Hypopressive vs abdominal exercises

In recent years the issue of abdominals has been on the rise, mainly due to the debate between traditional abdominals or hypopressive exercises. Well, let's try to explain both a little and come to a conclusion.

Traditional Exercises: Abs

Here we refer to those abs that we are used to seeing, either in the one or those that we were taught in school. They consist of raising the trunk or legs, exerting the maximum contraction and concentrating all the tension on the abdominal wall. To these, some type of weight can be added in addition to the body itself through earth bags, weights, etc.

In this kind of ABSwhat we will achieve is to work theabdominal muscles superficial or, what is the same, the chocolate bar. However, everything has a price and, in this case, this type of exercise is bad for the back as the position puts too much pressure on the intervertebral discs and injury can occur. In addition, the position does not help much to the one who suffers a lot of pressure and can produce

Hypopressive exercises

Thesehypopressive exercises They would be defined as: "doing sit-ups, but from within." I will try to explain it so that it is understood. The objective isperform an abdominal contraction from within, which consists of taking a deep breath while bringing the abdomen inwards and then taking several breaths keeping the abdomen in this position. By performing this exercise, we are able to work the transverse abdominis, our central girdle of the body that is responsible for keeping all the organs in place and maintaining an upright posture.

This exercise can be performed dynamically or statically and, unlike the traditional one, it prevents injury to the intervertebral discs.

Do hypopressive exercises have no contraindications?

Like any treatment, it is not applicable to everyone and in all situations. They cannot do them, they are completely forbidden. In addition, neither in people with high blood pressure, since in this type of abdominal air the air is held and that causes the tension to increase. Regarding whether they are the best. it depends on your goals. While it is true thathypopressive exercises They help to improve posture, to improve sports performance ... the traditional ones are still totally valid for other objectives.

Hypopressive exercises, also in athletes

Being abdominals in which you have to use the diaphragm, you learn to become aware of it, which helps to have better breathing and thus increases effectiveness when doing sports.

And are hypopressive exercises easy to do?

My experience tells me that older people usually have many problems doing them ... that is why, although they are not advised against, we must insist a lot on how to do them since the large number of signs and reference points greatly complicate their execution.

The recommendation is to do two or three sessions with the physiotherapist so that he can teach you individually how they are done and from this base you can go practicing and perfecting this technique. Actually, once it is mastered it is very easy to do and produces very good benefits. In consultation, I even use to videotape my patients so that we can see together where they are wrong and we can comment and correct.

In many centers, group sessions of seven or eight people are held and, in front of a mirror, they are taught to perform this type of technique. Therefore, if you are thinking of learning with your partner, it is a very good way to do it.

• Thehypopressive exercises they manage to work our human girdle, the transverse abdomen, without injuring the spinal column.
• Traditional sit-ups increase intra-abdominal pressure, potentially injuring the pelvic floor muscles.
• The recommendation is to be clear about the objective and, from there, and together with our physiotherapist, we mark a course of action with the correct exercises.

Carlos Master Lara

Graduated in Physiotherapy with a mention in Manual Therapy, Master in Translational Research

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