It’s that time of the year for every fitness gym to be flooded with people trying to start their New Year's Resolution. You can always tell who these people are because they either just exercise on a piece of cardio equipment for an hour or do hundreds of painfully looking crunches.

Doing crunches will not pull your abdomen in. The muscle fibres of the six-pack (rectus abdominis) run vertically. The muscle you want to target instead is the transverse abdominis (TVA). This is the deepest of the six main abdominal muscles. The TVA is often nicknamed the “corset muscle,” and if your abs has ever been sore from laughing or coughing, you have felt it working.

Now as you know, I am against the “conventional” abdominal exercises most people perform. Click here for a previous post I wrote about why crunches and sit-ups are bad for you. I am able to keep my abdominals within sight year round by simply doing full body exercises and maintaining a healthy eating plan. However, there are a couple of direct abdominal exercises I incorporate in my training plan a couple days a week. One core exercise I perform a couple days a week is the Drawing In Maneuver. I have been doing this particular exercise for the last year and it has become one of my favorites. You will not see many people peforming this exercise in your gym. Hey, it’s their loss!

Drawing in Maneuver:

Get on all fours and keep your eyes focused directly under your head. Don’t arch your back or strain your neck.
Powerfully exhale from your mouth until air is fully expelled. Your abs should be contracted from this forceful exhale. Full exhalation is essential to contract the transverse abdominals.
Hold your breath and pull your belly button upward toward your spine as hard as you can for a target of 8-12 seconds.
Inhale fully through the nose after the 8-12 second hold.
Take on breath cycle of rest (exhale slowly out of mouth, inhale slowly through nose), then repeat the above for a total of 10 repetitions.
It is important to remember that a strong core and visible abs comes from full body exercises and proper eating habits. The Drawing In Maneuver exercise is just a supplement to the other important factors mentioned above.

This unique abdominal exercise is great because it can be done anywhere and requires no equipment. It is a perfect exercise for all fitness levels. This exercise can be done 1-2 times a week. Your abdominals will be pretty sore for the next couple of days after performing the Drawing In Maneuver. With a good eating plan, total body high intensity training, and the Drawing In Maneuver, you will be well on your way to that flat stomach or six pack abs we all strive for!