Stomach Vacuum
oec:stomach-vacuum
An isometric core exercise focused on drawing the abdominal wall inward to target the deep transverse abdominis.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: Abdominal Vacuum, Ab Vacuum, Stomach Vacuum Pose
How to do it
Setup
- Lie on your back on a flat floor or exercise mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
- Rest your arms comfortably at your sides and allow your torso to fully relax.
Movement
- Take a deep breath in through your nose to expand your abdomen.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, expelling as much air from your lungs as possible.
- Without inhaling, pull your belly button forcefully inward toward your spine, hollowing out your stomach and drawing it up under your ribcage.
- Hold this deep isometric contraction for the prescribed duration while maintaining light, shallow breathing or holding on the exhale.
- Slowly release the contraction and inhale gently to return your abdomen to resting position.
Breathing
Completely empty the lungs before drawing the abdomen inward; take shallow sips of air if holding for longer periods without relaxing the inward pull.
Cues
- Belly button to spine
- Suck the stomach up under the ribs
- Exhale all air completely
Common faults
- Holding breath with lungs full of air.
- Ensure a complete, forceful exhalation before drawing the stomach inward.
- Arching the lower back off the ground.
- Keep the pelvis neutral and the lower back flat or gently settled against the floor.
- Flexing the ribcage forward like doing a crunch.
- Keep the chest still and shoulders relaxed, isolating the movement entirely to the deep abdominal wall.
Safety
- Perform on an empty stomach to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort or nausea.
Muscles
Joints
- Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Mobility drill
- Modality
- Calisthenics, Mobility
- Mechanics
- isolation
- Force
- static
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- not applicable
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- None
- Record
- Duration
- Load
- none
Sources
- wger: Stomach Vacuum, by TimoteoG (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.