It’s time to reclaim your waist and take charge of your core. We all know that there’s no shortcut to weight loss – a calorie-controlled diet and plenty of exercise is the key to steady loss and lifetime change. But there is something you can do today that could make an instant dent in your waistline.
This secret weight loss weapon is good posture. You may not know it, but your deep muscle system, when activated, automatically firms and tightens your waistline. Discover how to switch on this muscle system and you’ll be more efficient at exercise and reach your weight loss goal sooner.
The deep muscle system
When you look in the mirror, you see only part of your muscle system – the outer muscles, or moving system. But there’s a deeper muscle system that acts like scaffolding on the framework of a building. This deep muscle system attaches closely to the skeleton to hold your body up against gravity and supports mobile areas, such as the neck and lower back. When your body is aligned with good posture, this muscle system automatically switches on, firming and strengthening your waistline. But if you have poor posture and your body slumps, the system switches off making your stomach spread.
Give yourself an instant demonstration. Seated on a chair, place one hand under your breast line and the other hand on your stomach. Now allow your body to slump. What happened to your stomach? Did it lose suction and spread out? Now sit up straight and imagine a light shining directly from your breast line. Did you feel your stomach suck in? This is the deep muscle system in action.
Activation of this system is all about posture and alignment, about sitting and standing in a balanced way. It sounds easy but modern life conspires against us with much of our day spent hunched over keyboards and slumped in chairs. We’ve picked up some bad habits and turned our bellies to pot in the process. But you can reclaim your waist by learning and practicing new habits.
Engage your core
To achieve a taut tummy, you need to engage your core and your floor – the pelvic floor, that is. The core is shaped like a cylinder consisting of several layers of muscle and the six-pack is the outer layer. Your diaphragm rests on top of the cylinder and the pelvic floor is at the bottom. The first step to active engagement is to line your body up, lengthen your torso and give space for your lungs and other internal organs. This also aids digestion with more room for your intestines to do their work. The next step is to integrate your core with your breathing. When you breathe in, fill the base of your lungs with air. As you breathe out, your pelvic floor and diaphragm should lift and you should feel your core tighten. It will feel strange and difficult at first but once you get used to it, you’ll be on your way to a leaner, calmer you with shape and contour from the inside out.
Crunch time
Learning to activate this deep muscle system will help to burn more calories when exercising. It’s so frustrating to work up a sweat and not see results. The problem? You’re not exercising the right way. You can do thousands of crunches but if your core isn’t aligned and engaged, your deep muscle system won’t be switched on and you’ll get minimal bang for your exercise buck. A key principle:as you breathe out, your stomach wall should draw in. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you’re doing ... breathe out, draw in. Start slowly and practice when walking or sitting. You could try when sitting in the car at a set of lights. Once you incorporate this way of breathing into your workouts, you’ll really start to see and feel the results.
How to breathe well
- Align your upper body by shining an imaginary light from your breast line. As you breathe in, picture your diaphragm at the base of your lungs opening like an umbrella.
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As you breathe out, push from your pelvic floor, feel your core contract and close the umbrella.
How to lift your pelvic floor
- Breathe in, breathe out and picture an imaginary line between your pubic bone and coccyx drawing together. You’ll also feel your ribs and stomach drawing in and your pelvic floor lifting.
- Maintain your breathing while keeping your pelvic floor lifted for a count of eight.
How to do a sit up
- As you lift your shoulders from the ground, breathe out, making sure your stomach wall draws in.
- If your stomach wall bulges or you hold your breath, your core will crash and you won’t see results.
- Watch the video demonstration below:
Switched on strategy
Good, balanced posture makes a huge difference to your appearance. Not only will it make you look more svelte and statuesque, it reduces wear and tear on your body allowing it to work more efficiently and effectively. Just remember: when you slump, you switch off this waist-reducing muscle system. When you’re aligned, it automatically switches on. Changing bad habits into good ones will take time and practice, but the results make it all worthwhile.
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