Unfortunately, for many it seems to be so normal that they no longer question it: sucking in your stomach all day. After all, you want to look slim. Don’t see any bulges. Some have been doing this for years, even decades. Luise Walther, an expert in neuro-centered training and personal trainer from Berlin, explains the effects this has on the body.
Belly in, chest out – often a trigger, a remark or a comment is enough and immediately it’s time to hold your breath and suck in your stomach. Even if this behavior appears harmless at first and makes you look thinner, the constant pulling in of the stomach causes tension in the diaphragm and the pelvic floor muscles.
Pull in your stomach for a stable torso?
Doctors, trainers and therapists still advise you to tense your stomach during the day. This is supposed to help stabilize the hull. In fact, the stabilization of our core does not depend on whether we consciously tighten our abdominal muscles. On the contrary: Our posture is controlled by reflexes. This happens through the interaction of the three motion control systems:
- the visual system
- the sense of balance
- the movement
Posture is largely dependent on our eyes and balance. This control happens automatically, without us having to think about it or actively do anything. It is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, over which our consciousness has no control. Conversely, this means that we cannot intentionally influence our posture. Pulling in your stomach all day overwhelms your body and especially your nervous system.
When tummy tucks become automatic
If you perform an action often enough, it becomes an automatic behavior. In order to be able to make decisions more easily in everyday life, things that you do again and again are stored in an automatic behavior loop. This happens, for example, when brushing your teeth. No matter how drowsy you might be in the morning, you don’t have to think too much about how to get the toothpaste on the toothbrush and what movements to use to brush your teeth. Here, an automatic behavioral loop is unwound that has been practiced daily for years and decades.
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So if you start sucking in your stomach in your early teens, over time it will turn into an automatic behavior. Unlike brushing your teeth, pulling in your tummy doesn’t have any health benefits. For a better understanding: This means permanent and regular abdominal pulling in that does not happen as part of a training session. As part of a targeted workout, it is of course useful to tense your stomach for a short time.
What happens in the body when you pull in your stomach all the time?
- The constant tummy tucks changes the breathing pattern. By tensing the abdominal muscles, you automatically breathe less into your stomach. Instead, breathing shifts to the chest. As a result, you breathe shallower and more frequently. Instead of using the entire volume of the lungs, the amount of air that you can breathe decreases with each breath. In order to supply the body with sufficient oxygen, 35,000 to 40,000 breaths per day may be necessary instead of the normal 20,000 to 25,000 breaths. At the same time, the reduced abdominal breathing reduces the ventilation of the lungs
- Due to the reduced abdominal breathing the diaphragm and pelvic floor less used. The diaphragm is the main breathing muscle. It extends in a dome shape through the entire abdomen and separates the lungs from the remaining organs. The pelvic floor attaches to the pubic bone and runs through the entire pelvis to the coccyx. It forms the counterpart to the diaphragm. Together, these two muscles create even pressure on the organs with each breath. If, on the other hand, the organs receive fewer movement impulses, they can only work to a reduced extent. This can lead to digestive problems. Typical symptoms are a bloated stomach, flatulence or irregular bowel movements.
- Especially in women, the constant tummy tuck and the tension in the lower abdomen menstrual cramps strengthen. Due to the tense structures, the uterus is also less mobilized. The tension on the pelvic floor muscles means that cramps, which occur naturally during a period, are felt more intensely.
- This can happen if the permanent tension in the abdominal muscles is transferred to the pelvic floor muscles loss of libido lead – in men and women. This can go as far as problems with orgasm.
Also interesting: Better ability to have an orgasm – 4 exercises for tensing and relaxing the pelvic floor
- The even pressure loading and unloading through the pelvic floor and the diaphragm also influences the Supply of the intervertebral discs. The entire respiratory and trunk muscles are alternately contracted and relaxed. The diaphragm and the pelvic floor muscles are directly connected to the abdominal and back muscles. Every breath into the stomach also mobilizes the abdominal and back muscles. If there is only reduced abdominal breathing, these muscles are also only moved to a limited extent.
- The permanent tension of the abdominal muscles leads to reduced activity of the back muscles. This can make it special Complaints in the lower back come.
Incidentally, Madeleine Darya Alizadeh, Austrian author and influencer, recently drew attention to the health problems that can occur as a result of constant abdominal contractions. On «Instagram» she openly reported complaints such as extreme period cramps and her long-standing habit of sucking in her stomach to look slimmer.
It’s better to train your stomach than to pull it in
Pulling in the stomach permanently does not bring any health benefits. Because the organs need space to work optimally. But if you only like yourself when your stomach bulges as little as possible, we recommend that you train your stomach instead of pulling it in.
But if you’ve spent a lot of time sucking in your stomach, you might even know better how to relax it. Not good conditions for training. Because only a muscle that can relax can also contract to the maximum.
Exercises for a relaxed stomach
Abdominal breathing with pressure through both hands in front
Luise Walther shows the breathing exercise with both hands in frontPhoto: Andreas Sebayang
Stand up straight and place both hands on your stomach. Breathe in and out deeply and evenly through your nose. Try to consciously breathe into your stomach. If this is difficult, then press both hands lightly into your stomach and breathe against this resistance. You can experience abdominal breathing even more intensively if you press both hands lightly on your stomach and then push them up to your chest. Be careful to only make a small movement. The even pressure relaxes the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm can expand better. This makes abdominal breathing easier.
Abdominal breathing with pressure on abdomen and back
Luise Walther shows the breathing exercise with one hand behind the back and one hand on the stomachPhoto: Andreas Sebayang
Stand upright and breathe in and out evenly through your nose. Put one hand on your stomach and one hand on your back. When breathing, make sure to press both hands slightly into your torso and focus on the movement. If it is easier, you can also push both hands upwards towards the chest with light pressure. This takes tension out of the abdomen and makes breathing more even.
Abdominal breathing with one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest
Luise Walther shows the breathing exercise with one hand on her stomach and one hand on her chestPhoto: Andreas Sebayang
To train the natural breathing pattern, place one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest. Breathe in and out evenly through your nose. Pay attention to which hand moves when. What happens when you breathe in and what happens when you breathe out? Even if it may be difficult at first, the laying on of hands gives the brain additional information. This automatically improves breathing.
Only when you manage to do these three exercises well should you start training the abdominal muscles in a targeted manner. And that also means: Outside of the workout, you no longer constantly pull in your stomach.