When someone asks you to take a picture with them, what’s the first thing you do? For a lot of us, we suck in our stomach.
But experts say holding your stomach in can create a chain reaction throughout the body. It’s also called ”ab gripping” or ”hourglass syndrome.” It’s especially bad for women, but it can cause a whole host of negative issues. It can cause back, hip, jaw or rib tension…pelvic floor issues…and pain in your ribs and chest.
Physical therapists say the solution isn’t doing more crunches. Instead, they recommend learning to relax your abdominal muscles…improving your posture…and reminding yourself to stop holding in your stomach altogether.
You might want to look “good” for that picture…but in the end, sucking in your gut is not worth it.
(BuzzFeed)