Waist exercises?

[mandie123]

I want to work on "trying to lean out my waist area" as the older I get the wider it gets. Any one have any specific workouts or exercises they do that helps? No corset training suggestions plz

[summer breeze]

I noticed a cinching in the waist area doing various Core Fusion dvds. Most of their moves somehow involve the waist/core area so there isn't a specific one I would recommend. There is the pretzel core 10 minute segment on Lean & Toned that comes to mind but like I said most of their exercises involve the core so just go with the ones you enjoy doing the most. I find the Slim in 6/Slim Series workouts cinch that area also. Sorry I don't have more recent recommendations, these are my tried and true favorites.

[Scorpio6]

Here's one I Learned in junior high charm school class that is like a hula move:

Stand ft shoulder width apart. Slightly bend knees. Using the muscle above your hip bone, contract it to lift your hip, then release down. Same thing on other side. Keep going for about a minute. You can even do this at the kitchen sink.

Callanetics side stretches are good if your hip bones aren't too close to your rib cage.

Standing twists where you rotate and look over one shoulder then other side.

Belly dance rib cage slides and circles. Belly dance hip circles and figure 8's, both horizontal and vertical.

Leg lifts on the bed, one leg at a time and lower slowly. Hate them but they work. Helps to avoid back strain if you put a small firm pillow under your pelvis, like a decorative pillow.

[Karen Beckwith]

KCM has a 9-minute waist workout on her Gym Intervals DVD that I really like. It's also on her Abs & Core DVD.

[mandie123]

I'll try these suggestions,thanks!

[Lori_Michigan]

As a 40+ year old now, the only thing that's helped my waist is CS/Essentrics, and I've tried nearly everything it seems. I'm very short waisted at barely 5'4" and have barely any torso. All of my weight is in my waist, and with daily CS/Essentrics, I've been able to chip away at it slowly for a year now.

[Erica H.]

I find that boxing workouts really help with my waistline.

Erica

[s2546]

Originally Posted by Lori_Michigan

As a 40+ year old now, the only thing that's helped my waist is CS/Essentrics, and I've tried nearly everything it seems. I'm very short waisted at barely 5'4" and have barely any torso. All of my weight is in my waist, and with daily CS/Essentrics, I've been able to chip away at it slowly for a year now.

ok lori- please name a few seasons or dvds that you really like. i guess i need to try these! i have tried everything else! thanks

sue

[kalliope999]

I'm currently doing an Essentrics-heavy rotation (with some cardio), and I've also seen quick tightening of my waist and abs. It's not where my body holds the most fat so it's not my main trouble area, but this winter my middle had expanded more than in past years so I was definitely needing help. Like Lori, I am also short-waisted (and just shy of 5'5"), so I'm always on the lookout for exercises that tighten and pull in my midsection while allowing me to keep the small amount of curve I can achieve between my ribs and hip bone.

I think the effectiveness comes from a combination of the reaching, standing, sometimes twisting standing moves, and the brief floor work abs that they sometimes do. Be sure you really follow the form pointers to reach with your arms while pulling in your abs as you do the waist and posture standing work.

You may want to consider signing up for month of the streaming EssentricsTV subscription just to try out the various workouts (it's $14.95 for the month). Even if you don't want to keep it going, you will know which of the DVDs you want to purchase after that. Almost all of the Essentrics DVDs are available to stream, plus one that isn't on DVD yet, as well as seasons 7-10 of Classical Stretch.

Essentrics Class of 2012 and the new Full Body Toning are my favorite full-length workouts, along with the 40 minute Thigh Toning Mix from the Barre release. Some shorter favorites are the 30-minute Ab Flattening & Waist Shaping workout in the Body Sculpting Series, and the Full Body Workout segment from Stretch & Strength in Motion (don't pick this one first, as it moves more quickly and would be harder to pick up if you aren't familiar w/ the moves). The Barre workout has a slightly slower pace than some of the others, and would be a good first workout to try.

Here are some short YouTube workout samples for you!

Intro to Essentrics (12.5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFYVfGJtT1A
Waist Thinners (7.5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T_FEFUw_W8
Mini Waist & Abs Toning (8.5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7vasSu140I

[JulieIL]

This is going to sound crazy, but lots of Kegals seem to make a big difference for me. I also consciously pull in my stomach all the time. This sounds so extreme, but once I started to do these consciously much of the day, it became second nature to me. This also improves posture as well.

Tracy Anderson also seems to work well to pull the area in, though any pilates-type moves may very well work as well. I've read that weighted waist work can create a boxy look for some people (though honestly, that may be related to body type- short waisted people may have more of a tendency to have this issue).

Julie