Everyone wants to have a small waist however many people do not realize that some of the very exercises they are performing to achieve a small waist may actually have the exact opposite effect. Many common exercises like sit ups and leg raises are used in an effort to tone up the midsection however such exercises not only work the abdominal muscles but they also work muscles on your body known as the hip flexors that run along the outside of your waist down into your hips and pelvis. If you over develop these muscles then you will actually end up making your waist thicker instead of smaller. You can usually tell when you are performing an exercise that involves the hip flexors because you will feel more of a burn on your muscles just outside and below your abdominals and any movement that involves either raising your torso or raising your legs is going to involve these muscles. The easiest way to not over develop your hip flexor muscles is to avoid exercises like sit ups, leg raises and any other exercise that involve your hip flexors and instead perform exercises that target your abdominals like crunches. When you perform crunches you have no movement through the hip area and you will notice that you will feel it the most in your abdominals. One of the big keys in exercising properly for weight loss is to understand how and how not to exercise and avoiding hip flexor movements is a real key to achieving a small tight waist that will be the envy of everyone who sees you.