Skip to main content
Don’t Waste Time Waist Training
Apr 22

Don’t Waste Time Waist Training

As we all know, corsets have been worn for centuries. Let’s travel back to 1900’s.
Remember the famous scene in Gone With the Wind, when Scarlet O’Hara’s mom ties her corset so tight she can barely breathe or eat? That scene wasn’t much of an exaggeration of the common beauty practice that was popular at the beginning of the 1900’s and this crazy trend is starting to comeback with women today. But women don’t realize they are much larger today than they were 100+ years ago.

The obsession with unrealistic body proportions has increased, particularly with the boom of social media, tv, and media sites concentrating on celebrities such as Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian with their hourglass figures, equipped with huge breasts, flat stomachs and huge Brazilian bubble butts (I can say that, because I’m Brazilian!) These features are a hot commodity in today’s society. So now women every where are “getting waisted” to get a curvier figure, with the help of this medevial undergarment: the corset.

As a trainer and core expert, I would HIGHLY recommend you leave corsets where they belong… in the 19th century Lol. Here’s some of the reasons why:

  • This stretchy rubber thing is constructed, it is not custom-fit to the individual’s anatomy, and it’s designed to compress everywhere from the ribcage to the hips. It will compress whatever gives the least resistance, whether that is the sides of the waistline or the front of your abs and your back. Keep in mind each individual has a different amount of muscle tone or body fat percentage, each person has very slight differences in position and size of their internal organs. So it WILL compress your internal organs.
  • All you’re doing is compressing your stomach and pushing the fat around instead of getting rid of it. It’s a very temporary thing. It can restrict your lungs, which can cause lung infections as well as restrict your bowels, which can cause constipation. It can also cause bruising and rib pain.
  • Regardless of what you think is going on in there, your core is gonna go down the drain!!! It will definitely weaken the muscles in your core and your back, since you’re not forced to hold your core with your own strength. Bye Bye definition.

I honestly think that’s ok to wear Spanx for a hot date, an event or to get a smoother look in a special outfit… that’s understandable. But wearing a corset for hours or all day long isn’t a good choice for weight loss or your health. But watch out for wearing anything that’s restrictive for long amounts of time.

I have a friend that started wearing Spanx every day, even to exercise because she wanted to lose weight and define her waist line. Of course she did get the type of results she was hoping for. So since she was not happy with the results, she switched to the “corset” or waist training. Oh God… that was a big mistake. She was wearing it all day long for months like 6 or 7 months. The outcome was not good. She was pretty much deformed. Her whole ribcage was compressed and she started having a difficult time breathing.

So if you want to change your body, do it naturally. There are much safer ways to get results. Here are some of the things you can start doing today:

  • You should look at your diet and make sure to watch your total calorie intake. You should also monitor the consumption of carbohydrate intake and sugar.
  • I also suggest you do exercises that focus on core strength. If you’re in San Diego, come to one of my core classes!
  • Focus on abdominal exercises. They are obviously going to help produce a more defined waist, but it’s important to remember that this will only work if you shed residual body fat first.
  • Metabolic training and high-intensity interval training fat-burning exercises should always be used in conjunction with the ab exercises to diminish measurements in your waistline.
  • You will never achieve a lean, sculpted body if you are eating junk food… so the first step should always be to improve your diet and make sure you are eating plenty of protein, complex carbs, veggies and drinking your water.
  • People who work out regularly often find that their bodies enter a state of stress, resulting in the over-production of cortisol. That in turn allows a layer of fat to build up around the waist. Get a massage and allow your body to rest and restore its chemical balance to see some real results from your training.

It’s guaranteed that if you put in the work, you’ll see the results! Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/vaifitness for videos, tips and inspiration.

Until next time,

Silvia Giamanco
Owner of Vai Fitness

About Silvia Giamanco: 

photo-site3-copy-150x150

Silvia Giamanco is a leading fitness instructor and entrepreneur shaping the lives of clients in San Diego and across the country. Her career started in Brazil fifteen years ago as a fitness instructor and professional triathlete. Silvia participated in five triathlon championships and was ranked 26th in the world UTI rankings of female triathletes. Since becoming Certified Personal Trainer in 1999, Silvia’s approach to wellness included fitness and nutrition. Silvia has her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and a Masters in Exercise Physiology. She has numerous professional certifications including, Core Training, Group Fitness, Spinning, Reformer and Mat Pilates, Crossfit and more. She is committed to staying up-to-date on the latest research, training methods and fitness trends through attendance at seminars, classes, and conferences each year.

Related Posts

How to Do a Plank Effectively

We love our fitness experts! If you just came over from the article about waist...

Taming the Food Beast

Who loves food? I know... Most of you probably either raised your hands literally, virtually...

Beauty Eating: Find Beauty Secrets in the Foods You Eat

Like so many other people, I'm really focused on kicking of the new year right...