Is Bracing Necessary for Squats and Deadlifts?

When learning to squat and deadlift, it’s important to brace. Bracing is when you build tension in your core to stabilize and protect the spine during exercise.

Proper bracing helps in maximizing performance and minimizing the risk of injury. 

Below, I'll cover what it is, why it is important, and its mechanics. I will also show you how to avoid common bracing mistakes.

What is Bracing?

Bracing is a technique used in weightlifting to stabilize the core and protect the spine during exercises like the squat and deadlift. It involves creating intra-abdominal pressure to build tension in the core muscles, especially when coupled with a weightlifting belt. This level of tension in the midsection provides a sturdy foundation for lifting heavy weights, ensuring that your spine remains in a safe, neutral position throughout the movement.

Powerlifters who want to improve their squat or deadlift should truly understand bracing. To understand bracing, imagine preparing for a heavy lift. Before you lift, you instinctively take a deep breath through your abdomen and tighten your abdomen. This natural reaction is the essence of bracing.

When executed correctly, bracing engages the diaphragm, the abdominal muscles, and the lower back muscles to create a rigid and supportive core. 

Bracing is not just for elite athletes or powerlifters, though. It is a fundamental skill for anyone engaging in weight training.

Whether you're lifting for strength, muscle growth, or general fitness, proper bracing can significantly enhance your performance and safety.

Related: How to Build Muscle (Time Under Tension vs. Volume)

Why is Bracing Important for Squats and Deadlifts?

Bracing is important to help a lifter leverage their technique more efficiently by having better posture and spinal positioning. When lifting heavy weights, your spine is subjected to significant loads. Without proper stabilization, these loads can cause the spine to flex or extend in ways that increase the risk of injury. Bracing helps maintain a neutral spine position, reducing the likelihood of dangerous movements and ensuring that the force is distributed evenly across your anatomy. 

When discussing a neutral spine, we are discussing the idea of the spine staying predominantly straight and upright.

In lifting, keeping a tall posture reduces the chances of a flexed spine and a weakened position. In life, the strongest structures are as close to 90 degrees as possible when in relation to the floor. Meaning, the strongest structures are perpendicular and upright when built to stand above the floor. If your anatomy can stay more upright, you’ll be in a stronger position to lift more weight and reduce wasted energy on maintaining correct form. 

By maintaining a rigid core, you can better control your movements, ensuring that you follow the correct lifting patterns. This control helps prevent compensatory movements that can lead to muscle imbalances and injuries over time.

Video: Should You Brace for Squat and Deadlift?

Here's my video on the subject.

Understanding the Mechanics of Bracing 

Understanding the mechanics of bracing involves knowing how to properly engage your core muscles to stabilize your spine during lifts. To better understand how to brace for squats and deadlifts, you need to start off by understanding how to brace in general. 

 How to Brace

1. Stand tall and place your hands on the sides of your abdomen. Take a deep breath, focusing on expanding your abdomen rather than your chest. Imagine filling your belly with air, causing it to expand outward in all directions—front, sides, and back. This expansion is crucial for creating a solid base of support.
2. Once your abdomen is filled with air, tighten your core muscles as if preparing to take a punch. This tightening should not involve sucking in your stomach but rather bracing outward against the pressure.  
3. When performing this brace, understand that you should maintain the brace throughout the whole rep, especially if it is a one-rep max. In order to maintain your brace you need to hold your breath for the majority of the lift, incorporating the Valsalva maneuver. 
4. Once you have lifted past your sticking point, you can breathe out to decrease the amount of pressure in your body so you don’t get lightheaded or injured.

One key to bracing is the stability of the spine. That's why you should combine bracing with a weightlifting belt. On a related note, check out my guide on breaking in a lifting belt. This idea of bracing against a lifting belt helps to add even more intra-abdominal pressure to support the spine even more especially during heavy loads.  

Next, we will discuss how to brace for squats and deadlifts, to have a better outcome and reduce the likelihood of injury.  

How to Brace for a Squat or Deadlift

Below, we will provide a step-by-step guide for how to brace during a squat or deadlift rep. 

Guide for a Squat Brace

1. Unrack the barbell with weight on your shoulders.
2. Look forward and stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
3. Grip the bar tightly and pull your shoulder blades together and down.
4. Breathe deeply through your stomach, expanding your belly.
5. Tighten your core as if preparing for a punch.
6. Push your hips back and bend your knees to begin the descent, maintaining core tension.
7. Keep your core braced at the bottom of the squat.
8. Push through your heels, extending your hips and knees to drive upward.
9. Exhale after passing the sticking point.

Guide for a Deadlift Brace

1. Stand with a conventional or sumo stance, positioning the bar over the mid-foot.
2. Bend at your hips and knees to grip the bar.
3. Ensure your spine is neutral, with your chest up and shoulders over the bar.
4. Breathe deeply through your stomach, expanding your belly.
5. Tighten your abs, pushing out as if against a belt.
6. Engage your lats by pulling the slack of the bar.
7. Drive through your heels, extending your hips and knees simultaneously to lift the bar, keeping it close to your body.
8. Stand tall at the top with hips fully extended and shoulders back, exhaling at lockout.

Pro Tip from Coach Lucero:

If you want to elevate your strength in the squat or deadlift, you should wear a lifting belt to add more intra-abdominal pressure for supporting the spine even more. However, don’t wear a belt all the time. Only wear a belt when you begin to lift at heavier loads, especially if you are lifting 5 reps or less. 

Benefits of Proper Bracing for LIfting

In order to be an advanced lifter, such as a powerlifter, you will want to learn about bracing because of its many benefits. 

Enhanced Stability and Control:

Bracing increases intra-abdominal pressure, creating a rigid core that stabilizes the spine. This stability is crucial for maintaining proper form and control during heavy lifts, such as squats, deadlifts, and more. A stable core prevents excessive movement of the spine, reducing the risk of losing balance or deviating from the optimal lifting path. This control helps powerlifters perform lifts more safely and efficiently.

Injury Prevention:

By stabilizing the spine and creating a solid foundation, bracing significantly reduces the risk of injuries, particularly to the lower back. The increased intra-abdominal pressure acts like a natural weightlifting belt, supporting the lumbar spine and distributing the load more evenly across the body. This support helps prevent common lifting injuries, such as herniated discs, muscle strains, and lower back pain.

Increased Lifting Performance:

Proper bracing enhances the power transfer from the lower body to the barbell. When the core is stable and the spine is supported, powerlifters can generate more force and lift heavier weights. The improved force transmission enables powerlifters to maximize their strength potential, leading to better performance in competitions.  

Common Bracing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When learning to brace, there are a few common mistakes I notice in many lifters:

• Breathing through their shoulders
• Breathing outward too early
• Wearing their belt too high

Breathing Through Their Shoulders

Many lifters mistakenly breathe through their shoulders, causing the chest to rise. This shallow breathing fails to create sufficient intra-abdominal pressure, reducing core stability and increasing the risk of injury. It also causes lifters to lose tension in their posterior chain so their spine will likely flex during the lift, putting them in a weakened position for lifting success. 

Breathing Outward Too Early

Exhaling too early during a lift can diminish the intra-abdominal pressure necessary for maintaining spinal stability. Lifters should hold their breath through the most challenging portion of the lift and exhale only after passing the sticking point to maintain proper bracing.

Wearing Their Belt too High

A lifting belt worn too high on the torso fails to support the lower back effectively. This can help support the thoracic spine, however, fails to support the lower lumbar spine that is closely connected to the hip joint where motion exists. The belt should be positioned around the midsection, covering the abdominal area to maximize intra-abdominal pressure and spinal support during heavy lifts.

Exercises to Strengthen Your Brace

There are three exercises that I believe are great movements to help teach someone how impactful bracing can be for lifts like the squat and deadlift. 

Beginner: Push Up Plank

• Start in a push-up position with your hands directly under your shoulders 
• Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels, engaging your core and glutes.
• Maintain this position for 20-30 seconds, focusing on keeping your hips level and not allowing them to sag or rise.
• Breathe steadily and deeply, keeping your neck in a neutral position.
• Increase the hold time by 10-15 seconds as you build strength, aiming for up to 1 minute.

Video

Programming Recommendation: 3 sets of 30 second reps for 2-3 times a week

Intermediate: Elbow Plank

• Begin on the floor with your elbows directly under your shoulders, forearms flat on the ground.
• Extend your legs straight behind you, keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Engage your core, glutes, and quads, ensuring your hips are in line with your shoulders and heels.
• Maintain this position for 20-30 seconds, avoiding any sagging or arching in the back.
• Maintain steady, deep breaths throughout the hold.
• Gradually increase the hold time by 10-15 seconds, aiming for up to 1 minute.

Video

Programming Recommendation: 3 sets of 30 second reps for 2-3 times a week

Advanced: Elevated Elbow Plank with Row

• Place your elbows on an elevated surface (like a bench) with a dumbbell beside each hand.
• Assume the elbow plank position with your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• With your core engaged, lift one dumbbell off the ground and row it towards your ribcage, keeping your hips steady.
• Lower the dumbbell back to the ground and repeat on the other side.
• Perform 8-10 rows on each side, maintaining proper plank form.
• Keep a steady breathing pattern and avoid rotating your hips or shoulders during the rows.
• Increase the weight of the dumbbells or the number of repetitions as you gain strength.

Video

Programming Recommendation: 3 sets of 6-8 reps per arm for 2 times a week

Conclusion

Squats and deadlifts are essential exercises in fitness and strength training but can be risky if not performed correctly. Bracing, a technique to stabilize the core and protect the spine, is crucial for these lifts. By creating intra-abdominal pressure, bracing maximizes performance and minimizes injury risk. 

So whether you’re a powerlifter, strongman, or someone who strength-trains at leisure, incorporate bracing into your programming to become an efficient lifter (and a much stronger one). 

Citations:

• Hackett DA, Chow CM. The Valsalva maneuver: its effect on intra-abdominal pressure and safety issues during resistance exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Aug;27(8):2338-45. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31827de07d. PMID: 23222073.
• Maeo S, Takahashi T, Takai Y, Kanehisa H. Trunk muscle activities during abdominal bracing: comparison among muscles and exercises. J Sports Sci Med. 2013 Sep 1;12(3):467-74. PMID: 24149153; PMCID: PMC3772590.