WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRIM YOUR WAISTLINE?

FIRST, A FEW MORE QUESTIONS

• Do you want to avoid long, strenuous workouts?
• How about avoiding crunches or other exercises that may cause pain in your lower back ?
• Do you also want to avoid expensive exercise equipment purchases?
• Are you okay with a little discipline to accomplish this goal?

The above picture is not me, but my waistline was over 40″ twenty years ago. It is now 34″. My weight has changed from over 230 to 180 and sometimes less.

All of this is not to disparage bulky people, but to say that losing the bulk is not really that difficult. This assumes that weight and waistline loss is a choice.

The remainder of this post will present what worked for me and how simple it really was. Only one exercise item will be shown and the price is very low on the expense scale. This will be a relatively very short post.

THE EXERCISE THAT WORKS FOR ME

Over the years, I found that lower back pain was increasingly a problem. Years ago, I began my abdominals routine with sit-ups on a slanted board. I later moved to crunches on the floor. Both had positive effects, with one problem. I began to develop severe lower back pain. I had to choose between skipping core workouts entirely or finding an exercise that I could handle without pain. An exercise that worked.

I decided to get a small medicine ball and do my core routine standing up. There were four very positive results:

• The back pain was eliminated
• My abdominals and obliques were thoroughly worked and were “burning”.
• There was a significant cardio effect as well
• I could complete this exercise in less than 3 minutes.

There are several core exercises from which to choose. The best one for me was the “woodchop”. See the picture below.

As you can see, from a standing position, the knees are bent as the ball is lowered to one side with both hands. Then we raise the ball to the opposite side and we stand taller. Then I go back and forth with this for 40 reps. I use a 6 pound medicine ball, but there are many choices in weights.

I am breathing hard at the end; thus the cardio effect. The weight may not sound heavy – 6 pounds. But it is important to move the ball slightly past the shoulders as we raise it. This enables us to keep our balance.

This is the most effective core exercise I have ever found!

THE NECESSARY DISCIPLINE

It is well known that we can’t eat huge amounts of calories and expect to trim our waistline by exercise. Spot reduction is a fallacy. Weight does not come off at one spot . It comes off uniformly throughout our bodies. The ” appearance” of lost weight depends upon our genetics. We are not all “built” the same way. Nevertheless, we can control our waistlines if we choose to.

Here are the two aspects of discipline that we need:

• Adapt a calorie program and stick with it. My calorie limit for years was 2000 per day, but that was when I was more active. It is now 1700 per day. I would recommend a visit with your physician or other health adviser to establish a calorie goal. Don’t starve yourself. Be realistic.
• Set up a cardio program. This may be walking, swimming, cycling, dancing – whatever creates movement and is enjoyable. The “woodchop” gives us a cardio boost, but don’t stop there. How about a 20 minute daily walk ? Increase the time later.

THE SMALL MEDICINE BALL

I purchased my small medicine ball from Amazon. The price was roughly $27. I am an Amazon associate, which means that I can use their links within my articles. I may benefit from purchases made from the links. This is affiliate marketing. See my upper menu – BECOME AN AFFILIATE MARKETER for complete information on this.

This is the medicine ball brand that I bought. Actually, my weight was 6 lbs. There are several choices in weights. My suggestion is to get a lesser weight when in doubt. The ball becomes heavy with multiple reps. I just noticed – the price is less now.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My general goal in workouts is to keep things simple and to be consistent. Losing weight and reducing my waistline were really not at all difficult. In fact, this was easy, but I was consistent.

One huge motivating factor for us is to see a loss in weight or inches very soon. This is inspiring and keeps us on track.

There is one thing even better than motivation – the formation of good habits! We may have lapses in motivation, but good habits allow us to keep going automatically.

See my prior post on the Psychology of Habit Formation.

Please leave me any comments or questions in the “Comments” section below.

Let’s be well and stay active!