Ab Training From the Inside Out
by John Romaniello


Breathing isn't one of those things we normally think about. Being
the morons that we are — according to the general public, at least — bodybuilders
generally prefer to devote our limited brain power towards things which
seem more pertinent, such as calculating food intake or figuring out
which tank top will make our guns look the biggest (okay, maybe that
one's just me).
Actions like breathing, blood flow, and the like are functions of the
autonomic nervous system, which places them under the category of "Cool
Stuff My Body Does When I'm Not Looking." I know, I know... that
sounds very scientific, but try not to get too lost in the industry jargon.
The take home message is that breathing isn't generally a topic
on the forefront of most minds... unless you suddenly stop, in which
case you probably start thinking about it a lot. It's kinda' like that
chick you keep on the back burner and only call when you're really
desperate — not really a concern until it seems like a life or
death situation, is she? Wait... I think we're talking about
me again.
Moving on, if you guessed that this is the part where I tell you how
important breathing is, you're right. Yes, yes, very good, Cap'n
Obvious. You probably also know that breathing is pretty essential for
life, so I guess I should just skip that part, too, huh? But, fear not,
my ever so deductive friend. I am not going to discuss "cleansing breaths" or
anything. I shall leave that to Yoga teachers and Lamaze coaches. Instead,
this writing will be concerned with something called Power Breathing.
Yeah, that sounds a lot more manly, doesn't it? We'll be discussing
breathing methods that'll get you strong, stable, and build some
abs you can use to grate cheese. (If you're lactose intolerant, you can
grate something else. Carrots, probably. I think people grate carrots.)


Power Breathing: What It Be
The phrase is used in various circles to describe how to structure breathing
patterns to enhance the performance of a specific task. While the task
will generally vary greatly with the group, it seems that the terminology
doesn't. A few keystrokes on virtually any internet search engine will
reveal that singers use their methods of power breathing to enhance projection,
range, and even depth of voice. Similarly, alternative medicine gurus
recommend their brand of power breathing to promote relaxation and an
overall sense of well being.
While these goals and usages of different types of power breathing are
certainly worthy of note, they are decidedly not reasons which would
influence the people of T-Nation to incorporate such a practice into
their overall training methodology. I make mention of these uses only
because "power breathing" is a fairly generic term. As such, it's one
that can be applied to different methods (depending on the group), and
it's necessary to realize that not all "power breathing" is the same.
Brief acknowledgement of such use also serves as a way to clarify that
while power breathing can and does have relevance in innumerable circumstances,
we'll focus exclusively on its applications to weight training and physique
enhancement.
With regard to our purposes, power breathing is essentially a method
of breathing through resistance, sometimes punctuated by brief periods
of breath-holding (known as the Valsalva maneuver). Often prescribed
by Russian strength coaches and other mad scientists, the goal of power
breathing has generally always been to allow for increased power output
during a lift. This occurs by way of improved stability resulting from
the intra-abdominal pressure created when the technique is applied.
For the duration of a power breath, nearly all lower trunk muscles contract
with significant force as oxygen leaves your body. The tightening begins
internally, with the transversus abdominus and diaphragm contracting
dynamically as you "push" the air out. Externally, your rectus abdominus
and spinal erectors simply contract isometrically. Keep in mind you're
applying resistance, so the breathing itself is actually quite a workout
for those internal muscles. This is actually one of the primary uses
of power breathing and I'll discuss it later in greater detail.
Overall, the practice will strengthen all of the muscles used for trunk
stabilization. This is true to such an extent that world renowned sport
biochemist Vladimir Zatsiorsky has said that he considers power breathing
to be the best "core" exercise. We'll give ol' Vlad the benefit
of the doubt and assume he meant "core specific," which is why he mentions
breathing over squats and deads in terms of effectiveness.


So, How's It Done?
With all that basic, introductory information out of the way, it's
time to discuss the proper execution of a power breath. You can actually
do this at your computer right now to get a feel for it. Here is how
it's done: Stand up. Now sit down. Good, now stand up again. Touch
your nose. Put one hand on your head. Okay, okay, none of that is related
to power breathing, it's just more evidence that if I ever took
over the world I'd make everyone dance the Macerana for my own sick
amusement.
Here is the real way to do it. In either a standing or sitting position,
take a deep breath into your abdomen. Place your tongue along the ridge
in your mouth just behind your teeth. Next, flex your abs and your glutes,
and contract your rectal sphincter; then exhale forcefully through the 'blockage' created
by your tongue and teeth; you should hear a noise that sounds like, "hsssst." You
should feel a contraction internally, and if your deep abdominal muscles
are relatively untrained, it won't be long before a burning sensation
sets in. Continue to exhale until all of the air is expelled.
You've just completed one power breath!
Be sure to inhale into your belly, not your throat — a
good way to spot yourself on this is to practice in front of a mirror.
If when you inhale your shoulders rise, you're breathing into your
chest and throat. When you exhale, the air will travel back the same
way; unfortunately, forcefully exhaling in that manner may actually cause
your head to explode. Seriously; I saw it in a movie once.


Who Can Benefit?
Now you know what power breathing is and how it's done. All we
have left to cover is who power breathing benefits and how to incorporate
it into your training regimen.
There are a multitude of reasons to incorporate power breathing into
your training, but we'll just focus on some of the more impressive
ones.


1) Imbalanced? Fix it!
Abdominal imbalances occur quite frequently in bodybuilding, much more
often than would be expected. The most common of these imbalances results
from years of improper training and usually shows up in people who used
to be overweight. Sadly, many misinformed overweight people mistakenly
believe that by doing hundreds of crunches and sit-ups, or by using ab
do-dads with fancy "resistance bands," they'll lose the gut. Obviously,
we know this will never work out the way these people want it to, as
spot reduction is impossible without a bit of surgical aid. One unfortunate
side effect is that (in many people) such training will — over
time — create an imbalance between the rectus abdominus and transversus
abdominus.
Without getting too far into an anatomy lesson, we'll just give
a basic (very, very basic) overview of how this happens. The visible
muscle of the abdomen, the rectus abdominus (RA), lies just superficial
to the internal muscles of the abdominal cavity. The most important of
these is the transversus abdominus (TA), to which the rectus is partially
attached to and supported by. So over the years, all those crunches and
the like (which target only the RA) will have a cumulative hypertrophic
effect. The RA will grow bigger, stronger, and heavier, while
the TA remains relatively unchanged. The result is that, eventually,
the RA will be so overdeveloped that the TA simply cannot support the
weight of its superficial counterpart — a sort of sagging is
the final consequence.
The majority of individuals who experience this phenomenon never notice;
however, those that finally get their training and nutrition in order
certainly will. Once these trainees lose a considerable amount of fat,
they find that no matter how lean they get, they still have a distended
belly. That's right, folks: a GH gut without the GH; pregnant with
a six pack. Normally, these people would have one of two choices: circus
freak or professional bodybuilder... well, that's actually one
choice. However, in this situation, power breathing earns its stripes
and can be of great use.
As mentioned earlier, power breathing places great emphasis on the TA
and other inner abdominal muscles, but not much on the RA. Applied properly,
power breathing can be used to strengthen the transverse abdominal wall,
correcting the imbalance by allowing the formerly weak TA to hold up
that hypertrophied rectus. Neat, eh? Now you'll finally be able
to leave the circus! No one will ever call you "Cletus the pregnant dog
boy" again!


2) Slice n' Dice
Keeping on the topic of using power breathing purely for the purposes
of achieving physique goals, we come to our next use. As stated previously,
the act of performing a power breath causes the transversus abdominus
to contract dynamically while the rectus contracts isometrically
or statically. For vain guys like us, this works out perfectly. You see,
regardless of whether you suffer from the aforementioned ab imbalance,
having a strong TA will improve the over all appearance of your precious
six pack, as it will help you achieve a more muscular midsection.
That aside, the important thing here is the static contraction of the
RA. You may not think of this as "work" for the very visible rectus,
but in actuality the reverse is true. While the RA will certainly receive
little to no hypertrophy-inducing stimulus from power breathing, it will
be exposed to a substantial amount of time in a flexed state. Why does
this matter? Well, because it'll help you get so ripped you'll
have to scotch tape your skin on, that's why.