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Today I want to talk to you about the hypopressive method and how to do hypopressive abs.

This core working methodology was created by Marcel Caufriez as an alternative to achieve toning of the abdominal muscles of women in the postpartum period, given that the strengthening techniques used up to this moment carried an enormous risk during the postpartum period.

Over time and thanks to the good results, this methodology moved from the field of therapy to that of fitness (crossfit).

WHAT ARE HYPOPRESSIVE ABS?

Hypopressive abdominals by definition consist of generating a hypopressure in the abdominal cavity. To do this, a series of postures are combined with special breathing (an expiratory apnea), to make the diaphragm rise and act, on the one hand also raising the visceral package (uterine-vagina, urethra-bladder, rectum and intestines) , and on the other, thanks to a reflex activation mechanism, cause a contraction of the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor.

The basis of these techniques of breathing, abduction of the abdomen and reeducation of the posture have existed for thousands of years and has been practiced in yoga under the name of Uddiyana Bandha.

Between the 70s and 80s they began to become more popular known as Stomach vacuum and with the rise of bodybuilding these breathing and abduction techniques resulted in being able to reduce the size of the waist to give more visibility to the serratus anterior and the latissimus dorsi, as well as to improve the volume of the rib cage.

In this way, the benefits of muscular strengthening and visceral mobilization lost prominence due to an aesthetic desire. Even the widely recognized Arnold Schwarzenegger who long used hypopressive abs currently criticizes the way bodybuilders develop abdominal muscles causing muscle harmony to be lost.

Whoever put the hypopressive abdominal exercises back as part of the training was its creator M. Caufriez thanks to his research that found that classic abdominal exercises could cause urinary incontinence problems or sexual dysfunction. For this reason, he decided to apply exercises to the abdominal area that obtained the same result but without being harmful to the body.

Two decades after its invention, the hypopressive abdominal method is practiced both in rehabilitation clinics for women after pregnancy (and they are doubly effective if they have previously performed exercises for pregnant women) and for high-performance athletes for their benefits in strengthening of the core and the improvement of its sports brands.

WHEN CAN WE NOT DO HYPOPRESSIVE ABS?

Although there are not a large number of contraindications, there are specific cases in which much consideration should be given to whether they are beneficial or not.

These cases are:

Pregnant women

Hypopressive abs is 100% contraindicated in pregnant women.

Performing the correct hypopressive abdominal technique could trigger contractions in the uterus and be very harmful to the future baby to the point that there is the possibility of generating a natural abortion.

People with high blood pressure

Not because of the abdominal work itself but because the breathing technique to perform hypopressive abs includes expiratory apneas that can be counterproductive. If you suffer from hypertension and want to do hypopressive abdominals, you should do them with the authorization of your doctor and have control of tension and heart rate during the session.

Joint problems in men and / or knees

If you know how to do hypopressive crunches, consider that there are several positions that include specific arm and knee positions that are important to the technique. If you have a joint problem, you'll need to carefully choose which types of hypopressive abs are best for you.

WHEN IS IT ADVISABLE TO DO HYPOPRESSIVE ABS?

Here is an important detail: people who are recommended to start including hypopressive abs in their physical activity:

Postpartum recovery process

The largest number of people who practice hypopressive abs are women who have recently given birth to try to regain the regular shape of the abdomen they had before pregnancy.

If you have read our exercise article for pregnant women, you will know that during the growth of the belly the diastasis of the rectus abdominis is suffered, which causes the transverse abdomen to lose muscle tone.

If this is your case, remember that doing hypopressive abdominals is recommended after 6 weeks after delivery and always consult your gynecologist.

Recent surgical interventions

If you have recently suffered from herniated discs or surgery involving the abdominal area and always consulted with your doctor, you can start the recovery process for abdominal muscle tone after complete healing and with the most comfortable positions for you and your muscles. ABS.

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WHAT MUSCLES WORK THE HYPOPRESSIVE ABS?

While classic abdominal flexion exercises only work the voluntary or phasic contraction muscles (between 3% and 4% of the abdominal muscles) those who know how to do hypopressive abdominals exercise between 75% and 80% of all fibers abdominal muscles.

So that during the hypopressive and isometric abs exercises you will be able to tone muscles that are not trained regularly and strengthen the support of your body.

Internal oblique muscles of the abdomen

These muscles are in charge of supporting the breathing, having greater responsibility in the expiration. In addition, it also allows rotation of the chest. Unlike the external obliques, these are less involved in flexion, for which hypopressives are more efficient in strengthening them.

Transverse muscle of the abdomen

Of the entire abdomen, the transverse muscles are the deepest. It offers stability to the entire lumbar region and they are the most difficult to work through exercises.

Its functions are divided into two. The first is to perform the trunk rotation when only one of them contracts. The second occurs when the two transverse ones contract, which favors expiration. If you want to know how to do hypopressive abs, this muscle will be very useful to be able to perform the technique correctly.

Rectus abdominis muscles

The best known muscle of the abdomen because they are seen on the outside and has the characteristic shape of a chocolate bar. During pregnancy they suffer from diastasis (they separate) and they lose strength and tone. This is where the most notable changes are seen when you start doing hypopressive abs.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DOING HYPOPRESSIVE ABS?

Studies are continuously being carried out to see the effects of hypopressive abs on different segments such as men, women, adults, older adults, postpartum, prepartum, etc.

Today we list the most important:

Strengthen the abdominal girdle

To have a strong belly it is important to exercise the transverse and oblique muscles of the abdomen and not just the anterior rectum. For this there is nothing better than hypopressive abdominals that do a job of strengthening and toning these muscles without damaging the lumbar spine.

Reeducation of posture

In the modern world many of us have to adopt uncomfortable postures for many hours a day and this not only generates pressure directed towards the pelvic floor but also modifies the position of several vertebrae resulting in poor posture.

When you know how to do hypopressive abdominals you will notice that the suction effect and the negative pressure effect on the abdominal cavity apply a traction effect on the two intervertebral discs.

This combined with other exercises is a powerful ally to combat posture problems.

Reduce anxiety and stress

Voluntary control over breathing produces relaxation in addition to being aware of your own breathing, which is part of Mindfulness techniques.

If you want to know more about Mindfulness you can see this article .

Prevents prolapse

During many periods of our life when exerting pressure on certain areas of the body you can suffer displacement. For example, for an abuse of the classic abdominal flexions.

The most specific case of prolapse occurs during pregnancy when the organs move from their place in order to provide space for the fetus to develop.

By strengthening the abdominal area with hypopressive abdominal exercises and neglecting abdominal exercises that include flexion and high pressure towards the organs of the abdominal cavity, the possibility of prolapse is greatly reduced.

Strengthens the pelvic floor and improves postpartum recovery

After childbirth there is residual flaccidity and the body begins the process in search of returning to its regular state, so it has to readjust itself, tone the abdominal girdle again and strengthen the pelvic floor. Many women even notice how the vaginal muscles have weakened.

Hypopressive abs are essential in postpartum recovery because it will not only tone the muscles but also accelerate the original relocation of the abdominal organs in women.

Avoid or improve urinary incontinence

During the day the bladder fills up in order to excrete waste from the body. A relaxed bladder extends to store more urine, and the sphincters are held in contraction so there is no leakage.

However, once the bladder is full and there is an increase in abdominal pressure produced by muscular effort such as laughing, coughing, lifting, etc., and a person with a weak pelvic floor will have less control of their sphincters, which will produce a escape.

Hypopressive abdominals not only relieve the pressure caused by any prolapse (if any), but also help strengthen the pelvic floor for greater sphincter control.

Increase sports performance

By knowing how to do hypopressive abdominals with the correct technique, the human body during expiratory apnea will enter a state of hypoxia that encourages the creation of certain hormones such as erythropoietin, EPO and then increase the amount of hemoglobin in the blood to optimize the oxygen transport.

This results in a greater capacity of resistance to effort and a better response of the muscles due to better oxygenation, especially useful in athletes who need to have a greater resistance to improve their performance.

Caufriez and Riera used Integrated Hypopressive Training (EIH) and applied this form of training to a triathlete. During this investigation, physical tests and specific blood tests were carried out to observe the improvements at the biochemical level and in them the increase in endogenous erythropoietin (EPO), as well as hematocrit (3.8%), hemoglobin and red blood cells was observed! in just 5 days!

This brings consumption a higher anaerobic threshold and aerobic capacity.

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These were his new marks after training with this method: He improved in the 500m from 1'31 ”to 1'20” and in the 1000m from 3'23 to 2'49 ”on track. In the water it improved its distances in 30 ″ from 31.50m to 47m.

It favors sexual relations and prevents erectile dysfunctions

The pelvic floor muscles are related to sexual functions in both genders.

Although the benefits are more pronounced morphologically and due to the complexity of the female genito-urinary system in women, men with the constant practice of hypopressive abdominals can develop better sexual performance through better blood supply and prevention of erectile dysfunction.

Increases lung capacity and improves breathing control

Breathing techniques and control of the diaphragm mean that with the constant practice of these exercises you can control each movement of the breath much better, as well as during abdominal suction, expand the thoracic capacity to increase the lung capacity.

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HOW TO START DOING HYPOPRESSIVE ABS

To understand how to do hypopressive abs you must know the 3 steps that stimulate the activation of the abdominal muscles and a technique to recognize the strength of your abdominal girdle. Doing the 3 steps is important because they are present in all known postures of hypopressive abs.

To apply them we must do it in the following way:

Abdominal girdle strength test: Cough test. This is an exercise that will help you test your abdominal girdle. Lying on your back with your knees bent, you must place one of your hands on the abdomen.

In this position, cough hard and note how much your hand rises: the higher your hand rises during a cough, the more you will have to work to strengthen your abdominal girdle.

Step 1: Foot elongation. Start with your body straight and your feet parallel on the floor aligned with your hip. From this position, raise your arms above your head and try to make your body grow as much as possible. Automatically the abdomen will press inwards making a contraction in your abdominal girdle.

Step 2: decoaptation. This is a sequence that will help you to reduce the pressure on your joints. To achieve the decoaptation you can start sitting or standing, and keep the spine straight. From this position, pull the arms down to activate the serratus muscles.

Step 3: Tilt the axis. From the previous position you should push your arms out to the sides while tilting the axis forward. From this position you can inhale and exhale twice. When we have to do the third expiration we will release as much air as possible from our lungs and we will go into apnea. In apnea, the diaphragm ascends, opens the ribs and brings the belly back and up. Hold without taking air for at least 10 seconds.

Other combinations: Quadruped. Using steps 1 and 2, you can vary step 3 by leaning on the floor with your hands facing each other, your knees resting on the floor, and your feet flexed. From this position try to pretend to grow more by maximizing the spine.

HOW TO DO HYPOPRESSIVE ABS: BREATHING

The first thing you should do in this section on how to do hypopressive abs is that breathing is essential to do these exercises well. Once you have adopted the postures you always have to expire all the air that we have in the body.

At the beginning you will not be able to endure for a long time without air in the lungs but with continuous practice your oxygenation and lung capacity will improve (yes, it is part of the benefits) and you will be able to endure in a single week twice or triple the time.

As a recommendation you can practice breathing exercises before doing hypopressive abs. A few minutes preparation should suffice.

The correct technique to perform the breathing phase you must know 3 important things:

Inspiration. It is important that the breaths are deep, catch all the air from a single inspiration and feel how your lungs fill. On the first breaths, hold the air for about 10 seconds.

Take out all the air. One of the pillars of how to do hypopressive abs is expiratory apnea. This very difficult word that almost nobody knows is nothing more than holding your breath once you have taken all the air out of your lungs. To reach this state we must first release all the air we have in the lungs. This apnea is known as expiratory apnea.

Tuck in the abdomen. After releasing the air is when you can press the abdomen in at the same time that you separate the ribs, this way you will work the diaphragm until you control it without problem.

HOW TO DO HYPOPRESSIVE ABS: TAILOR'S STYLE TECHNIQUE

To reach this posture you must sit on the floor with your legs crossed or semi-stretched, taking care that your back is straight and doing elongation.

The double chin can be used (technique that consists of stretching the throat so high that it touches the chin, and thus keeping the spine straight).

Put your arms on your hips and start using the breathing techniques we have mentioned to finally exhale all the air from your lungs, try to raise the ribs and control the diaphragm to expand your lung capacity and strengthen the elongation.

In this position and in expiratory apnea try to hold as long as possible.

You can see the final position in this image.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DOING HYPOPRESSIVE ABS

Now that you know how to do hypopressive abs I will give you some recommendations so you can improve your technique and get more benefits:

It is advisable to go to the bathroom before, since the hypopressive abs due to their strong orthosympathetic activity inhibit the urge to urinate.

Do not do them before sleeping because the metabolism increases and despite being almost without moving, these abdominals require a lot of energy and in the end the dream will disappear due to the state of excitement after training.

Never do hypopressive crunches after eating because it can directly interfere with the digestive process.

Take as much time as necessary to get the correct starting position .

Really focus on blowing all the air out of the lungs to get to expiratory apnea, because this relaxes the diaphragm and reduces abdominal pressure.

Open the ribs. Thus during apnea you will further reduce abdominal pressure as well as cause a desired stretch in the diaphragm.

Use a clothes peg to dry your nose to make sure you are not breathing in through your nostrils during apnea.

Never forget that between each repetition of this exercise, the breathing technique must be repeated . That is, before each hypopressive abdominal you must do the 3 breaths.

This is a progressive exercise , so it is recommended that the first few weeks do a few sessions and few repetitions, and in the following weeks, depending on your progress, increase the repetitions until you can do 20-minute sessions three or four days a week.

TYPES OF HYPOPRESSIVE ABS

We have learned the correct technique to perform hypopressive abs in the "the tailor" position. However, there are many other positions that we will learn today.

HYPOPRESSIVE SIT-UPS

To know how to do hypopressive abdominals standing, you must perform the following steps:

1. Stand upright with your feet parallel.

2. Bend your knees and place your hands on top of them.

3. Bring the chin closer to the neck area and let the weight of the body fall on the feet.

4. Breathe very deeply trying to open your ribs to the maximum. Hold your breath for 10 seconds between each inhalation and exhalation.

HYPOPRESSIVE ABDOMINALS FACE UP

To know how to do hypopressive abdominals face up, you must perform the following steps:

1. This time you must lie on the floor on your back, flexing your knees slightly.

2. The heels should rest on the ground while the rest of the foot should be elevated.

3. Flex your arms and place them at belly level facing up.

4. Perform self-elongation.

5. Maintaining that position, perform the breathing exercise and exhalation apnea.

6.

HYPOPRESSIVE ABS FORWARD LEG

To know how to do hypopressive abs with the front leg, you must perform the following steps:

1. Start standing, with one leg forward and trunk slightly forward.

2. Supports the weight of the body mainly on the front leg and stretches the back (self-elongation and double chin).

3. Raise your arms up in extension with the axis of your body and force upwards.

4. Maintaining that position, perform the breathing exercise and exhalation apnea.

HYPOPRESSIVE KNEES

To know how to do hypopressive abs on your knees, you must perform the following steps:

1. Get on your knees in self-elongation.

2. Lean your body weight forward but without separating your feet from the ground.

3. Place your hands at knee level with your palms facing down.

4. Rotate your shoulders forward to reach the ideal posture.

5. Maintaining that position, perform the breathing exercise and exhalation apnea.

HYPOPRESSIVE ABDOMINAL KNEES SUPINE

To know how to do supine hypopressive abs, you must perform the following steps:

1. Lie on your back with your knees slightly bent and your heels flat on the floor.

2. Perform self-elongation and use the double chin technique.

3. Place your flexed arms at shoulder height with your palms facing upward while maintaining internal shoulder rotation.

4. Maintaining that position, perform the breathing exercise and exhalation apnea.