What is a waist trainer and how does it work?

A waist trainer is a specially designed garment that can be worn underneath or over your clothes around the midsection area providing muscle support while shaping your waistline and abdominal area.

Waist trainers will instantly compress your figure to provide body support, and most waist trainers will also enhance the thermal activity of your body to boost sweating and speed up the process of shedding water weight.

Waist trainers have become must-have activewear for training, working out, or simply going about your everyday tasks.

What are waist trainers made of?

Waist trainers are usually made using thick, elastic fabrics like latex, rubber, lycra, nylon, spandex, and other similar materials.

Given the nature of the materials used, you need to pay attention before buying a waist trainer. Unfortunately, most waist trainers in the market are made from neoprene or a blend of neoprene and other fabrics. Neoprene is a known cause of skin irritations, especially for people with sensitive skin. Neoprene can also be an allergen for some people due to the chemicals it contains. 

If you want to ensure that your new waist trainer is 100% safe for your skin and your body, make sure to avoid any neoprene-based waist trainers and opt for a neoprene-free solution like Sweat Shaper which is made from hypoallergenic Polyurethane, Polyester and Spandex making it safer for your skin. 

How do waist trainers work?

Waist trainers are meant to squeeze and compress your midsection to instantly create an accentuated hourglass figure. In doing so, they provide muscle support while you’re exercising or doing any other physical activities.

Additionally, waist trainers will boost the thermogenic activity of your body resulting in an increased sweating rate, which will help you shed water weight much faster. Through the enhanced perspiration, you will also get rid of toxins and impurities, similar to a sauna session.

Practically all your physiological activity is boosted and enhanced through increased sweating, making waist trainers a must-have piece of workout gear.

Finally, through the instant slimming effect, they have on your body, they function as confidence boosters giving you the incentive you need to stick to your workout routine and diet plan.

Waist trainers history: where do they come from?

Waist trainers, or rather, corsets (or “waist-cinching”) have been around for centuries, and more specifically, the first reports of corsets date back to the 1500s. They were one of the essential garments in a fashionable woman’s wardrobe and a must-have accessory of the times. 

First appeared in Europe and North America only to become the first mass-produced piece of clothing in the world. By the 1850s, the technology and the manufacturing process had improved, and metal boning was introduced to enhance the rigidity and improve the functionality of the corset. 

During the 1900s, corsets reached their peak in terms of popularity as straight, slender silhouettes were considered the apex of beauty and the ideal beauty standard - fashion designers also played an important role in further pushing the corsets’ popularity. 

After the 1920s, corsets and waist trainers started falling out of fashion only to come back strong a few decades later.