"Oh, the client's ribs are flaring open. Their abs look weak, so I'll have them do a draw-in with a focus on fully exhaling."
↑ This is only half correct.
Please don't reduce rib flare (rib opening) solely to weak abdominal muscles.
Look at the "thoracic expansion pattern" first.
Let me break this down further.
■ Where I Judge Rib Flare From
Many trainers think, "Ribs are flaring because the abs are weak."
But the first thing I do is "look."
- Is the lower edge of the ribs floating forward?
- Does it retract when they exhale?
I rarely experience thinking something looks flared visually, only to find out later that it was completely different.
So, I use visual inspection—information gathered by looking—as a basis for my coaching decisions.
However, this doesn't mean you can determine exactly how much it's flared or pinpoint the cause just by looking.
What I'm looking for is material to decide where to start today's session.
"Isn't touching and checking faster?"
Some of you might have thought that.
But for female clients, the lower ribs are under the chest.
It's a sensitive area, so I avoid forcing myself to touch there.
If assessment relies on not touching, some days won't get done.
So, I judge by looking, then look again at the same spot immediately after performing an exercise.
I operate on these three steps: Assessment → Approach → Re-assessment.
■ Why Do Lower Ribs "Escape Forward"?
In normal inhalation, the thorax expands front-to-back and side-to-side, the diaphragm descends, and the abdomen bulges.
What happens if this omnidirectional expansion becomes impossible?
The lungs need to secure space.
So they escape in the easiest direction.
That escape route is a compensation pattern called the "forward escape pattern," which lifts the lower ribs upward and outward.
This is within the scope of what functional anatomy can explain.
I cannot say that everyone's rib flare is determined by this single factor alone.
If someone still has room for expansion in the posterior thorax, opening the back side prevents the ribs from escaping forward.
What I key on in my coaching is this posterior thoracic expansion.
You don't necessarily need to train your abs like crazy.
Of course, I wouldn't say abs are completely irrelevant, but it's not just about them.
■ First, Drill the Breathing Pattern
(↑ Sounds like Demon Slayer lol)
I will introduce two exercises to regain posterior thoracic expansion, but both use the same breathing method.
This is the foundation; if this is buggy, no amount of exercise will change anything.
[Exhalation]
Exhale slowly through the mouth, like sighing.
Imagine "a deep sigh of genuine disappointment toward someone."
Take 5–10 seconds, long and soft.
When you've exhaled completely, feel the lower ribs descend.
Then, slight tension enters the sides of the abdomen (oblique muscles).
Not the six-pack, but the sides.
[Inhalation]
- Close your mouth, tongue against the roof of the mouth.
- Inhale quietly through the nose.
- Take 3–5 seconds, quiet enough that no sound is produced.
If you feel the back expanding during this, you're doing it right.
[Key Point]
As the work of breathing increases, neck muscles tend to engage.
So, if I hear the inhalation sound, I treat it as a sign they are inhaling with their neck and have them re-inhale quietly.
Tell clients to use "not hearing their own inhalation sound" as their benchmark.
※ I haven't confirmed evidence that sound presence/absence definitively diagnoses compensation. I use it as a cue.
Maintain the lateral abdominal tension felt at the end of exhalation at about 2/10 intensity while entering inhalation.
This is the essence.
If you let go completely before inhaling, you return to the forward escape pattern.
The 1-10 scale is just a guideline for the client.
For those who don't understand, having them touch their sides at the end of exhalation and keeping that sensation while inhaling works fine.
■ Drilling Two Home Exercises
[Exercise 1] Child's Pose Breathing
What you need — One pillow (folded in half).
[How to do it]
- Fold the pillow in half and place it under the lower ribs/abdomen.
- Assume the Child's Pose position (pull hips toward heels).
- Bring elbows toward knees, keeping inner elbows lightly touching.
- Perform the breathing sequence in a state of 100% relaxation.
[Notes]
- Keep head in neutral position (not too high, not too low).
- If hips don't reach heels → Place a foam roller behind knees to shorten distance.
- If elbows don't reach → Widen elbows slightly and bring hands together; that's OK.
Most people understand the sensation of the back expanding with this.
[Exercise 2] Seated Forward Reach Breathing
What you need — One pillow (folded in half) + Chair + Step (optional).
[How to do it]
- Sit on a chair, creating a 90° angle at knees and hips (adjust height with step).
- Ensure sit bones are evenly distributed on the chair.
- Fold the pillow in half and wedge it between lower ribs and top of thighs.
- Rest arms on the pillow, bend elbows, palms facing yourself.
- Reach forward into a slight lean.
- Perform the breathing sequence in this posture.
[Notes]
- Head neutral (don't jut forward, don't tuck excessively).
- Feeling the urge to lift up during inhalation is a sign of "trying to breathe into the belly and extend" → Don't lift up.
- Actually, being slightly rounded is correct for this exercise.
- The goal is "opening the posterior ribs," so there's no need to open the front.
[Key Point]
If your body moves wanting to "lift up" during inhalation, that IS the forward escape pattern.
Suppress that impulse and send breath only to the back.
The difference between the two exercises is just location and posture.
It's not divided by body condition determining the exercise.
Those who can curl up on the floor → #1
Those who find getting on the floor hard, or want to do it at work in a chair → #2
You can teach #1 to grasp the back-expansion sensation, then assign #2 as homework.
Both are roughly 2 sets × 5–10 breathing cycles.
Stand up immediately after doing them and look again at the spot you initially assessed.
Some see changes on the spot.
Others don't.
But in that case, you gain information that "today's entry point wasn't breathing."
Don't reduce rib flare to just "weak abs."
What I look at first is whether the thorax is expanding backward.
Even if you train abs desperately, some remain flared if expansion doesn't occur.
Conversely, sometimes changing the breathing pattern causes immediate change.
If a client's ribs are flared, look at "breathing" first.
Posterior Thorax Before Abs
■ P.S.
Whether you stop at "weak abs" when seeing rib flare, or look at how the thorax expands,
the scenery you see before the same client is entirely different.
Where you look, what you output, and where you confirm change.
Having that order is all it takes.
Furthermore, this isn't limited to ribs.
Knees caving in, lumbar hyperextension, shoulder shrugging.
All of these depend on whether you stop at what you see or look at areas that aren't moving; that determines the day's coaching.
It's separate from how many cases you've seen.
It's about having the order of assessment and criteria for switching when no change occurs.
・Why you should choose alignment and movement analysis first among countless assessments
・Alignment correction patterns reproducible without being a "God Hand"
・How to explain body states in words clients can accept
I plan to distribute these topics via official LINE.
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