The Benefits of Stomach Vacuums – Complete Guide

Ever want to sneak in a quick ab workout without the crunches, planks, or sit-ups? Introducing stomach vacuums. Stomach vacuums are a way that you can train the deep layers of your abdominal core. 

Some people claim that doing stomach vacuums can transform the abs, shave a few inches off the waist, and give you a flatter stomach. Is there any truth behind these claims, or is it all just hype? Let’s find out.

What Are Stomach Vacuums

Stomach vacuums are an exercise that targets the deep muscles within the core. This causes the stomach to tighten. The premise behind a stomach vacuum is that you breathe out, sucking in the stomach, and hold the position for a couple of moments.

People claim that doing stomach vacuums daily leads to a flatter stomach and a smaller waist, but we’ll look into the science behind that shortly.

Benefits

A stomach vacuum exercise’s main benefit is targeting the transversus abdominis, a muscle in the deepest layer of your abdominal wall. It is pretty large, as it spans from the lower ribs to your pelvis. If this muscle is weak, it leads to many issues, such as back pain, instability, pain while moving, and a higher risk of a herniated disc.

Stomach vacuums are also a good way to strengthen the obliques, the muscles at the sides of the abs. The pelvic floor and muscles up along the spine are also strengthened. All this works together to help reduce back pain and improve posture and range of motion.

The breathing technique you use when completing a stomach vacuum exercise can also help increase respiratory health by strengthening the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle within your torso that contracts and relaxes to allow you to inhale and exhale.

As for the benefits of giving you a smaller waist and flatter stomach, this may happen. However, stomach vacuums aren’t going to give you a tiny waistline. At most, you’ll lose an inch, but it won’t be an insane transformation. Regardless, this is an exercise that we should be doing to target the deep muscles of the abdominal wall.

How to Do Them

So, how do you even do a stomach vacuum exercise? They can be done standing, sitting, kneeling, or lying down. If you’re standing, simply breathe in deeply, allowing the stomach to expand completely. When you breathe out, pull the stomach in. Imagine that you are trying to press your belly button towards your spine. Hold this for about 30 seconds, then exhale and repeat as needed. Do the same exercise from a seat if you choose to. Keep the back straight, breathe in, and as you breathe out, pull your stomach in.

If you’re doing this exercise lying down, it may be a bit easier as gravity can help you draw the muscles in with more ease. This variation also has the most studies behind it. Do the same technique, breathing in deeply, and breathing out while sucking in the stomach. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat a couple of times.

A stomach vacuum can also be done from a kneeling position or on all fours. This exercise is a bit more challenging since gravity is working against you. The technique is the same as it was for a sitting, standing, or lying position.

Do Stomach Vacuums Work

Yep, they do. This exercise is heavily studied and has many benefits. That includes improving posture, relieving severe back pain, and strengthening the abdominal wall. The increases in core stability and boost and overall health are enough reason to add them into your workout schedule.

This exercise is also a great way to help out our internal organs. The abdominal wall is one of the main muscles that keep our insides in place. This includes our stomach, liver, pancreas, intestines, and other important organs. We want these to stay relatively still inside our bodies, and strengthening our abdominal wall is a great way to help.

However, it is important to note that stomach vacuums do not reduce belly fat. The slight reduction in waste and flatter stomach may be due to the strengthening and tightening of the abdominal wall, but this exercise will not cause a drastic transformation.

Risks

Stomach vacuums are best done on an empty stomach. If you do them while you are full, it may interfere with the body’s natural digestion.

Tips for Vacuums

• Do not hold your breath – stomach vacuums work best when you are breathing with the movement. Holding your breath may just cause you to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Breathe normally when you are holding in the stomach vacuum.
• Do them in the morning – since it is best to do a stomach vacuum on an empty stomach, there are a lot of benefits from doing them first thing in the morning. That way, you’re not interfering with your body’s natural digestion.
• Sneak them into a workout – another tip is to sneak them into the end of your workout. If you are doing a push, pull, or leg day, finish off with some stomach vacuums. This allows you to spend a little bit of time on a lot of core strength.
• Use Your Hands – place your hands on your stomach. The rise and fall of your hands can help direct the movement.
• Posture – it’s important for us to have good posture while doing a stomach vacuum. This allows us to breathe well, align the spine, and protect the back.
• Don’t just suck in – when you do this exercise, do it mindfully. Think about your breath, your posture, your muscles, etc. It’s not just about sucking in air or sucking in the gut. Engage with all your muscles and feel the movement as you pull the belly button towards the spine.

The Takeaway

Stomach vacuums are a great way to strengthen the deep core muscles within the abdominal wall. These core muscles are important in holding in our internal organs. Targeting them with a specific exercise is key to better health, less back pain, and improved mobility. However, it’s important to know that stomach vacuums do not reduce fat, nor will they drastically change the size of your waist. The benefits of this exercise come from the influence it has on the core muscles. Try out some stomach vacuums today, and watch how you start to move through life with more ease.

Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutritious food, exercise when you can, and take care of your mental health. The small daily habits you cultivate become the basis for overall wellness. Don’t forget about microbiota health, too! Gut microbiota affects the entire body, from the skin to muscles to immune and mental health! Get all the resources you need about microbiota health for free here!