Slimming your hips to reduce cellulite and tone your muscles builds self-confidence, preparing your backside for wearing shorts during the warmer months. Done correctly, cutting back your calories and engaging in a regular exercise program not only boosts your butt, it gets the good hormones flowing. You are less stressed, more energetic and ready to tackle problems which might have otherwise seemed insurmountable.
Food
Dietary modifications are a must if you want to slim your hips. Write down what you would normally eat in an average day, including the number of calories. If you want smaller hips fast, subtract 500 calories a day from what you would normally eat, losing 1 pound a week by simply cutting your calories. Furthermore, consume less refined carbohydrates and more wholesome carbs. For instance, eat three to four servings of whole grains and three to five servings of fruits and vegetables instead of six to 10 servings of rice, bread, pasta, candy and other sugar-laden junk.
Step Aerobics
Take a step aerobics class or do a step aerobics tape at home with a six to 10-inch step bench. Using your legs to raise your body up and down an aerobic bench will tone your legs better than simply bouncing on your toes in a floor-based class. You also save plenty of wear and tear on your joints in a step class while burning mega calories because you are stepping up and down, increasing the intensity. Do step aerobics two days per week.
Sprint Intervals
Sprint intervals engage your leg muscles and your abs more fully compared to a steady jog. When you sprint all-out, your leg muscles, in addition to your arm muscles, are pumping forcefully and rapidly to propel your body forward as fast as possible. Your core muscles are also highly engaged, maintaining a strong and stable trunk as your limbs move quickly. You swing your hips through a greater range of motion during sprints, activating a larger number of muscle cells in your glutes, abs and legs, enhancing the toning effect of sprints. Complete a sprint workout one day per week.
Weight Training
Weight training exercises help you focus on specific muscles. Your hip area includes your abdominal, glute and upper thigh muscles. Incorporating primarily multi-joint exercises will slim your hips faster than single joint exercises. For example, squats and lunges should be your primary exercises in your leg training routine. You may also include the variations of squats and lunges such as sumo squats, split squats, walking lunges and side-step lunges. Use light to moderate weights so you can complete 12 to 20 repetitions for three to four sets of five to six leg exercises.
References
- "Personal Trainer Manual"; American Council on Exercise; 1997
- "Equal But Not The Same, Considerations for Training Females"; C.H.E.K. Institute; 1997
- "Strength and Conditioning Journal"; High-Intensity Interval Training: Applications for General Fitness Training; Brad Schoenfeld and Jay Dawes; December 2009
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