Suck It In!

One of the most effective things I’ve done in recent months to “work my abs” is to contract my abs, or feel like I’m ’tightening’ them while doing regular daily activities. I just take a deep breath, then contract my abs as I exhale. I hold it for several seconds, just taking small breaths while I’m holding it. (It’s the abdominal vacuum exercise, if you've ever seen that referred to elsewhere. I just can't get down on all 4's to do it the 'official' way all the time, so I apply the same principles in other ways.)

Sounds simple, but I’ve definitely seen a visible difference in my abdominal muscle tone and definition in the last couple of months since I consciously started doing this. When I think of it, I’ll just tighten my abs… might be while I’m doing dishes, driving, folding laundry, or sitting at the computer for hours writing a highly informative and entertaining entry for a website! My favorite one is to tighten while I’m going up the stairs… makes me feel like I’ve really accomplished something! (yes, I should probably get out more!)

To see if you’re doing it ‘right’ or effectively, put your hands on your abdomen while you do this. You should feel tightening or hardening of the area. Depending on how much insulation (fat) you have covering up your abdominal muscles, you might even be able to see those little puppies ‘flexing’ in the mirror! Go ahead, look!

If you really couldn’t care less about ever seeing your abdominal muscles ever again, remember that your core strength and tone is about much more important things than just vanity! A strong, lean core will improve your posture, protect your spine, make you less prone to injuries, improve your balance, endurance and all-around performance, decrease chronic pain, attribute to higher self-esteem and confidence… and drastically lower your risk for each and every leading cause of preventable death (a.k.a. “the diseases of lifestyle”: cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental imbalances, obesity, arthritis, stroke, etc.) How’s that for a reason to suck it in?!

I have to warn you… there are some definite side effects. Your pants may unexpectedly fall down. Bam! Right out of nowhere! Also, perfect strangers may whistle at you. Your spouse may become nicer to you… he or she may act suspiciously like you’re dating again. Your offspring my want to test the strength of your new-found washboard abs by walloping you right in the stomach. And everybody, absolutely everybody you know will stop and ask you “What’s different about you? You look great! What have you been doing? What diet are you on? Did you get a haircut… you look so different! I can’t quite tell what it is...” It will get highly annoying to face this daily interrogation, so you’ll probably have to wear a sign on your forehead that asks everyone to kindly refrain from asking so many questions because you’re very busy flexing your abs right now!!

Have fun flexing, you lean things, you!

p.s. Laughter is a great abdominal contraction!