The stomach vacuum exercise contracts your deepest abdominal muscle. You can do this exercise in multiple positions, including lying down or standing.

Despite its name, a stomach vacuum isn’t a surgical procedure or household chore. It’s a type of abdominal contraction used for decades in physical therapy and bodybuilding.

The stomach exercise can help strengthen your core if you do it correctly.

Continue reading to learn about the stomach vacuum exercise, how to do it, which muscles it works, and the potential benefits and downsides.

The stomach vacuum exercise is an isometric contraction of the transversus abdominis, your deepest abdominal muscle. It is also known as stomach vacuuming, stomach hollowing, and the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM).

The transversus abdominis sits horizontally (transverse) around your abdomen, almost like a corset. Its primary roles include protecting the spine, supporting internal organs and viscera, and helping with expulsive forces (e.g., expiration, urination, defecation).

Since the transversus abdominis is deep in the core, it can be difficult for some people to contract it or even feel an awareness of it.

The stomach vacuum exercise was developed to help people practice contracting and strengthening the transversus abdominis.

When this muscle is stronger and you’re more aware of how to use it, you’ll be better able to protect and support your spine during exercise and everyday movements.

There are many ways to do the stomach vacuum exercise, so find which works best for you.

Option 1: Lying down (supine)

This is the most well-known and studied version of the stomach vacuum exercise. You’ll need to lie down for it.

  1. Lie on the floor with your spine neutral, knees bent, and feet flat.
  2. Optionally, place two fingers on the top of your hip bones. Next, move them about an inch (around 2.5 cm) inward and down. This can be useful for feeling your transversus abdominis contract.
  3. Take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly exhale out of your mouth with your lips pursed (try imagining you’re slowly releasing air out of a tire). As you exhale, draw in your lower abs. You should feel your transversus abdominis contracting on your fingers. A useful cue is to imagine your belly button being pulled toward the back of your spine. Remember to contract your abdominal muscles while doing this.
  4. Continue to breathe normally as you hold your belly in. You shouldn’t be holding your breath, which can indicate you’re not contracting your transversus abdominis and are “sucking in.” Try to hold this position for at least 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat two to three times.

Option 2: Standing up

You can also do the stomach vacuum standing up:

  1. Stand straight with your hands on your hips.
  2. Take a deep breath in through your nose and slowly exhale out of your mouth with your lips pursed. As you exhale, slowly draw in your lower abs by contracting your abdominal muscles.
  3. Breathe normally as you hold the position for at least 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat two to three times.

Tip: Some people find placing their palm across their lower abs helpful as a cue to draw their abdominals inward.

Option 3: Kneeling (quadruped)

A kneeling stomach vacuum involves being on “all fours.” It’s a bit harder since you’re working against gravity.

  1. Start on all fours with your knees stacked under your hips and wrists under your shoulders. Make sure your back is flat and in a neutral position.
  2. Optionally, push your stomach in and out a few times to help you get used to the position.
  3. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth with your lips pursed. During your exhale, slowly draw in your lower abs (imagine your belly button being pulled toward your spine). In this position, you could also imagine your belly being pulled up toward the ceiling.
  4. Breathe normally and hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat two to three times.

Option 4: Prone position (face down)

Another version of the stomach vacuum is the prone or face-down version.

  1. Lie on your stomach on the floor with your legs straight, arms extended past your head, and palms facing down.
  2. Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale through your mouth, with your lips pursed, as you contract and draw in your lower abs. This version is a bit more difficult than the others described previously.
  3. Continue to breathe and hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat two to three times.

Option 5: Sitting

The sitting stomach vacuum is considered one of the more difficult versions due to the positioning of your body and other stabilizing muscles involved.

  1. Sit upright in a chair, with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, and palms resting on your thighs.
  2. Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale through your mouth with your lips pursed as you contract your lower abs and pull your belly button toward your spine.
  3. Try to breathe normally and hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat two to three times.

The stomach vacuum mainly targets the transversus abdominis, part of your core and the deepest muscle in your abdominal wall.

It also targets the internal and external obliques, pelvic floor muscles, diaphragm, and multifidus (the small muscles that help stabilize the spine from neck to pelvis) to a lesser extent.

As you practice stomach vacuums, also try to contract your pelvic floor muscles. To do this, imagine you are stopping the flow of urine or holding in gas. Your pelvic floor muscles help support your pelvic organs, ensuring urinary and fecal continence and sexual function.

The stomach vacuum exercise has a few benefits:

  • It may reduce back pain: Having a strong core, including the transversus abdominis, is linked with a lower risk of back pain.
  • May lower risk of back injury: Learning to properly contract your core can improve your ability to lift heavy objects and may help reduce injury.
  • It helps you practice contracting your transversus abdominis. Some people may find contracting deep abdominal muscles during other core exercises difficult. Regularly practicing the stomach vacuum can help you familiarize yourself with these muscles and contract them more readily.

The stomach vacuum exercise can be useful in activating the deep transversus abdominis muscle. However, there are some potential drawbacks.

Many online videos instruct people to “suck in” their stomachs, which is much easier than doing the stomach vacuum correctly. By just sucking in your stomach, you’re not contracting the transversus abdominis, making the move ineffective.

Furthermore, many people believe that the stomach vacuum exercise will help them achieve visible abs. While a strong transversus abdominis can help tighten the muscles around the waist, it cannot get rid of stomach fat, which requires overall weight loss through a calorie deficit created with diet and exercise.

It also cannot give you a “six-pack.” To achieve this, you’ll need to exercise the most superficial abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis, and have a low body fat percentage, which may or may not be healthy or sustainable for you.

Ultimately, the stomach vacuum exercise can be useful when performed correctly. However, it should only be used in conjunction with a well-rounded exercise routine.

Before you start the stomach vacuum exercise, consider these helpful tips:

  • Don’t suck in: This exercise involves contracting the transversus abdominis by slowly drawing the abdominal muscles inward while maintaining your breath pattern. Quickly sucking in your stomach will not work and is not functional for movement.
  • Avoid hunching over: Leaning forward or tilting your pelvis leads to greater contraction of your rectus abdominis rather than transversus abdominis.
  • Remember to breathe: If you’re contracting your transversus abdominis properly, you should be able to breathe as you hold this position.
  • Use your hands: Placing your hands or finger tips on your lower abs (around an inch in and down from your hip bones) can help you tell if you’re contracting your transversus abdominis.
  • Remember your other muscles: The stomach vacuume exercise can be a great move for strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. As you draw your stomach in, pay attention to these muscles too.

Stomach vacuums are a popular exercise designed to target the deepest abdominal muscle known as the transversus abdominis.

It’s effective at helping strengthen the transversus abdominis, which may be difficult for some people.

When performing stomach vacuums, make sure that you’re properly contracting your transversus abdominis by slowly pulling your lower abdominal muscles inward. A useful cue is to draw your belly button toward your spine. You should be able to exhale while contracting this muscle.

Though effective, stomach vacuums do not reduce belly fat or help you get a six-pack on their own. Rather, you can add this exercise to a balanced exercise routine to help strengthen your core and learn to move in a more functional way to protect and support your spine.