Fit Friday | Your ultimate small waist routine.

If you're on Instagram for any length of time, you may have come across young ladies wearing waist trainers in an attempt to shrink their waistline.  A tiny waistline is the desire of almost all women because it enhances the hips/thighs, giving us a more curvaceous figure.  Clothes fit better when our waistline is toned, and it boosts our confidence like nothing else.

From what I hear, those waist trainers actually do work. But, you've got to wear one pretty much all the time.  Nothing wrong with that. Some people are able to do that. But, what if you can activate your inner corset, pulling your tummy inwards in a natural way?  Years ago, I knocked out a couple of hundred sit ups every night in hopes of achieving a flatter stomach.  In the end, my stomach was stronger, firmer, but not necessarily flatter.  I remember a classmate playfully punching me in the belly and being surprised by the firmness of my tummy.  I want to pull everything inwards, not make it extra hard.  If you have a short torso like I do, rock hard abs make your midsection look wider which doesn't accentuate curves. So I had to give up sit ups altogether and try something different.

When I incorporated the transverse abdominal regimen into my routine, everything changed. Suddenly, I could see a natural cinching of the waist.  My tummy flattened naturally.  Best of all, it was pretty easy to achieve.

Basically, my routine looked something like this:

1.  Reduce overall body fat % by incorporating long walks (3 miles)  3-4 days a week.  Or 1 hour on treadmill doing inclined intervals (3-4 days a week).
2. Increase frequency of eating healthy salads, drinking water, eating fruit. (Eating for a small waist)
3. Build lower body with squats, lunges, etc.
4. Incorporate transverse exercises into daily routine.

That's all it took. The results were pretty spectacular.  For the first time in my life, I had a tiny waist.

Let's talk more about which inner corset exercise were more effective.  I was most consistent with the stomach vacuum.  They say the body builders in the 70's would incorporate transverse exercises like the stomach vacuum into their routines which created their caved in waistline.  But, some modern bodybuilders have lost the tradition and are sporting larger, more extended abs as a result.

 Although stomach vacuums don't feel like you're doing a work out, they are actually pretty effective.  Almost like how kegals give you results simply by contracting the muscles inwards.  I learned a few variations of transverse exercises but it was always so easy to do a few stomach vacuum exercises in front of the mirror while getting dressed.  Strengthening my inner core also encouraged me to engage my core at all times.  While on those long walks, I would engage my core. I kept my stomach tight while on the treadmill.  I did stomach vacuums if I worked on the computer while standing.  Suddenly, I could do ab exercises at any time, anywhere, and I took full advantage.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't do any more crunches. I believe every muscle should be worked, but those days of doing hundreds of sit ups for flat abs are over for me.

Along with transverse workouts, I sought to tone the external ab muscles as well. That's when I incorporated the "waist whittler" stretch which lengthened and toned my midsection.  Again, this was easy to do so I stayed consistent.  Finally, I targeted those hard to reach areas with specific workouts meant to target the lower back fat.  Everything worked together to create my ideal results.  If you are interested in getting a waist trainer, I'm not gonna stop you.  Pairing these exercises with your trainer might even accelerate your result.  It's all about having options.

Stomach Vacuum (How To):



Transverse Abdominal Workout


The Waist Whittler (Trimmer) Exercise



Waist Trimming Workout (MY FAVORITE WAIST WORKOUT OF ALL TIME)