The vacuum for the abdomen is an exercise recommended for men and women who want to reduce their waist. It represents the maximum retraction of the abdomen inward and a hold in this position for a minute or two, while we do not hold our breath, but continue to breathe normally. In our article today, we will look at how to do a stomach vacuum exercise.
The benefit of the abdominal vacuum is that by static holding the abdomen in a retracted position, we can gradually reduce the volume of the abdomen and waist. Assuming a low-carb diet and regular exercise, of course.
The vacuum of the press, as an exercise, is convenient in that it can be done absolutely anywhere; absolutely no additional equipment is required to perform it. Do this exercise at work, school, in the car, on public transport ... Standing or sitting, more advanced options are lying down and standing on all fours.
In my student years, I conducted a small experiment with a vacuum: the metro ride to the university took a little over thirty minutes, during which time I managed to do about 10-15 approaches of this exercise. The result became noticeable after a few weeks: the waist became almost 5 cm, the volume of the abdomen also decreased. By my own example, I was convinced of the effectiveness of this exercise and its benefits for weight loss, so I think that it definitely deserves attention - it will be an excellent addition to a proper diet with a moderate amount of fat and carbohydrates, strength and cardio training.
In today's article, we will consider the following aspects and features of the correct implementation of the abdominal vacuum:
- Technique for performing the exercise - how to properly vacuum the abdomen;
- What errors occur when performing a vacuum for the abdomen;
- Training program;
- What are the contraindications for performing the exercise.
How to do the abdominal vacuum exercise correctly?
As with any exercise that involves static muscle tension and full concentration on the biomechanics of movement, the result is 100% dependent on the correct technique. If the technique of performing a vacuum in the abdomen is not perfected to delicacy, it is unlikely that you will be able to get the maximum benefit from this exercise.
Let's figure out how to do the vacuum exercise. You can start doing it right now, without distracting from reading this article.
- Get into the correct starting position: Stand or sit on a stable surface (you can get on all fours for more control, this option is a little more difficult for beginners, but extremely effective), look forward, keep your back straight throughout the approach.
- Take a deep breath, as deep as possible, while pulling in your belly. To make it easier for you to visualize this process, imagine that you want to reach the spine with your navel, squeezing the internal organs somewhere in the middle, and “shove” the stomach itself under the ribs.
- Once you have sucked in your stomach as much as possible, exhale smoothly and continue breathing normally, but remember to keep your stomach sucked in. It sounds elementary, but try it and make sure that in practice everything is much more complicated - the correct execution of a vacuum also requires a lot of time and effort.
The load on the abdominal muscles is simply colossal, do not be alarmed if at first the muscles cramp - this is normal.
The main load is taken by the transverse abdominal muscle, which is practically not involved in conventional abdominal exercises, and even among fairly experienced athletes, it is often in a weak tone. When the transverse abdominal muscle is toned, the waist will certainly decrease, the visual effect of the bulging belly will become less with each workout.
Try to lock in this position for as long as possible. Start with several sets of 15-20 seconds and gradually increase the load. Anything more than a minute is an excellent result and great motivation for others.
A kind of exercise
There is another option for performing a vacuum for the press, but I believe that it is less effective, and the practical benefit from it is minimal. It is done without holding the abdomen in the "retracted" position, we do not do any additional fixation and immediately relax. So this movement is simply deep breathing while pulling in the abdomen. Will you make significant progress from this in burning visceral fat and reducing waist size? Doubtful.
However, such an embodiment is quite the case, it is well suited for beginner athletes who still find it difficult to breathe with their abdomen pulled in, so the transverse abdominal muscle will receive at least some kind of load. This type of vacuum and similar movements have gained wide popularity in qigong and yoga, but when doing fitness and crossfit it is preferable to stay on the first option.
What mistakes occur during exercise?
Below are the main mistakes that athletes experience when mastering the abdominal vacuum. These technical errors do not pose a serious injury hazard, but can significantly delay your progress:
- Do not round your back in the thoracic spine during the execution of the vacuum, so you will not be able to concentrate on the correct fixation of the abdominal region.
- Do not make a vacuum immediately after a heavy meal.The best time for this exercise is in the morning on an empty stomach. At this time of day, catabolic processes prevail in the body, and so you will increase the lipolysis of visceral fat.
- The regularity of physical activity is great, but you should not go mad in this matter. Do not perform this exercise if you feel pain or discomfort. stomach or intestines, or have a soreness in the abdominal muscles. Girls are not recommended to do a vacuum during menstruation or during pregnancy, excessive physical exertion on the abdominal muscles can make adjustments to the menstrual cycle and to the work of the reproductive system.
- Watch your breath, it shouldn't be harsh. You need to breathe deeply, but smoothly and measuredly.
Press Vacuum Training Program
Any exercise loses its effectiveness if you do not try to mentally focus as much as possible on the work of the necessary muscle groups and do not adhere to the principle of load progression, and the vacuum for the press is no exception.
When you are just starting to master this exercise, I recommend starting with three approaches, in each of which you will perform 7-8 delays for 15-20 seconds. Rest between sets - about one minute.
Perform a vacuum in this mode every other day, after a week it will be given to you quite simply, then increase the “pull-in” time to 30-35 seconds. Then up to 50 seconds, up to a minute, and so on.
The duration of the abdominal vacuum workout should not exceed 25-30 minutes, then an unfavorable load on the nerve endings of the gastrointestinal tract will begin, which is fraught with unpleasant sensations (bloating, heartburn, etc.), and the effectiveness of the exercise will decrease. Try to spend this time with maximum intensity: with full mental concentration on the work of the transverse abdominal muscles, static holding of the correct position, even breathing and minimal rest between sets.
The easiest way is to perform a vacuum on an empty stomach, so I recommend doing it in the morning or before bedtime, the productivity of the workout will only increase from this, you will quickly start the process of breaking down visceral fat and empty the glycogen depots. You can combine the vacuum with your standard abdominal workout, in which you do dynamic exercises, or with cardio.
Crossfit complex
For those who like really hard training, I recommend the following combination of exercises:
- plank (at least one minute);
- twisting lying (at least 15 repetitions);
- vacuum on all fours (5-6 reps with the longest possible delay);
- hanging legs (at least 10 reps).
The exercises are performed one after the other, with minimal rest. Three to four sets will be more than enough for a full workout.
The complexity of such a complex is due to the fact that within its framework we alternate static and dynamic exercises, thereby working out the maximum number of muscle fibers of the abdominal press in a short time period.
It is believed that any dynamic abdominal exercises increase the volume of the rectus abdominis muscle and visually increase the volume of the abdomen itself. Of course, this is not entirely correct. Now we will not go into these features, but by training the abs in a similar style, we save ourselves from such an undesirable effect, since we perform a vacuum at the moment when the abdominal muscles are clogged with blood as much as possible. Of course, making a vacuum after such exercises is much more difficult, but you must remember that a beautiful relief abs is always difficult, so few can boast of really developed and beautiful abdominal muscles. Moreover, this effort on oneself takes place not only in the gym, but also in the kitchen.
What are the contraindications for doing the exercise?
Contraindications, that is, when the abdominal vacuum should not be performed:
- a stomach ulcer or 12 duodenal ulcer, gastritis and other problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
- inflammation of the lungs, asthma, pneumonia and other diseases of the respiratory system;
- hernias and protrusions in the lumbar and thoracic spine;
- arterial hypertension, tachycardia and increased intracranial pressure.
