How to do a stomach vacuum correctly: technique for men, pros and cons

For any exercise, technique is important. You need to consider how to properly vacuum a man’s abdomen and what mistakes you might encounter. Such physical activity helps to achieve a narrow waist and reduce it by 2-3 cm. These workouts were invented by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and they quickly became popular in bodybuilding.

Basic technique

To do the abdominal vacuum exercise correctly, you need to understand the features of human anatomy. When twisting and pumping up the press, only the rectus abdominal muscles are worked. When performing a vacuum, the transverse muscle is used, which improves the retraction of the abdomen - this allows you to visually reduce your waist.

To do the exercise, you need to learn to breathe correctly - inhale deeply through your nose, exhale forcefully through your mouth . Movements are made slowly, smoothly and at a calm pace. The classic version of the vacuum is performed while standing.

To do this, you need to place your feet shoulder-width apart, place your hands on your hips, after which you need to exhale the air and draw in your stomach as much as possible. The body is held in this position for 5-10 seconds, then slowly exhale and relax the muscles.

You should not do approaches often; maintain an interval between them. The body is given a short rest and only then begins a new task. Good body control is important for vacuum. A person should literally feel how the walls of the abdomen are pressed against the spine and tense.

When performing the exercise, your back must be straight, otherwise you will not be able to take the correct starting position. To achieve the desired result, you need to practice for at least six months.

There is another version of vacuum performed in yoga - uddiyana bandha. It is different from the classic one. For this technique, a person must start by adopting the correct posture:

legs slightly bent and shoulder-width apart;
the body leans slightly forward;
hands rest on hips.

It is necessary to take several vigorous breaths and exhalations, then draw in your stomach and try to lift it up a little. The body is held in this position for 5 seconds, then relaxed. Between approaches, leave one minute for calm breathing exercises.

Both the classic version and the yoga exercise can be beneficial for the body. What matters is how they are performed and how well a person understands why he is doing it.

Is it possible to do a “Vacuum” after childbirth?

After childbirth, a woman experiences problems not only with the abdominal muscles, but also with the pelvic floor muscles - they are also stretched and not toned. Taking into account this feature, it is necessary to perform the exercise with certain additions, but it can and should be done - it will help quickly restore the condition of the muscle elements and return an aesthetically pleasing picture of the abdomen.

So, after pregnancy, the “vacuum” should be done only in a lying position, in order to avoid excessive stress on the internal organs and pelvic floor, and during the exercise, the arms should be spread apart from the body - this will help expand the chest.

Alternative options

There are different ways to perform a stomach vacuum. For beginners, it is easier to do the exercise while lying down. To do this, you need to lie on a hard surface, bend your knees and spread them slightly. In this position, slowly inhale and exhale air, controlling the retraction of the abdomen. Some people prefer to perform the vacuum while lying in bed - this is accessible to experienced people.

Another option is on all fours. For him, a person lowers to the floor, the torso should be straight and parallel to the horizontal surface. The body is relaxed, the stomach slowly retracts and touches the back; it is held in this position for 15 seconds.

When performing it, it is important to control the position of your back. It should not bend or change its position. Only the abdominal area moves, so beginners need to do the exercise slowly and at a calm pace.

A more complicated version of the vacuum is performed in an inclined position. To do this, take the starting position - feet shoulder-width apart, back straight, hands on hips. With a slow exhalation, the body is lowered down and fixed in this position. It is advisable to try to hold your breath.

Experienced people can do the exercise in a sitting position. To do this, you need to sit on a chair with a straight back. The chair will not work, as you can lean on it. The hands are calmly placed on the knees. First, the air is exhaled noisily through the mouth, then slowly inhaled through the nose, straining the stomach at the same time. You need to hold your body in this position for 10 seconds, after which you can relax.

If painful sensations appear during the exercise, this means that the person is doing something wrong. He needs to analyze his actions and repeat the vacuum. If the discomfort does not go away, you should consult a doctor.

Experienced people can do this exercise in any conditions. For example, while driving a car or at work.

Precautionary measures

Forbidden:

perform the exercise for people with diseases of the heart muscle and vascular problems, since a sudden supply of oxygen can have a bad effect on well-being and even lead to loss of consciousness;
if the trainee is prone to loss of consciousness or frequent sudden dizziness;
if a person is sick with a disease such as a stomach and duodenal ulcer.

The feedback from anyone who has tried this exercise has been nothing but positive. Indeed, as a result, a person tones a large muscle block, strengthening both the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles. Due to the load, which is carried out on an empty stomach, before eating, metabolism and metabolism improves. The best result is achieved if the athlete, after training, drinks from two hundred to three hundred milliliters of water 15-20 minutes before meals. In this case, the process of burning subcutaneous fat in the waist and abdominal cavity is activated, which is the basis for achieving results. Reducing overall weight and enriching the body with oxygen is also one of the positive aspects.

Vacuum is also recommended for women after pregnancy, as soon as a specialist allows any stress on the body. By simply alternately drawing in and inflating the abdomen with a short breath-hold, you can reduce its volume and tone your abdominal muscles.

Many of the hard, grueling exercises that professional athletes used to try to give themselves beautiful, sculpted abs do not help as much as a vacuum does. You shouldn’t work yourself until you lose consciousness and sweat to make your body beautiful. More precisely, excessive loads only harm the human body. It’s worth reading what people write who have already gone through the process of burning fat in the abdominal area, and everything will become clear. In most cases, everyone resorted to using this particular exercise.

The vacuum for the press goes well with strength and cardio exercises. Because with a lot of excess weight, a person who decides to pull himself together will not be able to do just abdominal exercises. The ideal combination to solve this problem is the basic exercise “barbell squats” plus “vacuum”. The first is responsible for the load on the upper legs and at the same time the entire abdominal muscle block, which, like our breathing exercise, contributes to burning fat in the problem area.

If you work out on your own, be sure to use the video course “How to pump up abs that any girl can’t take her eyes off.” He will help you choose the necessary exercises and clearly see the technique. For professional athletes, such help will also not be superfluous.

When playing sports, do not forget about and, of course, about drawing up a training program for both.

Train and shape your body the way you want it to be! And I say goodbye, but I look forward to visiting you again on my blog. If you want, we can continue our communication on social networks. Bye!

A thin waist plus a flat stomach is a woman’s dream. To implement it, they adjust their diet, “live” in the gym, and spend hours pumping up their abs. All this is commendable, but this set of measures lacks the main thing - properly organized work of the internal abdominal muscles. This is achieved using vacuumization of the press, borrowed from yoga and used in bodyflex. How to do the abdominal vacuum exercise correctly in order to become the owner of an attractive hourglass silhouette?

A blurred waist, fat sides, and sagging belly make people take a different look at themselves and their own health. But a protruding belly is a fairly common problem among athletes, those who attend fitness training, and even naturally slender and thin girls. It would seem that there are no prerequisites for its appearance, but... It's all about weak muscles, which should reduce the size of the abdominal cavity. The vacuum exercise helps get rid of the problem.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of the abdominal vacuum is its versatility and high efficiency. To perform it, you don’t need any special equipment or environment, just a home environment is enough. Exercise has a positive effect on the body:

normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
improves peristalsis;
burns visceral fat;
strengthens abdominal muscles;
improves posture, etc.

The benefit of the vacuum exercise is that when performed regularly it reduces the likelihood of hernias. But there are also certain disadvantages - this is a complex technique, it takes time to get results, as well as the presence of contraindications. Those who are interested in losing weight should be especially careful. If you are obese, you should not try to pull in your stomach too much, as this will create excessive pressure.

The disadvantages of a vacuum include contraindications. For girls the list is more impressive than for men. Representatives of the stronger sex should not do this exercise if they have problems with the cardiovascular system, neoplasms in the peritoneum and pelvis, or pathology of the biliary tract.

It is useful to do a vacuum only if done correctly. There are several variations of the exercise, and each has its own characteristics. With its help, you can not only achieve a flat stomach, but also narrow your waist by 2-3 cm. Such physical activity can pleasantly complement daily exercise.

Why is the exercise “Vacuum in the stomach” useful?

“Vacuum in the stomach” has become a popular exercise for quite some time; the well-known Arnold Schwarzenegger played a large role in its popularization. The benefits of this approach have been proven more than once; it helps to achieve a lot of positive effects:

by burning visceral fat, the functioning of internal organs improves;
the opportunity to get a flat stomach;
prevention of organ prolapse and hernias by training the muscles that support
abdominal organs in the correct position;
improvement of the digestive process - along with the improvement in the condition of the muscles of the abdominal wall, positive changes will also occur in the intestinal walls;
acceleration of metabolism and stimulation of the removal of harmful components from the body;
the exercise involves proper breathing, which will enrich the entire body with oxygen in the required volume;
improved posture;
increased strength and vigor.

Some recommendations

Experienced trainers know how to create a vacuum, but it is not always possible to turn to them. When performing the exercise, you should not bring your body to the point of severe pain . You need to start with a short period of time - 10-15 seconds, gradually increasing the period. Breathing exercises are performed at intervals of 40 seconds.

Before performing a vacuum, you should not eat or drink water. Therefore, it is better to do it in the morning or evening before bed. You don't even have to get out of bed. Within two weeks, slight lethargy and drowsiness may appear - this is a consequence of receiving additional oxygen. Gradually the body adapts.

It’s not enough to learn how to make a vacuum correctly. Just one exercise will not allow you to radically improve your appearance and get beautiful abs. It is important to change your diet and add other types of physical activity. Only the complex will have a positive effect. Using a vacuum, you can remove a “bulging” belly, make it pumped up and highlight your waist. To do this you need to constantly work and study.

Is it allowed to do this during menstruation?

There are two conditions typical for the female body when it is prohibited to resort to the “vacuum” exercise:

menstruation - in this case, muscle tension causes contraction of the uterine muscles, which increases bleeding;
and, of course, the pregnancy period for the same reason - increased uterine tone can provoke either a miscarriage or premature onset of labor.

Considering the reasons described, during these periods of life a woman should temporarily refuse to perform this exercise.

Possible problems

Beginners do not always understand how to make a vacuum correctly. For example, a person can round the spine, this will fix the body in the wrong position. There will be no particular harm from this, but the exercise will not bring any benefit either.

Another common mistake is doing gymnastics after a heavy meal. You should not eat anything before performing a vacuum or other physical activity. Training should be stopped if the following symptoms appear:

nausea;
pain in any part of the body;
dizziness.

If you experience any discomfort, you should stop using the vacuum and then consult a doctor. Proper breathing is important for performing the exercise; without it, you will not be able to achieve good results.

A common mistake among beginners is irregular execution. If you do the exercise from time to time, there will be no effect. Arnold Schwarzenegger recommended including a vacuum in your daily training plan.

Beginning athletes need to pay attention to the technique of performing the exercise. It is important to understand each stage, this will help to avoid mistakes. Instead of a vacuum, you can use a bar or twisting.

About the benefits of the training

If you do a vacuum correctly, you can achieve excellent results:

Reduce your waist size by intensively burning visceral (internal) fat - this is the layer that surrounds the internal organs and is generally harmful to human health. It is impossible to cope with it during regular strength training.
Exercise helps tone weakened abdominal muscles. So, often even in asthenic people, the abdomen has a certain volume - this is due to the fact that the muscle corset in this area is weakened and requires strengthening.
Vacuum exercises perfectly work out the core muscles - those that are responsible for “supporting” the internal organs. “Getting” to them with the help of usual strength exercises is problematic. Thus, this training is also an excellent preventive tool that helps prevent umbilical hernia.
The vacuum helps improve digestion. A retracted abdomen is a kind of massage of internal organs and a “tool” that improves intestinal motility. Those who regularly perform this exercise forever forget that there are problems with stool.
This training, as a type of anaerobic statics, “supplies” oxygen to all organs and systems of the human body.
Exercise helps improve posture, helps remove harmful waste and toxins from the body, and “gives” a feeling of vigor and vitality.

Some useful tips for those who are just introducing the vacuum exercise into their training process:

If you have problems holding your breath, you can take small breaths while doing the training - this will help you hold out as long as possible;
To begin with, it is worth holding your breath for short periods of 3-5 seconds, and then you can increase their duration to 15-20 seconds;
In order to better understand the technique, at first it is recommended to perform a vacuum in front of a mirror;
If during the training you experience any unpleasant sensations - dizziness, black spots before the eyes, nausea, difficulty breathing or rapid heartbeat, you should stop training immediately.