Stomach Vacuum: Does It Help Achieve a Flat Stomach?

What is the Stomach Vacuum?

The “stomach vacuum” is an exercise that engages the abdominal muscles.

More specifically, it targets the transverse abdominis muscle.

The transverse abdominis is the deepest muscle of the abdominal wall.

It runs horizontally around the abdomen, wrapping like a belt, and attaches to various points of the abdominal wall, including the ribs.

This muscle has several roles:

• Stabilizing the trunk;
• Protecting the spine during movements;
• Facilitating breathing, especially deep breathing.

Why is it called “stomach vacuum”?

It’s a combination of English words.

• “Stomach” refers to the abdominal area where the target muscle of the exercise is located.
• “Vacuum” refers to the goal of the exercise, which is to create a sensation of emptiness or hollowness in the abdominal region by contracting the deep muscles.

How long has this been around?

Personally, it’s only been a few months since I first heard the term “stomach vacuum.”

However, I have been familiar with what it refers to since my physical therapy studies in 2010, over 14 years ago! We just didn’t call it that.

We used to refer to it as:

• Hypopressive exercises;
• Transverse muscle contraction;
• Diaphragmatic breathing exercises.

But it’s the same thing!

There is also a term used in yoga to describe the same type of exercise: Uddiyana Bandha.

In France, the term appeared in the late 2000s. It has gained significant popularity, especially since 2020, as illustrated by the curve below.

The higher the curve, the more people are searching for information about it online:

Interest in the stomach vacuum started earlier in the United States in the early 2010s, with a peak between 2020 and 2022, followed by a decline in interest:

The English Wikipedia page dedicated to the stomach vacuum was created in 2006, indicating that this technique has been known for quite some time.

How to Perform the Stomach Vacuum?

The stomach vacuum can be practiced in any position: sitting, standing, running, lying on your side, or on your stomach…

However, the easiest position to start with and to understand the movement is to do it first while lying on your back with your legs bent.

Here’s a more detailed step-by-step guide:

Starting Position: 🛌 Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor on a mat, keeping the lower back slightly pressed against the floor.

Initial Breathing: 💨 Inhale deeply through your nose to fill your lungs with air.

Controlled Exhalation: 🌬️ Slowly exhale all the air from your lungs through your mouth.

Abdominal Contraction: 💪 Contract your deep abdominal muscles by pulling your navel toward your spine while simultaneously contracting your pelvic floor (as if holding in urine, commonly referred to as the “stop-pipi” exercise).

Hold the Contraction: ⏳ Maintain this contraction for 3 to 6 seconds, focusing on the vacuum created in your abdomen and maintaining the contraction of your pelvic floor.

Release: 💆‍♂️ Slowly release the abdominal and pelvic floor contraction while gently inhaling through your nose.

Repetition: 🔁 Repeat the exercise for multiple sets, gradually increasing the duration of the abdominal and pelvic floor contraction as you become more comfortable with the exercise.

Frequency: 📅 Practice the “stomach vacuum” regularly, ideally several times a week or even several times a day!

Progression: 📈 Over time, you can increase the duration of the abdominal and pelvic floor contraction, as well as the number of repetitions, to further strengthen your deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

Once you understand the principle and master it, you can practice it whenever you want!

Personally, I do it regularly throughout the day, and have been for years. Especially:

• When driving a car;
• When sitting for a long time on a chair;
• When working while standing;
• When watching my kids play at the park while standing;
• When standing in line at a store;
• While walking.

I also sometimes do it specifically while lying on my back during a muscle strengthening session, but less regularly.

It’s a habit to develop! Then it becomes automatic: I think about it every time I’m standing and waiting somewhere.

💡 Also, know that you can maintain the “pulled-in stomach” contraction while breathing: it’s a variation, and that’s actually how I most often perform this exercise.

Are there any dangers or risks of side effects?

I researched whether there are any documented cases of side effects in the international scientific literature for people practicing the stomach vacuum, Uddiyana Bandha, or hypopressive exercises, as these are synonyms.

For this, I used PubMed, the “Google” of medicine, which indexes most scientific health studies.

In the few publications discussing this type of exercise (stomach vacuum, hypopressive exercises, or Uddiyana Bandha), no side effects are reported.

However, here are some theoretical side effects that might occasionally be experienced during or after the practice, especially if one is not accustomed to this exercise:

• Abdominal pain, similar to muscle cramps.
• Lower back pain: you might notice that when you pull in your stomach, the lower back muscles are also engaged.
• Tension in the pelvic floor: excessive contraction of the deep abdominal muscles without proper coordination with the pelvic floor muscles (perineum) could lead to excessive tension in this area. This can be problematic for some people, particularly those suffering from pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence.

What Benefits Can Be Expected?

To answer the question about the benefits of the stomach vacuum, I first looked at what academic publications say.

Have studies been conducted on many people to see how those who practice the stomach vacuum daily compare to those who don’t or to those who do other types of abdominal exercises?

Fortunately, a Brazilian research team 🇧🇷 asked the same question in 2024. They compiled all the studies on the subject.

Here are their conclusions:

The aim was to analyze the effects of hypopressive exercises on abdominal and pelvic floor muscles in women, whether or not they had dysfunctions in these areas.

Hypopressive exercises were found to be effective in improving strength, tone, and reducing symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunctions, to a lesser (in two studies) or equal (in one study) extent as pelvic floor muscle training.

When hypopressive exercises were combined with pelvic floor muscle training in the same group, no additional benefits were observed.

Only one study evaluated the activation of abdominal muscles, where hypopressive exercises were effective in improving postural control and activation of the transverse abdominal muscle.

(…) the information is still preliminary and scarce. According to the available information, hypopressive exercises cannot yet be reliably recommended for the treatment of the pelvic floor, despite relevant results in some studies.

Katz 2021

Key Takeaways: If you practice the stomach vacuum to prevent or treat leaks or urinary incontinence, it seems that exercises targeting the perineum and pelvic floor muscles are more beneficial.

In my experience, most people practicing the stomach vacuum do so primarily for one main goal:

However, They Did Not Experience Less Back Pain

🚨 The stomach vacuum is not an exercise for weight loss or burning belly fat. For that purpose, activities that engage the heart and the entire body, while managing daily caloric intake, are more effective. Examples include elliptical cycling.

Conclusion: Is the Stomach Vacuum Right for You?

I hope this article has helped you determine whether the stomach vacuum is suitable for you.

It primarily depends on your goals.

❌ If you are looking to treat or prevent urinary incontinence, other exercises might be more appropriate. You can discuss this with a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor rehabilitation.

✅ If you want to maintain your muscle mass or reduce your waist circumference, the stomach vacuum is probably suitable for you.

🚨 If you have never practiced it, or have done so very little, approach it like any other exercise: gradually increase the frequency and duration to avoid any discomfort or pain!