Transcription
All the stomach vacuum tutorials online are absolute garbage. Most of them don't actually show you how to do a proper stomach vacuum; they just tell you to suck your belly in. So, in this video, I'm going to show you how to do a true stomach vacuum for beginners, and also show you how to progress to more advanced techniques once you master the basics. Are you ready? Let's get into it.
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So, the stomach vacuum is essentially a core exercise that targets the transverse abdominis, which is basically just your inner core. It's the deepest layer of your abdomen, and it acts like a kind of corset or weight belt, as opposed to your rectus abdominis, which is the most superficial layer of your abdomen, like the six-pack abs. Now, if you're going to do things like crunches and situps, that targets your rectus abdominis, so you get those defined lines. But if you want to shrink your waistline and tighten your midsection, a stomach vacuum is a must.
But it's really important to note: it will not burn belly fat. Why? Because you cannot spot reduce body fat with exercise. The only thing that is going to give you visible ab definition is lowering your body fat levels, and you do that by predominantly cleaning up your diet, managing your stress levels, and fixing your sleep.
Now, bodybuilders have been doing stomach vacuums for decades. And as an ex-champion bikini competitor myself, I did this exercise daily leading up to my shows, and I managed to shrink my waistline by 2 inches in a matter of weeks. Now, I know that sounds like clickbait, but I promise you, it's 100% legit.
There are two things that you really need to master to build a really solid foundation before you can progress onto a more advanced technique. Because the more control you have over your inner core, the easier it's going to be to get a strong stomach vacuum.
Number one: master diaphragmatic breathing. Now, that's just a fancy term for deep belly breathing. So, the diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle underneath your lungs, and it attaches at the rib cage, and it helps you breathe. But the problem is that most of us are shallow breathers, so we only really use the upper chest when we breathe. What we want is to learn how to do deep belly breathing, so we're really engaging that diaphragm, and we're breathing down into our belly.
Now, because most of us are shallow breathers, you'll be able to tell when you take a breath, you see the chest expanding rather than the belly expanding. Learning how to deep breathe into our belly is going to be the basis of learning how to do a stomach vacuum. So, let's start there.
So, you're going to inhale to the count of four, through your nose, very slowly and deeply. And instead of filling the chest cavity, I want you to imagine that air going all the way down into the belly, so watching your abdomen, your lower belly expand as you draw air in. And then, when you get to a full inhalation, you're going to hold there to the count of four. And then, when you exhale to the count of four, you're going to see the air expel from the lower belly first, and then the rib cage, and then the top of the lungs.
Here's how to start: practice this breathing technique every single day for five rounds. Work your way up to 10, and you'll notice a massive difference in your breathing.
And then, number two: you want to build up your inner core strength. So, there are some other exercises aside from the stomach vacuum that target the transverse abdominis. And I'm not talking sit-ups or crunches. But if you add a 5 to 10 minute ab routine that focuses on the transverse abdominis into your workout program for the week, you'll see a massive difference in your ability to control your inner core, which in turn is going to help your stomach vacuum. Here's one of my favorite inner core drills.
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And once you've worked solidly on those two things, you should be able to move onto a stomach vacuum.
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So, a stomach vacuum is exactly as the name suggests: it's a vacuum, i.e., a suction motion with no air. Now, there are two parts to getting a stomach vacuum right. The first part is simply pulling your belly in. And this also happens to be the only part that most rubbish online tutorials show you. As a beginner, this first part is the easiest, so let's start there.
You're going to take a deep belly breath in through your nose and really feel your abdomen, your lower belly expand. Then exhale through your mouth, expelling as much of the air as you can out of your lungs. And at the end of your exhale, you're going to pull your belly button in towards your spine, holding that breath. Try 5 to 10 seconds, and then relax.
Now, some people say that you should still breathe while you're doing this exercise, and you can if you want. However, technically, you're not actually doing a proper stomach vacuum with this first part, so it doesn't really matter. And you'll know anyway when you do a proper stomach vacuum: you won't be able to breathe because you are actually performing a vacuum, i.e., suction, and no air. Personally, I think it's better to not breathe during the exercise because then you train yourself to hold a stronger stomach vacuum.
And this brings us to part two of perfecting a stomach vacuum. This is the trickiest part of the exercise, so don't get frustrated if you can't get it straight away; just keep practicing. So, we're still holding our exhale and sucking that belly in, but now what we're going to do is take a mock breath in. So, keeping your airways closed, you're going to expand your rib cage and like pretend you're taking a breath in, but don't actually. So, you should feel a suction in the base of your throat, and also pull your diaphragm up into your rib cage. This is that weird suction motion; that's where the vacuum actually comes from to give you that hollow abdomen look.
So, the trick is to do both of these parts of the exercise together seamlessly. So, deep belly breath in, exhale fully, close off the airway, pull the belly in, and expand the rib cage for that mock breath in. Hold on your locked breath for about 5 to 10 seconds, and then relax the belly and take an inhale.
No doubt, this exercise is going to feel a little bit weird at first. So, there are some positions that you can do that will feel better and maybe give you a stronger stomach vacuum. Personally, I like to do it quadruped on all fours, but you can also do it standing, kneeling, seated, or lying on your back. Give them all a go and see which one works best for you.
But it is important to note that you only ever do this exercise on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. Because if you do have food in your belly, it might make you feel a bit nauseous. And you can safely do this exercise every day. Try starting off with five rounds of 5 to 10 second holds each time.
And the beauty really is, if you're going to do it standing, of course, you can do this exercise anywhere. You can do it while you're brushing your teeth, you can do it in the shower, you can do it in the queue at the shops. But obviously, for best results, you also want to make sure that your diet is in check, that you lower your stress levels, you fix your sleep, and you're lifting weights too.
Quick little reminder: if you want really healthy recipes that are going to help you achieve your goals, and you want to know what to eat for pre-workout, post-workout, and even what to do on your rest days, grab a copy of my Strong Curves Cookbook. It's the perfect guide on your health and fitness journey.
Let me know if this video helped you and if you'd like any other exercise tutorials. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I'll catch you very soon in another video. Bye!
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