When it comes to losing fat and toning muscles, especially around your hips, the right combination of diet and exercise can make a difference.
However, since you can't spot-reduce fat in one area of your body through diet or exercise, it's important to focus on losing overall body fat. Once you start losing weight, you can focus on exercises that can help tone the muscles in and around your hips and core.
Having less fat and stronger lower body muscles may give your hips a leaner, more sculpted appearance. Plus, having more muscle and less fat will help you burn calories at a faster pace, making it easier to control your weight.
Read on to learn more about the best ways to drop inches and tone your hip muscles.
Squats are a versatile exercise that target many of the muscles in your lower body. You can do squats with just your body weight.
Once you've mastered this exercise, you can make it more challenging by holding a dumbbell in each hand, or a kettlebell with both hands, while doing a squat.
To do a squat with good form:
Also called a lateral lunge, the side lunge is a variation of a forward lunge. It focuses more on the outer thigh and hip area.
The fire hydrant exercise is a move that targets your glutes and hip area. It also uses your core muscles for stability. If you have issues with your knees, you may want to use a mat for this exercise.
Wall sits, also known as wall squats, are great for working your thighs, hips, and lower abs. They can be a great move to build core strength, test your muscle endurance, and lose weight.
The banded walk exercise uses a resistance band to keep tension on your hips while you move laterally for a certain amount of paces. It's an excellent exercise for targeting your hips and strengthening your glutes.
Choose a wide exercise band with enough resistance to challenge your lower body, but one that's light enough to complete 10 reps in each direction.
Step-ups work the muscles in your glutes, hips, and thighs. They can also improve your balance and stability.
The side-lying leg raise is an isolation exercise that strengthens and tones the hips. Correct form is critical for this exercise.
The squat jump is an advanced plyometric exercise that takes the basic squat and adds a jump for power training.
Stair climbing is a great way to tighten and tone your glutes and hips, and get an excellent cardiovascular workout all at the same time. If you have access to a set of bleachers, or a multi-level parking garage, you can run or jog up and down the stairs.
Run or jog up to the top to the stairs, then walk back down. Try to repeat for five minutes. You can also use a Stairmaster or stepmill machine at the gym for a stair-climbing workout.
High intensity interval training, also known as HIIT, is a type of cardio workout that requires you to do short bursts of intense exercises, followed by a short rest period.
You can burn a lot of calories quickly with HIIT, and research shows that it's an effective way to burn body fat.
One example of HIIT is to do 30 seconds of fast sprinting on the treadmill, followed by 15 seconds of walking on the treadmill. Or, you could do jump squats or burpees for 45 seconds, followed by a 15-second rest period. There are many variations and options with a HIIT workout.
A HIIT workout will typically range from 10 to 30 minutes in duration. Aim to do a HIIT workout at least two times per week.
Exercise is a great tool to help you build lean muscle mass and decrease body fat. It's also one of the best ways to help keep the pounds off after losing weight. However, if you're looking to maximize your overall weight loss, it's important to consider other lifestyle changes, too.
When it comes to losing weight and trimming down your hips, eating a healthy diet plays a key role. Try to follow an eating plan that focuses on whole foods across all food groups.
Avoid foods and beverages with added sugars, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. Aim to consume fewer calories than you burn each day.
Getting the right amount of sleep each night can help support your weight loss efforts. Aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night.
We all have stress in our lives, but research shows that having too much stress can lead to health complications such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and headaches. That's why keeping your stress in check is a critical part of a weight loss program.
If you deal with stress regularly, you may want to try stress-reduction activities like yoga, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises. Exercise can also help reduce stress levels. Consider talking with your doctor or therapist about ways to manage your stress.
While it's not possible to spot-reduce fat on your hips, you can design a program that prioritizes fat loss with an emphasis on lower-body strengthening exercises. The end result may include hips that are trimmer, stronger, and more toned.