Women's fitness excessive rolling shutter door

The "excessive rolling shutter door of women's fitness" that has been widely circulated in the fitness circle recently is essentially caused by long-term wrong core strength habits, excessive pursuit of extremely low body fat, intra-abdominal pressure imbalance, abnormal abdominal wall shape, and most of the health risks associated with pelvic floor dysfunction. It is not a fitness achievement of "strong core control" at all. In most cases, timely adjustment is required.

The first time I heard this word was when I was having sex with a friend in the rehabilitation department last year. He flipped through his phone and showed me pictures of patients. When standing, the entire lower abdomen was concave in a smooth arc from the xiphoid process to the bottom. It was exactly the same as the half-open rolling shutter door of a store, even the tightness on the edge. Later, when I was teaching classes, I encountered several students in this situation. The one who impressed me the most was Xiao Min, who came to prepare for photos last year. In order to achieve the effect of taking photos of navel-baring outfits, she increased her body fat to 15% in three months, and practiced abdominal training for half an hour every day. She subconsciously kept her belly closed all the time, and later she didn't dare to make any big moves even when she was joking with me. She leaked urine when she sneezed, and her waist still hurt after standing for a long time. When I touched her lower abdomen, it was hard even when she was relaxed, and she couldn't bulge at all. It was a typical "roll-up door".

Speaking of which, this matter is quite controversial now. Many old-school bodybuilding coaches think this is a sign of good core control. If you look at professional female bodybuilding athletes during their preparation period, which one does not have such a tight abdomen that you can see the seam of the ribs? This is actually true, but the premise is that they are in a short-term preparation state. After the season, they will gradually restore body fat. There are nutritionists and rehabilitation specialists behind them to adjust the state throughout the whole process. How can ordinary fitness enthusiasts have this condition? If you really follow that standard and maintain it all year round, it will be surprising if there are no problems.

Oh, by the way, there are still many people who think "I'm fine if I don't feel uncomfortable." This view is not entirely wrong. There are indeed a few girls who are born with low body fat and strong core strength. They are born with flat stomachs, normal breathing and exertion, and no backache and urinary leakage. So there is no need to worry. But if you have been deliberately sucking in your belly for more than half a year in order to have a concave shape, and now your belly cannot even bulge when you take a normal deep breath, then you need to be vigilant - long-term excessive tension in the transversus abdominis is equivalent to pulling up the front wall of the "balloon" in the abdominal cavity, causing the abdomen to bulge. All the internal pressure is pressed against the pelvic floor muscles and lumbar spine. You may not feel it for a short period of time. Over time, urine leakage, lower abdominal distension, and lumbar protrusion are all possible. I met a girl with a serious condition two years ago. Even my aunt was confused for half a year, and she had to find many places to adjust her.

Why is this situation so common among female fitness groups? To put it bluntly, there are still two problems. One is the physiological structure. Women are born with greater pressure on the pelvic floor muscles than men. They also have to go through stages such as menstruation and pregnancy and childbirth. They are more prone to pelvic floor problems. If they use the wrong force, it will simply make things worse. ； The other is the current aesthetic kidnapping. The fitness bloggers I see every day are all about "zero fat lower abdomen" and "hourglass waist". In the comment area, they also ask "Why do you still have a small belly after working out?", forcing many girls to start crazy fat-burning and abuse the abdomen after just two months of training. They don't even find the feeling of correct core exertion, so they know to "retract the core all the time." Good guy, the pelvic floor muscles are spinning every day, just like the social animals of 996, so there is something wrong.

Don’t scare yourself. I’ll teach you a very simple judgment method: Find a mirror and stand naturally. Don’t deliberately draw in or push out your belly. Inhale normally. If your belly can naturally swell and feel soft, even if it’s a bit small, it’s totally fine.； If your stomach becomes more concave when you inhale, feels hard to the touch, and you occasionally experience urinary leakage or backache, then it is best to make adjustments as soon as possible. Adjustment is not that complicated. Don’t do all those fancy rehabilitation exercises at the beginning. First change the bad habit of “stracting the core all the time”. Relax when walking and eating. Take 10 minutes a day to practice abdominal breathing. Put your hands on your stomach when lying down. On the body, inhale to expand your belly, exhale slowly to close it, and feel the pelvic floor muscles relax and contract together. Don’t try to lose body fat. Women’s normal body fat is between 18% and 24%. It is healthy. There is really no need to make yourself sick for the sake of a sunken belly.

Finally, to be honest, fitness is meant to make your life more comfortable. Being able to run, jump, eat and drink is 10,000 times better than a "roll-up door" figure that looks good in photos. If you are really putting the cart before the horse just for the sake of a good figure in the eyes of others, you don't even dare to laugh, and you have to worry about even sneezing.