On max effort strength movements such as squatting, breathing techniques are commonly used, but often used sub optimally. There is good reason to take a big breath before the decent because the internal pressure it creates can help stabilize the spine. To maximize internal pressure a technique called diaphragmatic breathing is used. A simple way to know if you are doing this right while squatting is to wear a belt. Wear the belt tight so when you breath in, you can push out into the belt with 360 degrees of expansion (push into all sides of the belt). The belt will even help maximize the intra-abdominal pressure by limiting abdominal expansion, and in turn limit internal volume. During a max lift, the stability created with this breathing technique will be important during the entire movement, so lifters should hold their breath for the duration of the lift. If the set includes multiple reps then the lifter can take another breath at the top of the squat in preparation for the next rep.
When we understand how breathing can create stability, we can also expand that understanding to know when to use it and when not to use it. During a maximal lift we want to recruit all means available to make the lift, but what about during core training? Let’s look at the plank for an example. We could apply the same breathing techniques used for maximal effort squatting to create the same internal pressure and rely on that to stabilize the spine. However, I argue that we do not want to rely on this pressure when the aim of the exercise is to better train the muscular stabilizers of the body. So with the plank example, we could actually do the exact opposite; take a relaxed diaphragmatic inhale, followed by a maximal exhale so there is as little internal pressure as possible aiding the abdominal muscles in stabilizing the spine. This can also be a useful way to measure time during sets by prescribing a certain number of breaths per set.
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