I exhale all the air out and suck my guts in and create that vacuum feeling. I can barely hold my breath when exhaled for about 30-40 seconds. The article I read said first week I should start with 20 seconds, second week 40 and the third week 60, but I just can't hold my breath in when exhaled for 60 seconds!!! Am I doing them right? Should I be breathing, instead of holding my breath?

I exhale all the air out and suck my guts in and create that vacuum feeling. I can barely hold my breath when exhaled for about 30-40 seconds. The article I read said first week I should start with 20 seconds, second week 40 and the third week 60, but I just can't hold my breath in when exhaled for 60 seconds!!! Am I doing them right? Should I be breathing, instead of holding my breath?
Holding your breath might allow you to get more of a vacuum effect, because it will allow you to involve muscles dedicated to rib expansion (i.e., you hold your breath, then try to "breath in", which pulls your internals upward, due to the pressure difference), but this won't have anything to do with the utilization of the transverse abdominus.

I think if your goal is just to strengthen the transverse abdominus, you can breath if you want, and probably should. If you're holding your breath, it's probably easier to deceive yourself about how much work your transverse abdominus is actually doing. Your breathing will probably be shallow, since you're holding your stomach in, but I see no reason not to breath.

I exhale all the air out and suck my guts in and create that vacuum feeling. I can barely hold my breath when exhaled for about 30-40 seconds. The article I read said first week I should start with 20 seconds, second week 40 and the third week 60, but I just can't hold my breath in when exhaled for 60 seconds!!! Am I doing them right? Should I be breathing, instead of holding my breath?

A proper vacuum would have you expel as much air as possible, should take at least 10 sec. Then suck stomach in, as far as possible, and hold while taking in no air. Keep trying to increase time but nothing is magic about time. If you can't make 60 sec, OK, just try. Do it say 6 times a day or 2 reps - morning, noon, and night. Before a meal may be a good reminder.:cool:

When you expel and lift your ribcage (sucking the stomach in due to the pressure difference), this is a true stomach vacuum -- it is mostly a pose. I believe this is what rtestes is referring to. If, on the other hand, your goal is to strengthen the abs, you should expel and then merely contract the abs. This is often mistaken for a true stomach vacuum in the few articles I've read about it, but is really just an isometric contraction. It is also what is commonly meant now days by the term stomach vacuum, as ribcage expansion is no longer normally a goal. (Ribcage expansion is also a dubious concept, especially if you're not still growing.)

If you're trying to strengthen the abs and, therefore, performing the isometric contraction, you can breathe shallowly as needed.

Try elbow planks on a Swiss ball as well..

If no ball,use floor.

Do these as well as your vacs.

Planks seem to make the abs want to stay in.

Work up to a 30 sec plank and then as time goes by hold for longer and longer.