Waist Trainer's- Do's & Dont's When Achieving a Smaller Waist

Waist Trainers

As a personal trainer helping women throughout their fitness journey, I frequently get asked about waist trainers. Should you buy them to include in your workout routine? Do you need them to get better results training? Which works best? How do they actually work? There are a variety of different waist trainers on the market all of which do very different things, and have different safety levels so I want to clarify that for my ladies.

Waist Trainers

Waist Trainers, more specifically corsets, have been all the rage on Instagram showing women "losing 40 pounds" just by wearing them for a short time and magically attaining an hourglass shape.

I'm here to tell you to be very wary of the corsets.

When I step into the gym locker room, I see tons of girls trying to squeeze into these corsets BEFORE their workout and I just want to run up to them and tell them be careful!

We all would love to attain the hourglass shape, but being safe while working out is the utmost importance.

So, where do we begin?

Corsets are designed to restrict motion, flexibility, quick movements, and do not support you during lifts.

Constricting your breathing which is essential during your workout is doing the opposite of the main goal of exercise.

They may look nice, but don't be fooled into wearing a corset during your workout.

Workouts are meant for motion in order to burn calories and wearing an item that restricts motion does not go hand in hand.

Sweat bands

Sweat bands differ from Waist Trainers or Corsets in that they are designed for motion, very flexible and encourage sweating by generating heat in your midsection.

They are designed to be worn directly on the skin under your clothes.

They are not intended to support you during your lifts like a back brace so if you looking for an item to support your heavy lifts I wouldn't recommend sweat bands for that particular function.

I've tried different versions of sweat bands, and the material makes a huge difference.

The first sweat band I tried became very slippery once I began my workout, and shifted every time I was in motion.

The sweat band that I currently use and recommend to my clients is by Sweet Sweat. I love this belt because it is flexible and stays in place while I workout.

It's breathable, your sweat doesn't build up to the point you're uncomfortable.

Maintaining a clean Sweet Sweat band is easy. After the gym I hand wash it, let it dry and it's good as new for the next workout.

Lifting belts

Lifting belts are designed just like a belt you'd wear around your pants but they go around your lower waist.

They're meant to be worn midly tight to support your lower back during weight training and heavy lifts.

I wouldn't recommend doing sprints or HIIT training with a lifting belt.

They're to be worn for a short period of time just through your set and taken off.

 

So which one do you chose?

My reccomendation would be to definitely stay away from corsets as they are overall dangerous and do not produce the results they promise.

Lifting belts are for short period lifts only to be worn during your set if your lifting any over head weight to support your lower back.

Sweat bands can increase presperation in your mid section during workouts. They are flexible and move with you during your workouts.

Ultimately, it is your nutrition and fitness routine that will slim your mid section as well as the rest of your body.

Spot training a certain part of your body isn't the most realistic approach as the rest of your body will transition as well if you do experience weight loss.

 

I hope this gives you realistic expectations of this form of gym equiptment/fitness apparel. Staying safe and setting attainable goals will help you achieve your dream body and fitness goals.

Happy Training,

Erika