Small Waist Principles

It’s the beginning of a new year. With that comes a large group of people, called resolution-ers, that want to get in “The Best Shape of their Life”!

There is also a group of athletes that are beginning their preparations for the upcoming competition season! This means its time to get Lean!!

Men and women both desire to have the perfectly proportioned physique from top to bottom. For those that compete, that illusion of a tiny waists, broad shoulders, and sweeping quads/calves; the X-frame; is what wins shows!

For average gym junkiez, the only goal is to be in whatever shape that will produce the look of a small waist, and defined abs. The other body parts are gender specific goals (Men- big shoulders, big chest, arms, etc. / Women- flat stomach, small waist, big hips/glutes, etc.).

Regardless of the goal you are chasing, always be mindful of your waist. Keep a tight waist and make the most aesthetic physique possible. I am going to give you 5 principles to adhere to while working to accomplish your physique goals!

1. DO YOUR CARDIO! Small waist and abs will not be obtained without burning the fat around your midsection. While you cannot spot reduce, focus on losing as much bodyfat as possible. While strict dieting will allow people to acheive the goal of a small waist and visible abs, the reality is most people do not have iron clad discipline. So develop a habit of doing your cardio consistently. It doesnt matter if its low intensity or high intensity… pick a plan and follow it!
2. Don’t stop squatting and deadlifts: Squats and deadlifts do activate the rectus abdominis and obliques, but they DO NOT cause the waist to get thicker/wider. Electromyography studies have shown that the abdominal wall and surrounding muscles are activated while completing those lifts but actually do it to a smaller degree than direct abdominal work itself. If you need these lifts from a development aspect, stick to them. Squats are the king of leg development, and deadlifts… well I will talk about deads in a later post. Way too much to talk about when it comes to what deadlifts are actually for! But for now I will just say, most associate deadlifts with thick-wide back musculature. Be sure to keep that goal in mind when choosing exercises for your training program.
3. How to train abs!
   1. Do direct ab work for the rectus abdominis, both crunches and leg raises, even incorporating twisting movements in both of those exercises. You do not have to do a thousand reps either. Anywhere from 12-20 reps are more than enough if you focus on the squeeze of each rep!
   2. AVOID weighted oblique work all together to limit waist widening. Think about it, using weight builds muscle.. heavy weight; thick muscle! You do not want thick obliques! You will get more than enough activation in the obliques from the exercises mentioned next!
   3. MOST HELPFUL – Do daily abdominal vacuums to train the internal corset (transverse abdominis aka TVA). The best way to stay consistent at them is to do them as soon as you wake up; before you get out of bed (best to do them on an empty stomach). 5-6 sets for 15-30 seconds is all you need. If you do not know how to do vacuums properly, see the video of explaining how to do them at the bottom of this post.
   4. Train the functional bracing component of the core with isometric planks, side planks and bird dogs.
4. Don’t Rush Progress: Growing fast makes everything grow fast including your waist. Increased fat gain only leads to more inflammation, insulin resistance, and increased fat around the organs; meaning larger waist. It takes an extremely long time to correct issues with inflammation and insulin resistance so practice sound nutrition habits! Great segway to the next principle
5. Keep Digestion in Check:  The transverse abdominis works like an internal weight belt, supporting all the organs in place. Now, if we walk around all day long pushing out our gut and let that continue to happen year after year it could potentially stretch out the abdomen and leave you with a gut you can push way out in front of you. So, make food choices that keep food volume within a reasonable amount and limit gas and bloating. 

Stick to these principles and you will get that waistline that people will be envious of! Just be prepared to answer a lot of questions about how you did it! LOL!! Eat Smart, Train Hard!!

Stomach Vacuums