Wide Hips: The Benefits And How To Slim Down And Tone

You're not alone if you feel like you can't browse social media, watch a movie, or read a magazine without hearing that thinner is better. To decrease wide hips. 

The 2016 study found that the average American woman wears between a Misses size 16-18. This means most women are curvier and have wider hips than the images they see. This is an important message since many women struggle to see and appreciate the power of their bodies.

The Advantages Of Wide Hips

The truth is, it's healthy for women to have curves, especially since hips have a biological purpose.

"Women are built completely different than men, and it's for a biological purpose," explains Dr. Heather Bartos, a board-certified OB-GYN. While many women covet a straight, narrow-hipped body, Bartos says those curves, or what we used to call "birthing hips," actually provide a genetic advantage. In other words, big hips, including the booty, allow for easier passage of a baby.

Also, Bartos says that fat distribution in the buttocks area shows that healthy estrogen is present, unlike central obesity in the midsection. Fat around the middle is associated with "bad" estrogen that can cause cardiovascular disease and difficulty with getting pregnant.

How To Lose Hip Fat

Embracing your body and understanding that wide hips are normal and healthy is the first step on your journey. And while the overall structure and shape of your hips can't be changed, if you would like to accentuate your curves and tone the muscles around your hips, there are healthy and safe ways to do so.

Although you can't spot-reduce fat in just one area of your body, you can trim hip fat by losing overall body fat. You can do this through regular fat-burning exercises, cutting back on calories, and toning your lower body. Let's look at some of the options.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT requires you to do all-out, high-intensity exercise in short bursts, and the intense bursts of activity are alternated with short rest periods. This training aims to increase your heart rate, so you burn calories in half the time of moderate-intensity cardio.

HIIT increases the oxygen demands on your body. According to the American Council on Exercise, the more oxygen you consume, the more calories you burn. Another benefit of this type of exercise is that your body continues to burn calories at a faster rate even after you're done working out.

Related Are hip dips genetic?

Compound Exercises For Your Lower Body

Research has shown that resistance training exercises can improve your lean muscle mass. When combined with a healthier diet, resistance exercises may help you tone your muscles and lose fat, too.

Some examples of resistance exercises for your lower body include:

• squats
• lunges
• step-ups with weight

Try to do 12 to 15 repetitions per set. Aim for two to three sets.

These exercises all target the major muscles in your lower body. By focusing on hip-related movements, you not only strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and quads, but you also burn calories. This may result in leaner, more toned hips.

Body weight Exercises That Target Your Hips

On those days when going to the gym is not an option, you can still get a great lower body workout with just your body weight. To target your hips, make sure to include the resistance exercises mentioned above, as well as:

• wall sits
• bridges
• skater squats
• reverse leg lift

Aim for 15 to 20 reps per set for three sets. If you're a beginner, start with fewer reps and groups, then add more as you build your lower body strength.

Climbing Stairs

According to the American Council on Exercise, climbing stairs can burn about three times more calories than walking. It's also an excellent exercise for working all your hip and leg muscles.

By targeting the muscles of your lower body and burning calories at a high rate, this type of workout may help reduce overall body fat, including extra weight on your hips.

Stair climbing exercises can be done indoors or outdoors. You can use the stair climber machine at the gym, or you can look for a parking garage or outdoor stadium with flights of stairs that you can run up and down.

Healthy Diet And Reduction Of Calorie

Burning more calories through targeted exercises and following a healthy diet can help you lose total body fat. Be sure to follow a diet that focuses on eating whole foods from various food groups. Pay attention to your portion sizes, too. Slow and steady is the goal when it comes to weight loss. The Centers for Disease Control and PreventionTrusted Source recommends a weight loss of one to two pounds weekly. You can do this by burning more calories than you consume.

The Bottom Line

Having narrow hips is not better or healthier, and broader hips may be more beneficial, especially for women. Participating in a fitness program that reduces overall body fat and includes exercises to target your lower body can result in leaner hips.

The Benefits And Effectiveness Of Hip Abduction

Hip abduction is the leg's movement away from the body's midline.

Anatomy Of Hip Abduction

This movement is something we do on a daily basis when we get out of bed, when we get out of the automobile, and any other time we need to step to the side.

The abductors of the hip are essential muscles that are frequently disregarded despite their contribution to our ease of standing, walking, and rotating our legs in different directions. Exercises that focus on hip abduction will not only help you acquire a tighter and more toned posterior region, but they can also alleviate discomfort in the hips and knees, as well as help avoid it. Exercises that focus on hip abduction can be beneficial for people of all ages, but they are helpful for athletes. When walking or standing on one leg, weakness in these muscles can cause pain and interfere with proper movement.

Benefits Of Hip Abduction Exercises

Reduce Knee Valgus

Knee valgus refers to when the knees cave inward, giving a "knock-kneed" appearance. This is most commonly seen in young women and older adults or those with muscle imbalances or improper form during exercise.

Better Muscle Activation And Performance

The hip abductors are closely related to the core muscles and are crucial for balance and athletic activity. Due to extended time spent sitting during the day, many people develop weak gluteus muscles.

Being inactive for a long time can lead to the body essentially "turning off" these muscles, making them harder to use during exercise. This can make your body use other powers not meant for those tasks.

 Techniques to help increase activation of the gluteus medius during squats, such as using a resistance band around the knees, can improve overall performance.

Decrease Pain 

Weakness in the hip abductors, particularly the gluteus medius, may lead to overuse injuries, patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), and iliotibial (IT) band syndrome. PFPS can cause pain behind the kneecap when sitting for long periods or going downstairs.

StudiesTrusted Source has found that people with PFPS are more likely to have hip weakness than those who don't suffer from knee pain. This supports the idea that hip abductor strength is essential for knee health and stability.

In addition to exercises that strengthen the quadriceps, hip abductors, and hip rotators, treatment for PFPS typically includes anti-inflammatory drugs, rest, and stretching of the muscles surrounding the hip and knee.

Effectiveness Of Hip Abduction Exercises

It's not clear whether hip abduction weakness is a cause or a result of knee problems. Findings about the relationship between hip abduction and knee issues are mixed. In general, though, strengthening these muscles delivers benefits.

A 2008 study trusted Source showed positive results with a six-week exercise program that included strengthening the hip abductors. Physical function was significantly related to hip abductor strength at two, four, and six weeks.

A 2011 study looked at the effectiveness of a hip abductor strengthening program among 25 participants, 15 of whom had PFPS. They found that after three weeks, participants with PFPS saw an increase in strength and a decrease in pain.

The Takeaway

Hip abduction exercises can offer many benefits. Often used in therapy settings and among bodybuilders and weightlifters, these exercises help strengthen essential muscles for stabilization and injury prevention.

So You are not the only one coming across the message that being slimmer is preferable. to narrow wide hips.