Reduce Your Waistline in One Easy Move, By The 4D Personal Trainer in Oxford

Summer is coming and what with the recent weather swim shorts and bikinis could be donned earlier than ever!

Diaphragmatic breathing not only stimulates and engages your deep core muscles it also draws your waistline in, and helps the muscles that attach to the spin provide support and stabilisation. For those of you suffering from back pain we highly recommend doing the below exercise(s) daily.

Below are three variations, the first can be done literally anyway: waiting for the bus, in the office, park – you name it!

Standing diaphragmatic breathing

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
Place your hands on your stomach
Relax your shoulders and stand with your spine fully elongated
Take a deep breath in, filling your hands with air (so breath in, stomach out. Sounds the opposite to what we have spent a large part of our adolescent years doing!)
Breathe out while drawing your belly button in towards your spine (like trying to get into a pair of trousers that are too tight.)
Make sure there is no tension in your stomach/abdominals, it is your deep stabilising muscles we are working here not the superficial ones – we will get to those in a later blog!
Repeat
Build up to 100 repetitions in one go

Lying diaphragmatic breathing (great for reducing increased lumbar curvature)

Lie on the floor with your knees bent and soles of feet on the ground
Place your hands on your stomach
Relax your shoulders and fully elongated your spine
Take a deep breath in, filling your hands with air (so breath in, stomach out. Sounds the opposite to what we have spent a large part of our adolescent years doing!)
Breathe out while drawing your belly button in towards your spine AND flatten your back to the floor (like trying to get into a pair of trousers that are too tight while pushing your tail bone forward.)
Make sure there is no tension in your abdominals/stomach
Repeat
Build up to 100 repetitions in one go

4 point diaphragmatic breathing (provides more resistance to the exercise)

Position yourself on the floor on all fours, hands directly beneath your shoulders
Take a deep breath in, making your stomach as big as it can be
Breathe out while drawing your belly button in towards your spine (like trying to get into a pair of trousers that are too tight while pushing your tail bone forward.)
Make sure there is no tension in your abdominals/stomach
Repeat
Build up to 100 repetitions in one go