Lately Yatsek and I have received a few questions, similar to each other in nature, from followers regarding the difference between Chinese and Western styles of breathing or “bracing” under load.
The Western style--really an average of varying opinions--ostensibly teaches a neutral spine, deep breaths, and some degree of “pushing the belly out” before contracting the abdominal muscles.
The Chinese style--also an average of opinions, maybe more standardized across coaches--seems as though as it teaches one to hold the spine more extended, use shallower breaths, and to “suck in the stomach” before contracting the abs. I’m careful to use the words “ostensibly” and “seems as though” because in truth, these styles do not differ substantially neither in the end result nor the internal feelings one should have when bracing.
Put another way, it is not the case that one style teaches a completely neutral spine, no lumbar extension, super deep breaths while another teaches tiny breaths under hyperextension while forcefully sucking in the abs. Some differences do exist, but these are small. Other differences are illusory.
Before I go into the meaningful differences, it’s helpful to have a general framework for how the abdominal muscles and breathing contribute to holding positions under load. Imagine a half-inflated balloon in your hand. What happens when you squeeze this balloon? It will pressurize and become rigid. The balloon is your torso and the hand is your abs. This is one of the many mechanisms by which having strong abs can protect your lumbar spine and its extensors under load. Using your abs to increase intra-abdominal pressure affords your torso extra rigidity without increasing the muscular demands on your erectors. A belt is a mechanical means of allowing you to pressurize even more.
So what happens to breathing and abdominal contraction when one hyperextends the back? You can try this out on your own. It should feel harder to use your abs when you are hyperextended simply because your abs are now trying to contract from a more stretched position. Turned the other way, with posterior pelvic tilt and a rounded back, your abs can squeeze extremely hard but now your erectors are in a weak, stretched position. This is no way to carry a load either.
This leaves us with two options. A neutral back position, fairly straight in its curvature, allows you a nice balance of abdominal contraction (not trunk flexion) and back extension. However, if you deviate from this slightly by allowing a small amount of hyperextension in the lumbar and thoracic spine, you can just about maintain the same amount of ab squeeze while achieving a slightly more upright back position.
“In a Chinese-style back squat, this is key to maintaining good position. Because upright positions tend to preferentially activate the quads over posterior muscle groups, transferability to the classic lifts when performing them in the Chinese style is also improved.”
It is important, however, to emphasize how small this amount of hyperextension is. It is entirely possible to extend too far, lose the ability to contract the abs, and subsequently lower your intra-abdominal pressure as established above. This becomes especially apparent under load and, as someone who used to squat like this, noticeably fatigues your lumbar extensors in a way that risks injury.
How much is enough? Find a neutral spine at the top of an unloaded squat and monitor how that feels. Now hyperextend as much as you can and feel that out. The right position, depending on mobility, is usually around halfway to totally hyperextended. It could be that you are very mobility-limited, in which case it might be two-thirds of the way. On the other hand you may be hypermobile or passively anteriorly pelvic tilted, in which case it’s just a touch. In any case, it’s almost never all the way. That may feel appropriate if you are trying to combat severe butt-wink, but in that case improving your flexibility should take priority over your breathing habits.
Now what about how big of a breath to take? Enormous breaths that push the belly out can also compromise one’s intra-abdominal pressure. This stretches out the abs, specifically the transverse abdominis, to the extent that they can’t easily activate. Using the balloon metaphor, imagine simply filling up the balloon up with a little bit more air but being unable to squeeze it with your hands. The overall pressure increase from a little more air is less than if you hadn’t taken that air but used your hands to squeeze it. This is where that “ostensibly” qualifier comes in handy. Most experienced Western coaches I’ve spoken to don’t cue this. They advocate for more moderated breathing.
That brings us to the Chinese cue of “sipping air” and what appears to be Chinese lifters sucking in their abs--the “vacuum” appearance--before descending in a squat. Sipping air should not feel the same as shallow breaths. In other words, you should still take in enough air to feel solid; it just might be less air than you think if you are used to taking big breaths with the belly out and it may feel more like breathing into the chest than the stomach. With these kinds of breaths, some lumbar extension, and a lean enough physique (emphasis here), breathing may well appear to come from sucking the abs in. This isn’t really what’s happening; it’s likely you just haven’t seen that many shredded Chinese lifters with 8-packs using this kind of breathing to squat 4x body weight. That’s okay, one day it will be you (usual disclaimers apply).
In short: find a neutral spine, extend just a little bit. Breathe in enough to feel safe but still be able to squeeze your abs--no more than that. Descend but stay upright throughout using the additional extension. Enjoy the fruit of your labor (reading through this article).