My bracing on squats and deadlifts is inconsistent and I think it's costing me strength and safety. How did you all learn to brace properly? The cues never quite click for me in the moment.
The cue that works for most: big breath into your belly (not your chest), then brace like you're about to be punched in the gut. 360 degrees of pressure - belly, sides, lower back - not just sucking in. Hold it through the rep, breathe at the top.
I think I breathe into my chest and just hold my breath, which isn't the same.
That's a common error. Breathe low into the belly and push out against your core/belt. The chest breath leaves you soft in the middle.
A cheap drill: lie on your back, breathe into your belly so it rises (not your chest), then tense your abs hard while keeping the pressure. Feel that 360 brace, then replicate it standing with a bar. Practising it off the bar helps it click.
A belt can teach the feeling too - you have something to push your belly out against, which makes the brace tangible. Just don't let the belt replace the brace; it amplifies a good brace, it doesn't create one.
Belly breath, brace against an imaginary punch, practise lying down, use the belt to feel it. That finally makes sense as something I can drill. Thanks all.