The Abdominal Hollowing Exercise

Hi everyone,

Thanks for dropping by and reading this post. As you may or may not know, I’ve just had a bouncing baby girl! While we were in the hospital, we picked up a leaflet by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’s Health (ACPWH). It had some rather interesting information on exercise after childbirth.

The abdominal hollowing exercise or ‘core exercise’ as it’s sometimes known targets the transverse abdominus muscle. The transverse abdominus is a muscle found deep in the abdomen that holds in the abdominal contents and supports your core. You should start doing this exercise in the most comfortable position for you. Try lying on your back or side with your knees bent or sitting with your back well supported.

Place one or both of your hands on your abdomen below the level of your belly button. Breathe in through your nose, and as you breathe out, draw in your lower abdomen gently away from your hands towards your back and then relax. You should be able to breathe and talk at the same time and your lower back should stay still. Do the exercise three times if you can.

Once you have mastered this exercise you should be able to practise it by standing up. To progress this further, repeat as above but keep your muscles drawn in for three seconds. You may feel the muscles working under your hand and you gradually be able to hold them for longer. Do this three times a day or as often as you can.

After you’ve read this page, you may want to read our articles on Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises and Essential Exercises After Childbirth.

Thanks for reading,