Waist training is a form of waist cinching. Although the use of waist trainers has exploded in popularity over the last few years – it’s by no means a new concept. Waist training has been around for hundreds of years because it works!
Waist trainers are much more pliable than corsets and much more comfortable, but still, produce excellent results. Your cincher will tighten your core, improve your posture and provide you with a curvaceous, semi-permanent hourglass figure if done right.
So let’s get you started on the right path, here are Luxx Curve's top 10 tips for before you start waist training:
- Choosing the right size
This is so important!
Even if you feel that you can guess the size of your waist trainer – if you’re the same size as your friend and she wears a small, or if you’re usually a medium when it comes to shirts – you shouldn’t risk it. The fit of your cincher needs to be spot-on in order to be effective, and making a guess can end up wasting your time and money.
Instead, grab a tape measure and loop it around your torso just below your ribs. This should be the narrowest point of your waist and is all the information you need to find your perfect fit.
2. You should never be uncomfortable
Okay, you might feel a bit uncomfortable to start with as waist training is going to take some getting used to, but you should definitely never be in pain!
When you put your waist trainer on, it should feel tight (it’s not going to work if it’s not) but there shouldn’t be any uncomfortable pinching. Wear your waist trainer for a few hours and see how it feels, you should have indents where the boning has been compressing your skin when you take it off.
The waist cincher should be comfortable enough that you don’t have to think about it all the time when you’re wearing it, however. You need to be able to go about your daily activity unimpeded – the process of waist cinching shouldn’t be a second thought in your mind once you’re fastened the trainer in the morning.
3. Spend extra on quality
When you’re investing in your first waist trainer, it’s super easy to go for a cheap one. What if waist training isn’t for you, you don’t want to throw away money on something you won’t be using, right?
Wrong.
You’re much better of investing in a quality garment, to begin with. You’re almost bound to fall in love with waist training once you get started, and investing that bit of extra cash can mean avoiding frustrations of broken clasps, boning that pinches, material that frays or products that simply don’t give you the progress you could be seeing with a better garment.
4. DO Aerobic exercises, DON’T do anaerobic exercises
To see the best results, it’s highly recommended that you choose to workout as part of your waist training process – but you NEED to make sure that you are doing so in a safe manner.
There are two types of cardiovascular exercise: anaerobic (without oxygen e.g. sprinting), and aerobic (with oxygen e.g. long, slow jogs). Due to the compression caused by you waist training garment, it is not recommended you attempt to perform anaerobic-type exercises while wearing it. The constriction that the trainer causes will prevent you from breathing as deeply, meaning you can quickly become short of breath and rapidly elevate your heart rate.
It’s a much better idea to stick to gentle-to-moderate steady state cardio training while using your waist trainer.
5. Break in your waist trainer
Waist cinching takes some getting used to, and jumping into it too fast is just going to be stressful and make things more difficult than they need to be.
The first day you wear your waist trainer, only keep it on for 2 hours are maximum. There might be a temptation to keep it on for longer but stay sensible. Build up the time that you spend wearing your shapewear slowly.
The longest you should ever end up wearing your trainer is for 8 hours a day – you’ll see great results this way, and there’s no need to be excessive.
6. Wear a non-wired bra, or sports bra
It’s always best to wear a non-wired bra or sports bra under your waist trainer. Underwires are likely to become uncomfortable and un-necessarily bulky when paired with the boning of your cincher.
Another excellent idea is to always wear a thin vest top underneath your trainer. This stops any discomfort due to friction between your skin and the trainer and is also more hygienic – especially if you’re exercising.
7. Eating habits and compression
The reason why waist trainers are so good for weight loss is nothing to do with them having a direct impact on your ability to burn fat. It’s all to do with the compression at you midline that your waist trainer provides you with.
The Squeezing of your shapewear makes you more aware of how much you’re eating. You’re likely going to become full faster, and find it almost impossible to overeat – this is a big positive when you’re looking to shed some pounds!
8. Invest in quality probiotics and enzymes
Ideally, you need to start out by finding out what’s causing your bloating. A good way of doing this is to maintain a food diary and plot your bloating levels alongside your meals – you should be able to figure out what foods are the main culprits!
Investing in probiotics that help to replenish you guts natural levels of “good bacteria”, and enzymes that assist you in your digestive processes is an excellent way of giving yourself a helping hand in the right direction.
Quality needs to be emphasized because if your probiotics aren’t strong they won’t do anything and that’s money wasted. I recommend this brand for enzymes.
9. Do NOT twist your waist trainer
Twisting your waist trainer can result in broken boning. A broken waste trainer is a frustrating set back that you want to avoid at all costs. Wasting days waiting for your new trainer is going to stall your progress and burden you with the extra expenses too!
Never twist your trainer in your hands while washing it, and don’t perform abdominal exercises that involve twisting the core from side to side (e.g. russian twists).
10. Stay Consistent
Don’t let your waist trainer sit in your closet after one week of use – you’d never expect to see huge results from a diet in that space of time, so why should waist training be any different?
In order to see the results you’re looking for, you need to remain consistent. The waist trainer works, it’s up to you to utilize it.
If you feel like you need an extra hit of motivation, be sure to join our Luxx Curves Waist Training Dolls Facebook group where you can connect with your fellow waist training dolls.
TIP: Have the next size down ready to go!
People often see results a lot sooner than anticipated, if you have your next waist cincher ready and waiting, you can immediately size down without wasting any time! Luxx offer discounts when you buy two or more trainers on one order – so be sure to take advantage of this!