What does 'hold your stomach in' mean and why is it important?
The abdominal muscles are key core muscles. This means they help stabilize your body and assist in everything that you do! This is why it is important to have a strong and healthy core.
You may have heard trainers say, "Be sure to hold in your stomach' while doing such and such exercise. What does this mean? What does this look like?
A simple way to be sure you are 'holding in your stomach' correctly is to try to pull your belly button back towards your spine. This keeps the muscles contracted, which is what you are wanting to do, even if you didn't realize it. This is vital when doing abdominal exercises like crunches. If your ab muscles are pooched out, you can actually build them pooched out, plus you are not letting them support your spine as they need to.
So, the next time your hear, 'hold your stomach in', just think about pulling your belly button back to your spine!
You may have heard trainers say, "Be sure to hold in your stomach' while doing such and such exercise. What does this mean? What does this look like?
A simple way to be sure you are 'holding in your stomach' correctly is to try to pull your belly button back towards your spine. This keeps the muscles contracted, which is what you are wanting to do, even if you didn't realize it. This is vital when doing abdominal exercises like crunches. If your ab muscles are pooched out, you can actually build them pooched out, plus you are not letting them support your spine as they need to.
So, the next time your hear, 'hold your stomach in', just think about pulling your belly button back to your spine!
