The Science Behind Waist Trainers In Plain English (They Work!)

Waist trainers are growing in popularity as many media celebrities and fashion influencers swear by them and the instant results they provide. For many fitness and fashion-conscious women, waist training can be a daily regimen that can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.

The goal of waist trainers is to create and accentuate a curvy, hour-glass figure by cinching the waist. But do they really work? Is there any scientific evidence that waist trainers are able to slim down the waistline? Can waist training take inches of the midsection? 

Let’s find out!

Waist trainers are a form-fitting garment that wrap around the waist in order to compress the area. Similar to corsets, waist trainers are typically made from elastic material with a Velcro strap that can be cinched at the waist.

In some other instances, they may come with bra-style hook and eyes that can be tightened at different levels, or they may be typically fastened with zippers. Waist trainers can be worn during workouts as well as throughout the day, while at rest or carrying out other daily activities.

The concept of cinching the waist line to create a near-perfect hour glass figure is not new. This trend dates as far back as the 1500s, when women would wear tight corsets for periods of time in order to achieve a smaller waist size. The trend was popular in Victorian Europe.

Originally, corsets were designed to hide most of a woman’s shape between the breasts and hips. By the 1800s, they evolved to accentuate the female form, emphasizing the hourglass figure which demands a small waist and curvy hips. Since then, corsets and similar undergarments have become a staple in almost every woman’s wardrobe, and at some point, even men began to wear them.

Modern day waist cinching garments, though made of different materials and relatively less tight, serve the same function. These days, compression garments now come in various styles and options. There are underbust garments, overbust garments, long, short, as well as those with steel bones embedded in them and those without. Unlike the corsets of the past, modern day waist trainers have the added advantage of training your waist to maintain the hourglass shape.

Many waist trainers provide compression with latex. This material can be used to provide a firm but comfortable compression and is often used in medical products such as surgical gloves.

How Do Waist Trainers Work?

Wearing a tightly fitted waist trainer for long periods of time reduces movement around the waistline, making it difficult to use your abdominal muscles. As the muscles are used less and less, they become smaller, which could make them appear slimmer.

The waist trainer forces the fat along the waist and the lowest two ribs, to adapt to its shape. Eventually, the body continues to maintain this shape, losing inches around the waistline and creating a slimmer appearance in the process.

Also, water lost through sweating from wearing a waist trainer can contribute to the waist line appearing smaller over time. The waist trainer can also force the wearer to sit and stand up straight, thus creating an overall taller appearance, and ultimately a smaller looking waistline. It can also assist in encouraging proper lifting technique due to its rigid nature, which helps to improve overall fitness.

The Science Behind Waist Trainers

When you put on a waist trainer, it immediately reduces your waist size by about one to three inches. For some people, wearing a waist trainer can even make them go down a dress size. However, for more permanent results, proper waist training requires regular use of the garment over a period of several months.

In the long term, waist training compresses on the two lower most ribs, also known as the floating ribs, and causes them to pull inwards. In addition, extra fat in the midsection is redistributed to the hips and bust, accentuating those areas, while slimming down the waist line. This helps create the desired hourglass figure.

Wearing a waist trainer helps to limit your calorie intake by making you feel full faster, due to the tight-fit around the abdomen. By squeezing your midsection with a waist trainer, your appetite decreases. It, therefore, has the potential to contribute to weight loss. People who are overweight can gain increased mobility and flexibility from wearing a waist trainer because their core muscles are being tightly supported.

Waist trainers also help stimulate heat and blood flow around the core muscles and area of the body. This leads to increased perspiration or sweating, which may contribute to weight loss. This effect is especially pronounced when doing a workout with a waist trainer on.

Using a waist trainer during exercise creates intense pressure in the waistline, which can help build muscles faster. This is particularly helpful in people with weakened abdominal muscles, often after a major surgery like a caesarean section, hysterectomy or bowel surgery.

The waist trainer can also be helpful in supporting these patients in the early stages of healing and rebuilding their core. This is because waist trainers can help activate the core muscles.

By pulling in your abdominal muscles and cinching your waist with the waist trainer, the core muscles are reminded to engage as you go about your daily activities. A small study in 2012 found that when people with chronic low back pain wore a waist trainer for 6 months, their pain was improved and some of their core muscles were strengthened.

It is important to remember that while waist training, you should still feel comfortable and able to breathe without difficulty. The idea is not to restrict your breathing or movement through the use of a waist trainer, but rather to pull in your tummy to give it a flatter appearance.

Other Benefits of Waist Trainers

• It makes workouts more effective
• When combined with strength training and cardio exercises with varying intensity, it can help burn fat and build muscle
• It helps provide motivation to maintain healthy lifestyle practices, including diet, exercise, stress management, hydration and other healthy habits

• It can help maintain good posture. The higher the compression garment, the more back support it provides and the more you are able to sit and stand in an upright position.
• It provides a boost in confidence and self-esteem. When wearing a waist trainer, your bust size and natural curves are enhanced. In addition to an improved posture, accentuating one’s natural curves leads to a boost in self-confidence and self esteem.

• Wearing waist trainers can help with a number of health conditions including:
• Scoliosis – support corsets help improve the sideways curvature of the spine associated with this condition which can often be very painful and even disabling.
• Hypermobile joints – corsets are able to serve as an exoskeleton for people who suffer from naturally loose joints that may cause issues. It can hold the body together and brace the back and torso
• Osteoporosis – waist trainers and corsets can serve as a means of stabilization for the back and spine in people who suffer from osteoporosis, where the bones become brittle and weak. They can also help with pain management in people with this condition.

• Abdominal separation (diastasis recti) – this is a condition in women over 35 who have given birth to large babies or have had multiple pregnancies. The large abdominal muscles become separated. It can also occur in men who are middle aged and suffer from obesity. The condition is identified by a bulge in the middle area of the stomach when the abdominal muscles are tensed. Wearing a corset or waist trainer can sometimes help the muscles to move closer together again and regain the normal appearance of the abdominal wall.
• Menstrual cramps – for some women, wearing a corset or waist trainer can help ease menstrual cramps. The framing of the compression garment puts pressure on the midsection which also includes the organs responsible for uterine contractions. This amount and kind of pressure has been known to significantly relieve menstrual cramps.

Now that you know how waist trainers work, it’s time to choose one of the best in the market…

The Luxx Curves Waist Trimmer Fitness Belt!

This is a waist cinching belt explicitly designed to be worn at the gym, during workouts and other fitness activities. It is especially useful during deadlift workouts and squats. It provides extreme support, acting as a compression binder to offer lumbar support. It also helps you maintain a proper posture and form while working out, which improves performance and reduces the risk of injury.

The Luxx Curves waist trainer is a must have for any woman who wants to lose belly fat or develop a sexy hourglass figure. It is a premium waist trainer designed by the waist training experts. It is made from natural latex, neoprene stretchy and comfortable fabric, mesh backing for breathability and double Velcro adjustments for sizing accuracy.

Available in eight different sizes ranging from 2XS to 3XL, the Luxx Curves waist trainer also comes in two colors, pink and black.