I’m a fitness coach – here are 3 exercises that are a complete waste of time if you want a nipped in waist
SICK of doing sit ups and crunches, only to find your waist isn’t quite shaping out how you want it?
While all bodies are beautiful, there’s no harm in wanting to make a few little tweaks.
It’s just knowing how to go about it, which can be the tricky part.
If you fancy whittling your waist, you can forget painfully tight corsets or going under the knife (ouch!) to get the hourglass figure you’re dreaming of.
I should know. As a personal trainer I know there are some exercises that can work magic on your middle.
These exercises typically target your obliques - the muscles that run down the side of your core.
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Working these can help to cinch your waist.
However, before you start on your quest to work your waist, there are a few other things to consider.
To really see your waist, you do need to look at burning the fat that might lie above your stomach area.
Focus on moving throughout the day, cutting out sugary, processed foods and ensuring you’re getting lots of good quality sleep.
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Good sleep can help control your appetite, reduce stress and help your body recover from exercise.
Plus, remember that our genes play a big part in where we store fat, as well as the general shape of our body.
So don’t be too hard on yourself.
Ready to work your waist? Here’s how to do it…
The 3 exercise you SHOULD do
Aim to complete three rounds of the below three exercises, following the timings and reps given.
1. Side Plank
This is a great bodyweight move that can be done anywhere.
Lie on your left side on the ground. Your feet should be stacked one on top of the other.
Use your left arm to push your hips off the ground and rest your body on your forearm.
Your shoulder should be in line with your elbow and your forearm should be flat on the floor.
Your body should be in a straight line off the ground from your feet to your shoulders.
Engage the core and squeeze your muscles as you hold this for 20 seconds before swapping sides.
Need a challenge? Instead of resting on your elbow, push your body up higher from the ground and place the palm of your hand on the floor.
Here, your hand should be directly underneath your shoulder.
2. Cross Body Mountain Climber
Get into a high plank position; hands directly under shoulders and legs straight, resting on your toes.
Brace your core muscles as you bring your left knee up to your right elbow.
Then return the left leg before driving the right knee up to your left elbow.
As you do this, aim to keep your body in a straight line, without your hips dropping down. Move slowly, or up the tempo of this exercise.
Do this for 30 seconds. Leave a 30 second rest between each set.
3. Plank Hip Dips
Get into a forearm plank position; body resting on your forearms, shoulders above elbows, and legs straight, resting on your toes.
Squeeze your core as you slowly lower your hips down to the floor on your left side.
Pause, then move the hips over to the right.
Throughout, keep your arms still and brace your core.
Aim for ten hip dips on each side. Take a 30 second rest between sets.
The 3 exercises to avoid
While these exercises are great for your core muscles, they won’t necessarily give you the nipped-in waist that you’re wanting. So give these a miss:
1. Weighted Side Bend
Standing upright, with a weight in one hand, slowly lower the weighted arm down the side of your body- keeping it close to your leg.
Pause when you feel the stretch in your obliques, then use your core muscles to come back up to standing.
This exercise is great for building the obliques - the muscles that sit around the sides of your core - however, it can actually make the obliques bigger, creating a wider waist.
And that’s not what we’re after here.
2. Weighted Crunches
Don’t assume that sit ups and crunches are the way forward when it comes to cinching that waist.
Weighted crunches involve lying on your back, feet flat on the floor and knees bent.
Holding a weight in both hands up above your chest, use your abs muscles to slowly lift your upper back from the floor. Pause, then lower back down.
Weighted crunches are great for working the six pack muscles, but not the obliques.
Scrap this exercise if you’re hoping to work your waist.
3. Russian Twists
Great for working the obliques, but equally, these could make your waist bulkier than you’d like if you’re using heavier weights.
Russian twists involve sitting on the ground, knees bent, feet off the floor, holding a weight in both hands in front of your chest.
Twisting your body (with the weight) from one side to the other, works your core muscles and obliques.
Although for women, weights won’t make you bulky - and I do really want to clarify that - they do obviously help to build muscle.
But if you’re hoping to nip in your waist, then building the obliques might have the opposite effect.
DO lift weights!
If there’s one thing you need to be doing, it’s weight lifting.
Just three times a week can help to build muscle, help to tone the body, burn fat and create the shapely figure you’re after.
Resistance-based training helps us to burn FAT rather than just weight.
We want to maintain, and also increase our muscle mass, but when we overdo it on the cardio training, we can find ourselves losing weight, which includes muscle.
Plus, working on building muscle in other areas could even create the illusion of a smaller waist.
Building your glutes (the muscles in your butt) as well as your shoulders, can make your waist appear slimmer. It’s an easy hack.
Beat the bloat
Struggling to see any form of waist? You might be bloated.
If your stomach and waist seem tighter in the morning, but puffier by the evening, perhaps even hard and painful, then it’s likely that the bloat is real.
A few dietary changes can often help relieve bloating. Keep track of what you’re eating, as well as how you feel after.
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If you notice a pattern with a certain food and bloating, then try to cut it out for just a few weeks and then see how you feel.
If the bloat is constant and painful, book an appointment with your GP.