Why would anyone want a smaller waist? For starters, the circumference of your waist correlates with your risk of metabolic disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. For a competitive physique champion like myself, a small waist emphasizes a v-taper and can significantly enhance muscle proportions. For people who just want to get in shape, a small waist will help in giving you that hourglass figure.
You don’t have to win the genetic lottery to get a smaller waist. There are other ways to go about it such as:
Burn fat
Most people cringe upon hearing they have to burn fat because they have an idea of what needs to be done—increase activity levels and reduce calorie intake. There’s really no way around it. Unless you want to resort to illegal substances with potentially dangerous side effects, you must adhere to a proper nutrition plan and exercise regularly.
Remember that spot reducing isn’t possible so hundreds of crunches a day won’t make a difference. Aim to lose total body fat and be patient as your abdominal and lower back fat come off.
Build your back
Developing your back muscles, especially the lats, will give your torso more shape, which will make the waist appear smaller. Due to genetics, some people may have a more difficult time shrinking the waist than building the lats. In case you’re one of these people, focus on exercises such as wide-grip pull ups, lat pulldowns, alternating single-arm dumbbell rows and t-bar rows.
Perform vacuum exercises
Most people just do crunches, sit-ups, leg raises, and planks for their core work. These exercises are great for strengthening the external abdominal muscles but you must also work the internal abdominal muscles, namely the Transversus Abdominus and the Lumbar Multifidus. This can be achieved by performing vacuum exercises. During the golden era of bodybuilding, the top musclemen used to perform vacuum exercises on a regular basis to help shrink their waists and give them a dramatic hourglass shape.
Build the glutes
Building the glutes has a similar effect as building the lats. If you have a boxy-type frame, building the glutes will enhance a smaller waist. In order to effectively build the glutes, try incorporating exercises such as barbell hip thrusts, weighted kickbacks, squats and step-ups.
Avoid doing too much weighted ab work
Showing off that you can do hanging leg raises with a 30 lb dumbbell between your feet is most definitely impressive but more often than not, your waist thickness will be affected. There’s nothing wrong with having a strong core but doing too much weighted ab work will thicken the muscles around the waist which will give your frame less shape or curves.
Performing bodyweight ab exercises will still strengthen the core without adding thickness to your midsection.
