It’s funny, more women search for the term, “How to get a flat belly,” than, “How to get a smaller waist.”
As a certified personal trainer, I have studied the ways that training re-shapes the body for both appearance and health, and when it comes to indicators of better health and fitness, you simply can’t find a better one than a smaller waist.
According to the Nurses’ Health Study, a large study that measured abdominal size in women, those with a smaller waist size were less likely to die from heart disease and some cancers.
Online retailer e-bay recently reported a 54% increase in corset sales, so the look of a smaller waist must be getting more desirable as well.
In my experience as 
a working dancer and musical theatre performer, my dance teachers and choreographers regularly instructed me to “pull up and zip up,” to engage my core. My Jazz teacher used to describe the technique as the way you pull in the waist in order to zip up a tight jacket. You aren’t just sucking in the stomach from the front, you are also drawing in the obliques and spinal erectors.
Of course, I’m describing how to train to get a smaller waist, but the most powerful tool for getting trim in the middle is good nutrition. I am the Sugar Freedom woman, so my eating strategy cuts out all added sugar.
(Learn more about my nutrition plan by clicking on this link.)
Nutrition wise, my personal and professional experience is that a moderate caloric deficit and whole natural foods give you the best chance at significant lasting results without unreasonable hunger.
Back to the kind of training that makes for a smaller waist, and more visible abs. First, it is essential to maintain the core contraction while doing bodyweight, interval, and resistance training. The body will retain the shape you train it in, so if you get so fatigued that you lose your core contraction, you simply must stop and rest. This isn’t just for looks. It also protects your back. Traditional crunches have fallen out of favor because they can put too much strain on the lumbar spine, but there are many ways to train the waist into the shape we want while making the entire core stronger.
All Summer in Cathy’s Fit Class at TCAA Dance at the Dome, I will be teaching my most powerful techniques to help you get a smaller waist and defined abs. We will combine interval dance, standing abdominal training, and mat training to get guaranteed results. Learn McGill Sit Ups, Plank Repeaters, The Vacuum, and plenty of other core exercises to expand your ability to improve your core. In addition, you will learn resistance routines that that you can do at the gym or at home to speed up your fat loss while preserving or even adding lean muscle where you want it.
At Cathy’s Fit Class you definitely can get the plan you need to get the shape you want this Summer.
Mondays at 5:30PM and Wednesdays at 9AM.
Here are three of my favorite ab exercises:
Rocking Plank, “The Superman,” for the spinal erectors, and Cross Body Mountain Climbers. 15 reps of rocking plank, 5 reps of Superman, and 10 cross body mountain climbers make up an excellent ab finisher for your at home training session. Do 3 rounds resting 30 seconds between rounds. Keep the cross body mountain climbers slow and controlled for best results.
Don’t forget, you can e-mail me catherine@sugarfreedom.com for a custom training and nutrition program.
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