Master the Basics - Neutral Spine, engaging your core and Breathing & Bracing
In this blog, we’ll be looking at what neutral spine is and how engaging your core alongside breathing and bracing is a massively important part of training.
The expression ‘Neutral Spine’ refers to the natural curves of the spine including a slight kyphotic curve (a gentle forward “hunch”) to the upper back, with curves in the opposite direction, and lordotic curves at the neck and lower back.
A neutral spine isn't really something we stay in; it's a moment in time that we pass through in motion. As much as I understand the need to teach people to engage the muscles around the spine, trying to force neutral isn't that helpful, mainly because you can't stay there. You might be able to manage it lying down on the floor or kneeling upright but the second you take a step or squat and hinge, your spine will move and that's okay, it's supposed to move.
We’re all built differently and for some people forcing “neutral” could actually cause tension and discomfort. Staying too neutral and rigid can lead to people overarching, holding their breath and working through the pain. The spine is designed to flex and extend, to flex and rotate laterally. Yes, under heavy loads, in the gym, you don't want to start twisting and flexing, but under a light load, you might find it useful. It's important to start listening to your body; don't be afraid of a bit of a rounded spine in certain exercises.
It's also common for people to think that the best way to fix their “bad posture” is to sit like a robot in “neutral”. This is fundamentally wrong. Give your body full expression of movement in all directions and allow the joints to find their natural resting point. Don’t force it yourself, that simply will not work. Movement always wins!
Earlier on, I mentioned about people holding their breath; learning to brace and breathe correctly is a massively important part of training! But, don't stress out if you sometimes don't have this perfect sculpture-like posture when you train. If you learn how to breathe and brace, you will be automatically training your “core” and, if you brace correctly under load and train all the primary patterns, you will be getting all the “core” training you will ever need.
Depending on the intensity/load you are using in an exercise will alter the type of brace you will need.
For lighter load, higher rep and unilateral exercises using a “hollowing” of the abdominals will be enough to create stability in the spine. True core strength requires the ability to be mobile as well as strong and stable. The hollow is a great way to create stiffness but allows controlled motion. But, when it comes to heavier loads, especially when the load works directly through the spine (deadlifts or squats). The need for a stronger “brace” will be essential. There are effectively two ways to do this.
INHALE – perform a NASEL inhale, and use that inhale to brace. This brace often elevates the ribcage and drives tension into the lumbar spine, which is fine if you naturally round your spine and fall into a “flexed” posture when lifting. But if you naturally over-extend and arch your back, then this isn’t the brace for you.
EXHALE – a full MOUTH exhale brings the ribcage down and enables the lifter to control spinal extension better by stacking the ribcage over the hips. Bracing on top of this breath is much better suited for some people.
The number of reps you do should alter the breathing and bracing technique. Hard INHALES or EXHALES are hard to master and tricky to maintain over reps of 6. So when you do 6+ reps you can use a lighter version of the technique or a hollow to stabilise the spine. Simply because high reps = low load, and low load require less spinal stability to manage.
HARD braces are not an optimal way to breathe. We use them because of the demands of specific exercises at certain loads. Various breathing techniques (including some relaxing breathing drills) should be used throughout your sessions.
Stay tuned next week for another instalment of Master the Basics and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I share exercise techniques, and show you how to maximise your training. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions I host a weekly Sunday Q&A session on my Instagram channel. Otherwise, please feel free to email me at andy@andyvincentpt.com.
If you want to get in touch and see how I can help your fitness and become your Online Personal Trainer, click here.
