By Orlando Griffith
THIS WEEK I'm going to discuss the Waist Trainer fad, which claims to shape women's bodies and burn fat if worn for a few hours. We should be alerted to these claims, because we've seen this before throughout history. We can remember women in the Victorian era who wore corsets to improve their figures; however instead disfigured themselves in the name of status and beauty.
While discussing the topic with other professionals, much was expressed for the concern of those who strongly believe in this product, but it's tough getting through. Even some popular local merchants don't buy into the philosophy of the waist trainers, but it's about supply and demand. The most you can do is educate and hope for the best.
Women crave that Coca-Cola shape, and throughout previous decades have been exposed to designer training equipment that claimed to make extraordinary changes in peoples' bodies for a few easy payments of $19.95.
When, in fact, women are being exposed to self-hating promotion of exercise paraphernalia that does nothing for you but damage your psyche. In my opinion, such products can certainly be deemed laughable, cheesy and ineffective. I'm sure some of us may have these body enhancers that were eventually hidden under our beds for years, after frustrating attempts to gain the beautiful bodies as seen on TV. Hopefully you've dumped them since.
Squeezing your ribcage and putting your internal organs under tremendous stress isn't the answer. Believing that you can raise the internal temperature around your stomach to burn body fat is uneducated. Wearing the trainers while working out is counterproductive, due to the fact that they're uncomfortable, and you can't breathe during the workout. Wearing the waist trainer affects musculature within the core that actually holds you in and up, because your core muscles are deactivated.
Dehydrating yourself due to excessive use is as silly as those folks wearing the garbage bag-looking sweat suits while jogging in the midday sun in the attempt to lose inches. Its water weight, not fat, and it's only temporary! Social media has given people advocating the waist trainer a medium to share their results with much pride. Coincidentally, the women who promote waist trainers on their fan pages are celebrities and fitness models who already have a significant genetic advantage – waist to hip ratio – who also don't need as much enhancement in the first place.
Paid personal trainers are also saying that it is a temporary solution to help "put the fat elsewhere" .... But put it where, upstairs or downstairs, I ask! Achieving a six pack can only occur through proper diet and structured exercise programs. It's quite obvious if you're eating healthier, increasing the intensity of your training and losing core musculature while wearing the waist trainer, then it may appear to work. Although I'm a huge proponent of doing things the natural way, the positive side of this is women are being more conscious about their waist to hip ratio, and perhaps if this external restriction encourages others to watch what they eat and exercise a little bit more, it may have that one plus.
Do note: the body truly maintains long-term sustainable change when its systems are subjected to long term periodised training and sound dieting protocols; therefore if the external support like a waist trainer is removed, the body may end up in worst shape than before. I would encourage every woman considering waist training to do more research into its side effects, long and short term benefits. Good luck!
Orlando Griffith is an
Athletic Development and Performance Specialist.
Ariessportsperformance@gmail.com