You're not the first person to notice that your waist isn't as trim and shapely as it once was. There's a reason why more and more people around the world are turning to waist compression belts, and waist-training movements to help them reclaim their hourglass figure.

The constantly fashionable low-riding pants and snug tops on the market today are likely to make the extra weight around your midsection more apparent than ever, but there's an even better reason to aspire for a trim tummy than sprucing up your wardrobe - a smaller stomach is better for your health. According to research, a waistline of more than 35 inches' places women at risk for life-threatening conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and more.

Fortunately, if you're fretting about your figure, the following waist slimming workouts will offer a selection of exercises you can do at home to start reducing your middle, and keeping you out of the danger zone. These moves will target your stomach and oblique's for a more defined hourglass shape, and they work best withsome great tunes, and a waist compression belt designed to harness the full power of your workout.

1.    The Seated Knee Drop

When it comes to waist-slimming workouts, this is one of the easiest exercises you can do at home to start shaping your stomach. With your waist compression belt snuggly around your stomach, keep your spine straight and sit back with your feet stretched out in front of you, and your hands on the floor behind you.

Contracting your abdominal muscles, lower your legs slowly to the left until they're hovering just above the floor, keeping your ankles together and pushing your shoulders forward. Hold the stretch for a moment, then use your abs to pull your legs up and back over towards the right.

2.    The Low Belly Reach

Designed to target your six-pack and corset area, the low belly reach should be an addition to all waist slimming workouts. Lie facing the ceiling with your hands behind your head, and your knees bent at ninety degree angles. Contract your abs carefully, while keeping your knees stacked above your hips, and crunch upwards, inhaling and holding your position for at least five seconds.

As you exhale, extend your legs to 45 degrees, and hold that position for a further five seconds, squeezing the muscles in your lower belly.

3.    The Reaching Row

Some of the exercises you can do at home on this list will be better served if you invest in a pair of dumbbells. For instance, the reaching row is great for most waist-slimming workouts, but it needs some extra weight to have a real impact.

With your dumbbells in hand, stand in a split stance with your left foot angled forward, lowering your body into a lunge from your hips. Reach your dumbbells down towards your feet, bending your right elbow behind your body, and pulling the weight in front of your shoulder. As you pull one arm back, extend the other, moving quickly without over-stretching.

4.    The Pelvis Tuck/ Plank

This addition to most waist slimming workouts tones your six-pack, and your waist-cinching muscles, for a great hourglass shape. Perform with your waist compression belt for extra focus on the midsection muscles.

Start lying face down with your elbows bent and legs extended. As you contract your abs, tuck your toes in to lift your body, with your elbows directly lined up beneath your shoulders. The aim should be to lift your entire body away from the floor an inch or two, and hold for as long as you can. After a while, bend your knees, and tilt your pelvis upwards, keeping your abs as tight as possible.

5.    The Toning V-Hold

This is one of the easiest exercises to do at home, and it uses fast-twitch muscle fibers designed to improve muscle tone and shape your stomach.

Start by sitting with your feet against the floor and your knees bent. Hold the underside of your thighs with both hands, and hinge back, lifting your feet until the lower half of your legs are parallel to the floor. Carefully release your hands, and straighten your legs, so that you can dip forward from the waist and touch your toes. Hold the position for as long as possible.

6.    The Triceps Extension

Grabbing your dumbbells, balance on your left leg, with your knee slightly bent and your right leg extended behind your hip. Hold your dumbbells behind your head with your elbows near your ears, and tense your abs to bend your right knee forward and extend your arms to the ceiling.

Make sure that you don't lower your right foot to the floor at any time, unless you absolutely need to regain your balance. Hold the position, then slowly return to your starting position and repeat. It's not the easiest of exercises you can do at home, but it does work.

7.    The Side Crunch and Pulse

The aim of most waist slimming workouts is to hit the oblique's and the six-pack - something that this particular move does perfectly. With your waist compression belt tightened around your midsection, start by lying face up towards the ceiling, your knees bent at ninety degrees and your hands behind your heads.

Slowly lower your knees down towards the left, then crunch up, doing fifteen to twenty-five repetitions. Once that's complete, return to your starting position and repeat the entire sequence on the other side.

8.    The Navel to Spine Pulse

Finally, finish off your waist slimming workouts with an exercise that targets your six pack and helps to give you a perfectly flat stomach. Begin by lying on the floor, facing the ceiling, with your feet against the ground and your knees bent. Lift your shoulders slightly, and grab the underside of your thighs with both hands, squeezing your abs as you do so.

Tilt your pelvis upwards, and let go of your thighs, reaching forward. Pulse around twenty times, before returning to the starting position and moving to the other thigh.