Breathing Backwards - Supercharge Your Back Workout NOW!

Every experienced weight trainer knows that the proper way to breathe during a set is to inhale during the negative (lowering) phase and exhale during the positive (lifting) phase. But is this the best way to breathe in all exercises?

As a matter of fact, it isn't. I am going to show you exactly how and why you should breathe BACKWARDS during many if not most back exercises. I will use the lat pulldown exercise to demonstrate this powerful technique.

Fact: the pulldown movement is more effective when done with an arched lower back and puffed-up (expanded) chest.

This body position more fully activates the latissimus dorsi muscles. In fact, if your lower back isn't arched, it is extremely difficult for your lats to contract. The straight-back position throws more tension on the biceps and upper back muscles.

Expanding your chest helps to accentuate this arched-back position.

Fact: exhalation (breathing out) makes your chest contract. Inhalation (breathing in) makes your chest expand.

Fact: the typical breathing pattern of the pulldown consists of breathing out as you are pulling the weight down and breathing in as you are letting it back up.

What this means to you is that the typical breathing pattern is caving the chest in when you should be puffing the chest out!

Take a deep breath in and notice what happens to your chest. It puffs out and expands. This is the optimal position for your torso during the pulldown exercise.

Now carry this logic over to the pulldown movement. As you pull the weight down, take a deep breath in. Your chest will puff up to meet the bar automatically and your lats will engage strongly.

If you've ever had a hard time feeling your lats working when you do back exercises, use this technique and you will certainly feel an immediate difference.

This amazingly simple technique can be applied to almost any back exercise from pulldowns to chin-ups to seated cable rows. Try this technique the next time you work your back and you'll see just how powerful breathing backwards can be!

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of BetterU, Inc., an internet- based personal training company. He has been training for more than 14 years and has been a personal trainer for more than 8 years. He is the author of the training eBooks "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of", "Gluteus to the Maximus" and "Specialization Training". Go to his Web site for more information on these books.

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