Before delving into waist trainers and understanding how they work, it’s important to first understand what the concept of waist training is.
Waist training, explained in the simplest form, is the process of quite literally training the waist and modifying it into an hourglass shape by wearing a waist trainer or a corset. The waist training corsets used for this purpose are usually steel boned that are worn for various reasons, including fashion and supporting correct body posture.
Basically, waist training is the process through which you decrease the size of your waist. Most women pursue this method to achieve the perfect hourglass shape that helps accentuate their physical appeal and make them look and feel great. However, a lot of people also use waist trainers to achieve correct back posture and get support for their back.
What Is a Waist Trainer?
Technically, a waist trainer is a type of garment that allows your body to attain a curvy hourglass shape. It is a high-compression shapewear that is worn around the midsection to decrease your waist size and improve your posture.
It is made from natural latex that helps you perspire more, heating the target areas and because of this, also helps in weight loss. It also provides incremental support to your fitness routine since it provides great support to your back and straightens your posture.
And, Do They Really Work?
Waist trainers do work to make your waist appear smaller in size and give the body a curvy shape. Understanding the benefits and risk involved is also important before getting yourself into waist training.
As mentioned above, waist trainers are made of natural latex that warms the body while you are wearing them. Whether you are wearing them over or under clothes, the compression works either way. The corset works as an external LAP band and can decrease your desire to eat more, which could also contribute to weight loss.
The waist trainer can help mobilize fat by heating the area and making you perspire more. This can potentially increase your metabolism keeping you fit.
Yet, a waist trainer in isolation is not the solution. They work best when wearing a corset is coupled with a healthy diet and regular exercise. The combination of these three will of course achieve the best results.
Getting Started with Waist Training
While it isn’t rocket science, you do need to keep certain factors in mind before starting with waist training and getting used to waist trainers as a method of decreasing your waist size and achieving that perfect hourglass figure. Therefore, it goes without saying that if you have no prior knowledge about waist training, it might come across as a relatively strange instrument to get used to initially.
In the beginning, it is normal to perceive them as a difficult garment to put on. You won’t be able to wear them for longer hours to get the desired results.
Having said that, it is actually recommended not to wear your waist trainer for extended hours when you are just getting started. Eight hours is usually the recommended time to wear a waist trainer at a stretch, but that is not expected initially.
It's similar to joining a gym and starting with a new workout schedule. You don’t start with the heavyweights and intensive long hours training on the first day. The body takes time to build up its endurance and that’s exactly how your waist training experience should be as well.
Wearing a waist trainer for the first time can be draining since it puts significant pressure to make body adjustments. Therefore, it is good to just wear for a couple of hours in the beginning and then gradually increase the length of hours. Another reason for this is that a waist trainer is usually extremely tight when worn initially and takes time to break into and for your body to grow comfortable with the compression.
With each passing day, you can keep adding an hour until you've reached the desired eight-hour stretch.
What to Expect from Waist Training?
Please don't expect an absolute transformation by just wearing a waist trainer. While they do work to give you an hourglass figure, how effectively a waist trainer will work for you is actually dependent on multiple variables. While semi-permanent results like weight loss might take some time to happen, wearing a waist trainer does accentuate the body shape instantly, which is why celebrities too wear them all the time.
Some factors that affect the results include the time for which the corset is worn in a day regularly, how tight it is, how much heat it is producing, whether it is coupled with proper exercise and workout regime and how your metabolism reacts to the compression, among many more. The results vary greatly from one individual to another, depending on the body shape and internal mechanism. Therefore, there are no universal results to refer to when judging the effectiveness of waist trainers.
The key to remember is that waist trainers work best when there is consistency in wearing them. You won’t achieve the best results by wearing it for a few days and then abandoning them for multiple days. How do waist trainers work to give the best results?
They work when you gradually make your body get used to wearing them for eight hours a day regularly and also exercise and follow a healthy diet along with that. Every activity performed in harmony creates the perfect environment for weight loss and giving your body the much sought after hourglass shape, correct posture and curves that women crave.
Are Waist Trainers Harmful?
Any physical activity, if not done according to the correct method, can prove harmful and dangerous. However, if the right method is followed, it proves to be super effective. Waist trainers work the same concept. If you ignore the signs of your body and force the waist trainer on it, it is definitely going to hurt your efforts.
Whether you are wearing a waist trainer to accentuate your body’s shape or just as a fashion symbol, it’s important to realize how your body is taking its presence and listen to it and then react accordingly. For instance, if wearing the waist trainer or the corset is physically painful at any point in time, it’s highly recommended to remove it or at the very least loosen the lace.
There is no bravery in sucking up the pain and deliberately putting your body through that. Take it slow and steady and allow your body to get used to the waist trainer. Follow proper practices and there is no reason why a waist trainer can be harmful.
Does Waist Training Really Give Results?
Now that we have learned how they work and talked about the proper methods to wear them, it’s time to talk about whether they actually work. The answer is — definitely! A waist trainer instantly shows results by decreasing your waist size when you wear them and proves to be a catalyst in your weight loss journey in the longer run.
Basically, there are both short-term and long-term benefits of wearing a waist trainer. Waist training is effective when followed in the right way. It can be an essential part of your fitness routine and it’s easy to get used to it once you start.