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Rib flare is extremely common but not a death sentence. You can absolutely make gains with consistency and smart programming. This video will give you both.

You can view Part 1: What is Rib Flare here:    • What Is Rib Flare? Watch To Learn How...  

Step 1 is simply learning how to breathe properly. This means expanding the entire ribcage without compensations such as flaring your ribs up or using your neck to pull air in. In order to avoid these compensations we use constraints to give us feedback.

1:37 Setting Up Constraints

Use anything if you don't have a band. A towel is great as a thin layer just to give your brain sensation to not lose the lower back ribs on the ground. You do not need to crunch your lower back into the ground.

The towel under the neck can be larger than the video or smaller. Ideally, it gives your neck a curve. Think the opposite of a chin tuck or military neck. Setting the eyes to the ceiling will help a ton also.

2:57 Opening Up The Airway 510 Reps

This is such a gamechanger. Video yourself doing this from the side. You can measure progress by how far you can get your chin painfree. Try not to let your jaw slide back... we want to keep it forward similar to a bulldog.

3:49 Supine Breathing 510 Minutes

Your suboptimal breathing patterns did not happen in 5 minutes so do not expect to break them in 5 minutes either. This is where consistency is necessary over time. This is perfect to do first thing in the morning with a glass of water and sunshine.

If you look closely you will notice the model struggles with this and his ribs barely move.

The best thing to do is video yourself shirtless from the side and front/overhead. Watch what expands and what doesn't.

Did your neck tension with veins and contract to lift your ribs on the inhale?

Did your ribs pop up on the inhale?

You don't want to crunch but you should feel obliques at the end of the exhale and even keep some tension there as they slowly expand under control. Film yourself and post it in our Elite Video Membership Facebook group if you want feedback from Ian.

Step 2 is adding a reach and focusing the chest expansion

6:29 Supine Pullover 3/4 sets of 510 breaths in the morning or preworkout

You should be able to keep your back ribs down now after practicing the exhale and pause. Now we can add the reach which will promote the chest to expand without the rib flare.

Do not go past your nose. Many people would benefit from not exceeding shoulder height. If your ribs flare and you lose the lower back ribs on the ground then we are just feeding the rib flare. If this is you it might be worth doubling down on step 1 for a little longer.

The inhale should allow your ribs to expand. For illustrations of ribcage, mechanics check out our breathing blog: https://www.markowtrainingsystems.com...

10:01 Side Plank 3/4 Sets of 3060 Seconds

This is a must for everyone. If you are the classic left rib flare person then you need to double down on this. This won't hurt to do both sides. We all need obliques.

When on the left side we can progress this by reaching the hand under the left abs without losing the push through the left arm.

11:37 High To Low Chop 3/4 Sets Of 10 Reps

This is another one that you can do more on one side or both. You can also superset this with the sideplank. Since most people with a rib flare are also limited in shoulder mobility it is smart to start with the cable shoulder height versus above the head. You might also want to limit the range of motion so you do not have to reach far across your body.

You can work on holds and reps. Try to apply the same concepts you learned on the floor with the breathing to the standing exercises.

Thank you so much for watching. If you are consistent with this and do not give up this is going to be a gamechanger for you!

Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

For training programs, online classes, and one on one coaching check out our website.

https://www.markowtrainingsystems.com