriad of elite strength coaches and physiotherapists have had great success in utilizing an approach that takes the posture of an athlete into account in their programming.  However, because the relationship, at least to this point, does not seem to exist in the general population, and because research suggests that cultivating a phobia of certain postures can in and of itself lead to chronic pain in this population, it needs to be made clear that the relationship between certain postures and pain/injury is likely only applicable to a small fraction of people–athletes and others who regularly repeat high-intensity movements–if it exists at all.  People who train more infrequently at lower intensities may and likely do have other causes of pain or injury they may suffer; for further reading I’d encourage you to research the biopsychosocial model of pain.

Anywho, as I was watching these people squat, I was considering what cues I’d give them to improve their technique. It seemed that explaining and demonstrating proper pelvic tilt and core positioning might confuse them because it was likely contrary to what they had previously learned and believed to be good form, so taking that approach might cause more harm than good. In addition, they were performing their work sets, so it would be dangerous to have them experiment with their technique at such a heavy load. My inability to think of a good way to fix the problem flummoxed and frustrated me. It didn’t occur to me until a few minutes later that there was an easy solution that I use so often in my own training that I hardly even think about it: have them perform a near-full exhale before they put the bar on their back.  This simple action helps to facilitate a posture that’s “less inflated”, which is a position you’d want to subsequently maintain for the duration of the set.

To demonstrate this concept, try to inhale as much air as you can. I expect that your ribs and shoulders rose, and that your back arched to some degree. Now try to exhale as much as you can. I expect that your ribs depressed, your back rounded and your shoulders sank—you might even have felt your “abs” working hard near the end of the exhale.  Let’s call this a position of “exhalation.”  You’ve now experienced two extremes of ventilation as well as posture: inhalation and exhalation.  What might be considered optimal for exercise form depends on the person and the exercise being performed, and there is also no one specific position that is best.  Rather, there is a range of positions that are safe and beneficial, and they are generally the ones that avoid end-ranges of motion.  In the case of the squat, the ideal position is probably with a braced anterior core and with a lumbar spine that is not hyperextended, but also does possess a slight lordotic curve to minimize shear stress on the spine. The people that I observed squatting, however, had postures that were closer to the inhalation end of the continuum. A simple fix for them, then, would be to exhale fully to depress the ribs, engage the anterior core, and take the lumbar spine out of hyperextension.

You can try it for yourself the next time you squat.  I highly recommend that you use this technique before you even pick up the weight. To borrow from Kelly Starrett’s notion of “entering and exiting the tunnel,” your form during a set is likely only going to be as good as your form when you begin the set, thus it’s important to create good alignment in your body before you exert yourself.  So, as you step under the bar, exhale fully and feel your ribs depress and your anterior core engage, then take a “medium” (not full) inhale while maintaining the tension in your anterior core. Continue to breathe in this position as you get ready to lift the bar off the rack. Your ribs shouldn’t elevate as much during inhalations, your back shouldn’t arch as much, and you should feel the muscles in your anterior core firing. Peter and I filmed a brief video explaining this technique fix, which you can watch below:

As Peter explained in the video, this technique fix doesn’t apply to only the back squat, but rather to any exercise in which you might tend to have an excessive arch in your lower back. I use this technique with many exercises that I perform, including squats, single-leg exercises, rows, push-ups and kettlebell swings—it actually seems like I do it for every exercise I do. It’s perhaps the easiest way I’ve found to establish core stability and ensure that you’re starting and staying in a position that’s not an end-range of motion. Like I mentioned earlier, though, everyone is different. I know that I’m prone to being in excessive lumbar extension, so using this technique is especially helpful for me. People who don’t have as strong a tendency to be hyperextended may not need to use it as much, if at all. In general, though, athletes and serious weightlifters often have a tendency to be grossly extended, so these people may see particular benefit.

I may have overcomplicated something as seemingly simple as exhaling, but I hope you find this tip helpful. Peter and I plan to write a lot more about breathing, but if you’re interested in learning about other topics, then don’t hesitate to let us know.