[timarie]

Hey timarie!

You seem to be the most knowledgeable on this forum about slimming down a waist... I don't have access to ANY exercise equipment, I only have my bicycle (which is a decent road bike) and things easily found around the house. I don't even have standard weights.

What would you suggest, given my limitations, for me to do to try and target my waist?

Wow, AbiDrew! I doubt that I am the most knowledgeable on this forum for slimming down a waist, as there are so many women on this forum working towards that, and I have been prioritizing my time lately on my glutes! But I can definitely offer you an idea for your situation, as all through college and even up to about three or four years ago used to have the flattest, firmest stomach. And the best part about it is that I never worked out my abs (in the conventional way of working out).

It started when I began to gain weight in college. I used to wear shirts that stopped right above my pant line and, well, even though I only had a little extra meat on my waist, it was noticeable due to the shirts I was wearing. So, I was so paranoid about having my stomach hang out that at every minute of every day, no matter what I was doing or where I was, I would pull in my transverse abdominus (TVA) muscles. It got to a point where I would do it without even noticing it, and my stomach was always flat and rock-hard. And since I was always constantly pulling them in, my abs would get a special focus when I was engaged in other physical activities such a biking, sweeping, lifting, running/jogging, walking, going up and down stairs, and even bending over. I would pretend to be doing the activity solely from my abs (for example, when I swept, I would contract my abs by tightening them and, with the use of my abs alone, would attempt to move my entire upper body, which in turn would move the broom). Getting my abs involved in everything I did surely was a contributor to my success, and getting my abs involved in everything I did was easy after I made a habit of always pulling in my TVA muscles. A funny story: When I was doing volunteer work with teens in a small trailer park town on the boarder of Mexico, the teens with whom I used to work had an on-running game where they would try to poke me in the stomach when I least expected it, in hopes to finally "catch" me with my stomach "relaxed" because they just could not believe how flat and firm it was. They never got what they were looking for, and instead always wound up pulling their finger back with a surprised "ow!" because jabbing a hard surface hurts, right?

Anyway, I found an actual "exercise" guide that teaches you how to do what I did, and even a handy reminder (since not everyone will be as paranoid as I was with my extra chub and short-stopping shirts!) to keep the TVA muscles pulled in throughout the day. You can find it here: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Flat-Abs-Doing-TVA-Exercises and here: http://www.nowloss.com/flat_tummy.htm. I recommend this more than any other ab exercise if what you are aiming for is a flat stomach because all other ab exercises I have tried only seem to add bulk and are not nearly as effective in "flattening." This is VERY effective, and at the very most all you will need is a string or a rope! I will note here though that it obviously will not make you lose fat off of your midsection, as I am sure you know that the only way to do that is by overall body fat loss (which can be done in several different ways), or by thermogenesis, and possibly even fat burning creams (about which I am still researching). But I just wanted to share this exercise because it definitely worked for me and if you're looking for a tight and flat midsection, it will give you just that (at least, the best it can give you with whatever fat you have there!). Even girls with absolutely no fat on their stomach can still have a loose, droopy midsection (because if their TVA muscles are not toned, they will just flop). So, it is a MUST to tone and tighten your TVA muscles if you want a more slender waist. Also, I feel that I should also add as a disclaimer that, although it is probably the best out there for making your stomach flat and tight, this obviously will not be pulling in the sides of your waist.

Thank you for bringing up this topic and reminding me about this... I have been focusing so much on my glutes and relying on the idea of the corset later to help pull in my waist that I completely forgot about this which works so well. I just have let myself get too relaxed in the midsection the past few years (due to trying to encourage relaxation, as I tend to get anxiety and get overwhelmed easily)! I need to get back on that!!! It really works, you just have to be consistent with it and then you will not even have to think about it anymore once it becomes a habit for you, just as good posture can become a good habit that you don't have to think about. I'm going to make an effort to start this back up again