POSITIONAL BREATHING: IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAINING PRINCIPLES
Positional breathing has become a common topic among coaches discussing performance. Dr. Michelle Boland, a Boston-based strength and conditioning coach, offers her perspective on how this concept fits into training.
IDENTIFY
As fitness professionals, our job is to determine what matters for clients. This means identifying priorities, forming principles, and following through with implementation. Principles are the beliefs you teach and use to guide every aspect of training—from exercise choices to session structure, program design, and communication.
Two core principles I rely on:
1) All movement is shape change (influence from Bill Hartman)
2) Proximal position influences distal movement abilities
FORMULATE
Movement is about shape change. We alter shapes by expanding and compressing parts of the body. Movement happens where expansion is possible and is limited where compression dominates. An athlete’s ability to transition from expanded to compressed positions informs how they move.
Movement directions vary with position and breathing. Some positions allow more expansion, increasing movement possibilities. Breathing supports expansion (inhale) and compression (exhale).
Position selection underpins exercise choice. Supine, prone, side-lying, tall kneeling, half kneeling, staggered, lateral, and standing positions influence which areas can expand or compress. Small adjustments—reaching forward, reaching overhead, lifting a heel or toe—together with pairing breath to these positions further shape movement. The proximal bones, such as the rib cage and pelvis, anchor movement. Stacking the thorax and pelvis provides a stable base, and breathing enables expansion in the chest and pelvis, creating space for the limbs to move without pain.
Heavy lifting can compress parts of the body and limit expansion, hindering rotation and movement. Remember: expansion enables movement, so adding positional breathing work can create opportunities to expand.
IMPLEMENT
Where to start with positional breathing? Begin with what you already do, then apply this new lens to where you want movement to occur. Label exercise positions and pair respiration to support the desired effect—inhale to enhance expansion, exhale to enhance compression. Here are examples of how I weave the two principles into exercises. Movement in each example can be supported or limited by changing position, breath, or execution.
1) SUPINE REACH
In the supine position, reach both arms forward to expand the upper chest on inhalation. This can also help stack the thorax over the pelvis with a gentle hip tuck and a soft exhale to move the ribcage downward. The stack becomes the setup for your main lifts (squat, deadlift, etc.). Notice how inhalation expands the upper chest and exhalation creates compression.
2) STAGGERED STANCE DEADLIFT (CAMPORINI)
The staggered stance enhances expansion in the rear hip of the back leg. The front leg can push back to align the pelvis and chest with the back leg. Reaching the opposite arm helps transfer weight to the back leg. Inhaling during the hip hinge can boost expansion in the posterior hip.
3) LOW CABLE STEP-UP
In this stance, the hip of the elevated leg is in flexion (expansive) and the hip of the grounded leg is in extension (compressive). An opposite-arm cable hold expands the upper back; as you push up, the posterior hip of the elevated leg will compress. At the bottom, expansion can be increased in the posterior side of the flexed hip and the arm holding the cable. Inhale at the bottom, exhale during the movement.
4) HIGH HIP REVERSE BEAR CRAWL
This bear crawl variation, performed with high hips and a reverse direction, promotes expansion in the upper thorax and posterior hips. You can maintain continuous breathing or pause to inhale at times. It’s an excellent warm-up.
5) TEMPO SQUAT WITH BREATHING
Begin standing. The assisted squat includes a forward-reaching cue that mirrors the stacked thorax and pelvis, similar to goblet, Zercher, or safety-bar squats. The squat requires both expansion and compression through its phases to descend and ascend against gravity. In general, inhale on the way down and exhale as you rise.
6) MEDICINE BALL LATERAL STANCE WEIGHT SHIFT LOAD AND RELEASE THROW
This movement uses a lateral stance and adds power to positional breathing. Inhale while pulling the ball across the body to bias expansion of the outside leg’s posterior hip; exhale during the throw to bias compression exiting the outside hip. It also supports rotation and power by creating targeted expansion and compression in the body. For example, to promote right rotation, you’ll need coordinated compression and expansion on multiple sides.
CONCLUSION
Positional breathing can improve speed, shoulder and hip mobility, rotational power, and efficient movement. These principles guide exercise selection, cueing, teaching, and the pairing of respiration with movement. The stacked position links the rib cage and pelvis (thoracic and pelvic diaphragms) and can serve as a foundation for movement. Thanks to Bill Hartman for introducing this perspective. Implement these strategies with clients and you’ll see improvements in squats, hinges, running, rotation, and overall movement.
PRINCIPLE-BASED COACHING
A strategy is only as good as your ability to implement and communicate it. You get better at both by building and applying training principles. If you want to learn more about training principles, how to implement them in coaching, and how principles can improve your continuing education, join me for a free webinar on Thursday, October 1 at 2:00 pm EST. In the webinar, you’ll learn to formulate principles, translate new information into practical coaching, and implement it. You’ll discover how training principles can be used to:
– Make new information useful to you, your clients, and your business
– Clarify your coaching decisions
– Develop a sharper coaching eye
– Plan more effectively to achieve client results
– Build confidence in your abilities and shape your coaching identity
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Michelle Boland
Owner of Michelle Boland Training
PhD in Exercise Physiology
Instagram: @dr.michelleboland
Link to FREE Webinar: michelle-boland-training.mykajabi.com/coachingwebinar
