Part 1 of the Improving Force Production and Movement From Head to Toe Series
Written by Michael Crawley, BSc, BPT, CSCS
Introduction
When people think about improving strength and force production, attention is usually directed toward the obvious areas: the legs, hips, trunk, and shoulders. Rarely does anyone consider the tongue or jaw.
At first glance, this seems reasonable. The tongue is typically associated with speech, swallowing, and airway function rather than athletic performance. However, emerging research suggests that tongue position, tongue strength, and jaw function may influence force production, balance, coordination, and respiratory mechanics.
While strength is often viewed as a product of the arms, legs, and trunk, force is rarely generated by a single muscle or body part. Instead, it is transferred throughout the body as multiple regions work together. Understanding these connections may provide additional opportunities to improve performance, movement quality, and long-term health.
This article is the first in a series examining how different regions of the body contribute to force production and movement quality. We will begin at the top, exploring the tongue and jaw, before working downward through the diaphragm and foot.
Series Breakdown
This series will explore three often-overlooked contributors to force production, movement quality, and long-term function:
The tongue and jaw
The diaphragm and bracing
The foot and pressure distribution
Together, these concepts provide additional tools that may help an individual break through a plateau in a lift, improve their strategies to strength train, or attenuate some of the deficits and systemic problems which develop with age.
The Tongue & Jaw: Pressure and Position
The embryological development and anatomy of the tongue can shed light on how it is a forgotten piece in strength training and human function beyond mastication and speech. The tongue consists of intrinsic and extrinsic muscle connections. This allows an intricate dance where the complex can adapt its activation and position differently during breathing and swallowing (Fregosi and Ludlow 2014).
The tongue has the same neural origins as the hyoid bone and associated musculature involved in head and neck stabilization. The hyoid bone is a floating bone acting as an interface for the origin of the tongue and connector of important neck and jaw muscles.
There is a functional relationship between the tongue and diaphragm, demonstrated through the coordinated activation of specific extrinsic tongue muscles during respiration (Sokoloff 2004). As a result, tongue function can influence how easily air moves through the airway and how efficiently we breathe. This will really be hammered home in Part 2 regarding the diaphragm and bracing.
The tongue and jaw do not operate independently. Resting tongue position helps influence both jaw alignment and head posture, with the ideal resting position being the tongue gently placed against the roof of the mouth.
The jaw is also closely connected to the neck and upper body through muscles, nerves, and connective tissues (Silveira et al. 2015). Because of these connections, changes in jaw position can influence how the head, neck, and shoulders work together.
This is important because force is rarely generated by a single muscle or body part. Instead, it is transferred throughout the body as multiple regions work together. The tongue and jaw may seem far removed from exercises such as squats, deadlifts, or carries, but their connections to the neck and upper body suggest they can still influence posture, stability, and force production.
The image below highlights some of the tissues that link the jaw, neck, and shoulder region. Next, we will discuss how tongue function changes over time and why this may be particularly important for the older athlete.
Importance of Tongue Function in the Older Athlete
When most people think about age-related muscle loss, they think of weaker legs, reduced grip strength, or difficulty getting up from a chair. What is often overlooked is that the tongue also loses strength and muscle mass with age.
This decline in tongue function has been associated with several important health concerns, including impaired swallowing, increased risk of aspiration, and poorer balance (Bordoni et al. 2018). In other words, tongue function may influence much more than speech or eating.
For older athletes and gym-goers, this creates an interesting opportunity. Maintaining tongue strength and awareness may be a simple strategy to support both performance and long-term health. While it is unlikely to be the most important piece of the puzzle, it may be one of the easier ones to address. Similar to strength training itself, small improvements maintained over time can have a meaningful impact on long-term health, balance, and independence.
This could be as simple as applying firm tongue pressure to the roof of the mouth during heavier lifts or practicing proper resting tongue position while performing breathing exercises and warm-up activities.
Evidence of Tongue Pressure and Strength Performance
At this point, it is reasonable to ask whether tongue position and tongue pressure actually influence strength and movement, or whether this is simply an interesting anatomical discussion.
While the research in this area is still developing, several studies have demonstrated improvements in force production, balance, and movement performance when tongue position or tongue stimulation is altered.
Some examples include:
Saito et al. (2022) demonstrated that the rate of force development (RFD) of tongue pressure was strongly correlated with knee extensor strength and single-leg stand time in adults over 65.
di Vico et al. (2013) found that tongue position significantly impacted knee flexor strength test performance. Participants generated approximately 30% greater force when the tongue was pressed against the roof of the mouth compared to a resting position.
Wildenberg et al. (2010) found improvements in balance and postural sway following external tongue stimulation in older adults.
Taken together, these findings suggest that tongue function may influence more than just speech, swallowing, and breathing. It may also play a role in force production, balance, and coordination.
This does not mean tongue position should become the primary focus of a training program. Rather, it may represent another small but useful strategy that can be incorporated alongside sound strength training principles.
The diagram below demonstrates the recommended tongue position, with the tongue resting against the roof of the mouth and the tip sitting just behind the upper front teeth. The next question is why these changes might influence performance in the first place.
Why Might the Tongue and Jaw Influence Performance?
At this point, the obvious question is: why would tongue position or jaw activity affect strength, balance, and movement quality in the first place?
The honest answer is that we do not know exactly. While the relationship between tongue position and breathing is well established, the mechanisms behind its apparent influence on force production and coordination are still being investigated.
Several theories have been proposed, including changes in nervous system activation, interactions between cranial nerves involved in coordination, and connective tissue links between the tongue, neck, and chest (Bordoni et al. 2018). Regardless of the exact mechanism, multiple studies have demonstrated improvements in strength, balance, and movement performance when tongue position, tongue pressure, or jaw activity are altered.
Similar findings have been reported with jaw clenching. Research has demonstrated improvements in force production, grip strength, jumping performance, rowing strength, and balance when a jaw clench is incorporated during testing (Allen et al. 2017; Buscà et al. 2016; Alghadir et al. 2015).
However, there is an important trade-off. Unlike tongue position, excessive or habitual jaw clenching can contribute to issues such as teeth grinding (bruxism) and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) irritation. For that reason, I generally place greater emphasis on tongue position and tongue strength than aggressive jaw clenching. The potential benefits appear similar, while the downside risk is lower.
The broader lesson is that force production is not simply a function of the muscles directly involved in a lift. The body operates as an integrated system, and seemingly small factors such as tongue position, breathing strategy, and jaw position may influence how force is generated and transferred throughout the body.
This is one reason why movement assessments should look beyond individual muscles and joints. At Avos Strength, our assessment process examines how multiple systems work together to influence movement quality, performance, and long-term function.
Summary
The tongue and jaw may influence more than speech, swallowing, and chewing. Research suggests they can also affect breathing, balance, coordination, and force production.
While these factors are unlikely to be the primary drivers of performance, they represent simple strategies that may improve movement quality and strength expression when combined with sound training principles.
For older adults, maintaining tongue function may also have benefits beyond the gym, supporting balance, respiratory function, and overall quality of life.
Takeaways
Pressing the tongue firmly against the roof of the mouth may help improve force production during strength exercises.
Resting the tongue gently against the roof of the mouth can support an open airway and efficient breathing during mobility, warm-up, and recovery work.
Jaw clenching may improve strength, jumping performance, and balance, but excessive or habitual clenching can contribute to jaw irritation and teeth grinding.
If choosing between the two strategies, tongue position is likely the lower-risk and more practical place to start.
These concepts should be viewed as small pieces of the puzzle, not replacements for sound strength training, recovery, and exercise technique.
Next Up
In Part 2, we will move one step lower and examine the diaphragm, breathing, and bracing.
Topics will include:
Basic diaphragm anatomy and function
The relationship between breathing and trunk stability
Bracing strategies for strength training performance
Practical applications for both performance and long-term health
References
Alghadir, A. H. et al. 2015. Effect of three different jaw positions on postural stability during standing. Funct Neurol 30(1), pp. 53-57.
Allen, C. et al. 2017. The Effects Of Jaw Clenching And Jaw Alignment Mouthpiece Use On Force Production During Vertical Jump And Isometric Clean Pull. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 32, p. 1. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002172
Bordoni, B. et al. 2018. The Anatomical Relationships of the Tongue with the Body System. Cureus 10. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3695
Buscà, B. et al. 2016. Effects of Jaw Clenching While Wearing a Customized Bite-Aligning Mouthpiece on Strength in Healthy Young Men. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 30(4).
di Vico, R. et al. 2013. The acute effect of the tongue position in the mouth on knee isokinetic test performance: a highly surprising pilot study. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J 3(4), pp. 318-323.
Fregosi, R. F. and Ludlow, C. L. 2014. Activation of upper airway muscles during breathing and swallowing. J Appl Physiol 116(3), pp. 291-301. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00670.2013
Miró, A. et al. 2023. Acute effects of jaw clenching while wearing a customized bite-aligning mouthguard on muscle activity and force production during maximal upper body isometric strength. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness 21(1), pp. 157-164. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2022.12.004
Saito, S. et al. 2022. Relationship between Rate of Force Development of Tongue Pressure and Physical Performance. J Clin Med 11(9). doi: 10.3390/jcm11092347
Silveira, A. et al. 2015. Jaw dysfunction is associated with neck disability and muscle tenderness in subjects with and without chronic temporomandibular disorders. Biomed Res Int 2015, p. 512792. doi: 10.1155/2015/512792
Sokoloff, A. J. 2004. Activity of tongue muscles during respiration: it takes a village? Journal of Applied Physiology 96(2), pp. 438-439. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01079.2003
Wildenberg, J. C. et al. 2010. Sustained cortical and subcortical neuromodulation induced by electrical tongue stimulation. Brain Imaging Behav 4(3-4), pp. 199-211. doi: 10.1007/s11682-010-9099-7