Bracing Your Core Strength

Breathing is something that many people neglect to correct. When you observe someone breath, what do you see? Do you see the person's chest rise when he/she inhales and falls when he/she exhales? If your answer is "yes", then you are looking at a improper breathing technique. Diaphragmatic breathing is, "As we breathe in, we should see the stomach rise slightly as the dome contracts and compresses the abdominal space. As we breathe out, both the chest and the stomach fall."

This goes for executing a proper exercise. One does not simply perform a workout or exercise routine just to perform the movement involved in a specific workout. Exercise requires many things from and individual in order to make the goal of a specific exercise to be functional. In comes the proper execution of bracing. In the links below are two Youtube videos from Chris Duffin talking about the difference of breathing and bracing. He is powerlifter who has seek many things in order obtain strength through natural means from the human body. He is know as the "mad scientist" of powerlifting and is a person with outstanding  source of knowledge when it come to the function of the body, or kinesiology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcY3YSW9vX4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzGOcEuct54 

After hearing what Duffin has to say, what do you think? I bet you just changed the way you were currently breathing to proper diaphragmatic breathing. As adolescent youngsters, we breath, squat, etc. as how our body intended. As we get older we seek to find ways to make simple movements more convenient for us. Example, instead of squatting to get something on the ground, we bend over, hunching our back which puts us in a bad position. This is the same with breathing. I like the information that Duffin provided because by breathing properly we are using muscles in our core that are suppose to be working functionally. Proper breathing leads to proper bracing, then to proper posture. Simple corrections that were not needed only if we have not changed how the body functioned naturally. There are different factors that may have influenced us to breath improperly, but that is a different topic to touch. By understanding the importance of proper breathing anyone can develop a stronger core foundation that can aid in everyday life activities, not just exercising. By bracing yourself for anything, you can take blows that life may throw at you.