Hypopressive sit-ups: benefits and how to do

Hypopressive sit-ups, popularly called hypopressive gymnastics, is a type of exercise that helps tone your abdominal muscles, being interesting for people who suffer from back pain and cannot do traditional sit-ups and for postpartum women.

In addition to strengthening the abdomen, the hypopressive method also combats urinary and fecal incontinence, improves body posture, cures genital prolapse and improves bowel function. This happens due to the difference in pressure that exists in the abdomen during the exercise and also the absence of movements with the spine. As these exercises save the spine, they can be performed even in the case of a herniated disc, contributing to its treatment.

How to do the hypopressive abs

To do hypopressive sit-ups at home, one should start slowly, paying close attention to how the exercise should be performed. The ideal is to start the series lying down and then progress to sitting and then leaning forward. Hypopressive gymnastics consists of:

1. Inhale normally and then breathe out completely, until the abdomen starts to contract on its own and then 'shrink the belly', sucking the abdominal muscles inward, as if it wanted to touch the navel to the back. This contraction should be maintained for 10 to 20 seconds initially and over time, gradually increase the time, remaining as long as possible without breathing. After the pause, fill your lungs with air and relax completely, returning to normal breathing.

It is recommended that these sit-ups are not done after eating and that it starts lightly and with few contractions, increasing over time. In addition, to have the desired benefits, it is always recommended to contract the pelvic muscles and perform the abdominal exercises 3 to 5 times a week for about 20 minutes.

By following these recommendations, a reduction in the waist and a decrease in the symptoms of urinary incontinence can be observed. In 6 to 8 weeks it should be possible to see a reduction of 2 to 10 cm from the waist and greater ease to perform the exercises.

After 12 weeks you should enter the maintenance phase, doing 20 minutes a week, before your usual training but for best results it is advisable to do 20 minutes to 1 hour twice a week in the first month and 3 to 4 times a week from the 2nd month.

The step-by-step instructions for doing hypopressive sit-ups can be performed in different positions, such as:

Exercise 1: Lying down

Lying on your back, with your legs bent and your arms along your body, follow the instructions above. To begin, do 3 repetitions of this exercise.

Exercise 2: Sitting

In this exercise, the person must remain seated in a chair with their feet flat on the floor or one can sit on the floor with their legs bent, in the case of beginners, and with their legs stretched out for the more experienced. Exhale completely and then 'suck' your belly in completely, not breathing for as long as you can.

Exercise 3: Leaning forward

In a standing position, tilt your body forward, bending your knees slightly. Take a deep breath and when you breathe out, 'pull' your abdomen in, as well as your pelvic muscles, holding your breath for as long as you can.

Exercise 4: Kneeling on the floor

In the position of 4 supports, release all the air from the lungs and suck the belly in as long as you can and hold your breath for as long as you can.

There are still other postures that can be adopted to do this exercise, such as standing and 4 supports. Whenever you are going to do a series of hypopressants, you should vary the positions, as it is normal for the person to have more ease of maintaining the contraction for longer in one position than in another. And the best way to know which positions are where you maintain contraction most effectively is to test each one.

Check out more tips in the following video:

Benefits of hypopressive sit-ups

Hypopressive abs have several health benefits when practiced correctly, the main ones being:

• Slim the waist due to isometric contractions that are performed during exercise, because when "sucking" the belly there is a change in internal abdominal pressure, helping to decrease abdominal circumference; Strengthens the back muscles because of decreased abdominal pressure and decompression of the vertebrae, relieving back pain and preventing the formation of hernias; It prevents the loss of urine and feces, because during the step-by-step of the abdominals there may be the repositioning of the bladder and strengthening of the ligaments, fighting fecal, urinary incontinence and uterine prolapse; Prevents the formation of hernias, since it promotes decompression of the vertebrae; Combats spinal deviations, as it promotes spine alignment; It improves sexual performance, because during the exercise there is an increase in blood flow in the intimate region, increasing sensitivity and pleasure; Improves posture and balance, as it promotes the strengthening of abdominal muscles.

Hypopressive abdominal lose weight?

To lose weight with this exercise it is necessary to adapt the diet, reducing the consumption of foods rich in fat, sugar and calories and also to spend more energy also performing other exercises that burn fat such as walking, running, cycling or rollerblading, for example.

This is because hypopressive gymnastics does not have a high caloric expenditure and is therefore not effective in burning fat and therefore only loses weight when these other strategies are adopted. However, these sit-ups are excellent for defining and toning the abdomen, making the belly stiff.