The “stomach vacuum” may sound like a plastic surgery trend, but it's actually an abdominal exercise. And it's a popular one. The hashtag #stomachvacuum has more than 100 million views on TikTok, but what exactly is the “stomach vacuum” meant to do and are there safety risks?

TikTok fitness trends should always be gut checked by real-life experts, so we tapped three of them to get to the bottom of the trend.

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What is the 'stomach vacuum' exercise?

The “stomach vacuum” is a strengthening exercise that targets the abdominal muscles , especially the transverse abdominis, a deep core muscle .

Katie Wang, personal trainer and founding instructor for Peloton R

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