Developing a thin waist with big hips gives your body the coveted hourglass definition. Achieving this build is challenging, but not overly complicated when you know how to approach the situation. Being that weight displacement is your overall goal, you will need to make adjustments to your diet and perform a solid workout routine. Both cardiovascular exercise and strength training are part of this equation. The strength-training portion needs to focus on the hip abductors, which consist of the glutes and tensor fascia latae.
Step 1
Reduce your calories slightly to help promote weight loss. Determine your current intake by tracking your calories for a day and reduce it by 250. This will create a large enough deficit to experience weight loss in your stomach, but it will not be so significant that you can't bulk up your hips. Choose foods that are nutrient-dense like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low-fat dairy products.
Step 2
Burn fat around your waist and work your hips with cardiovascular exercise. Choose a form of cardio that places emphasis on the butt, such as running, hill walking, elliptical training or stair climbing. By targeting your glutes, you will give your hips more fullness. Aim for 30 to 45 minutes of cardio and work out on three alternating days a week.
Step 3
Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells to do side lunges. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a weight in each hand right in front of your hips. Take a big lateral step to your left, place your foot down and bend your left knee. Push your butt back as you do this and hold for a second. Rise back up and bring your feet back together. Repeat for a set of reps and switch sides.
Step 4
Stand with your right side facing a bench or chair to do side step-ups. Hold dumbbells at your sides and place your right foot squarely on the chair. Press down to lift your body in the air and maintain a balanced position for a second. Lower yourself back down slowly, repeat for a set of reps and switch sides.
Step 5
Hook yourself up to a cable machine to do standing abduction. Fasten an ankle cuff to your lower right leg and to a low setting on the machine. Stand with your left side facing the weight stack and lift your leg out in front of your body. Move your leg laterally in the air to your right as high as possible. Hold for a second, then slowly sweep your leg across the front of your body. Repeat for a set of reps and switch sides.
Step 6
Perform a set of abdominal pull-ins for the lower abs. Sit on a weight bench with your legs extended out in front of you and your hands wrapped around the sides of the bench behind your body. Pull your knees into your chest as you lean forward and squeeze your abs forcefully. Extend your legs back out as you lean backward and repeat the whole movement.
Step 7
Target your hips and obliques simultaneously by doing side plank leg lifts. Lie on your left side, stack your legs and place your left forearm flat on the floor and perpendicular to your body. Lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line and hold this position as you raise your right leg in the air about parallel to the floor. Lower your leg slowly, repeat for a set of reps and switch sides.
Step 8
Execute a set of stability ball situps for the upper abs. Lie face-up on the ball with your knees bent, hands on the sides of your head and feet flat on the floor. Walk your feet back and lift your head and shoulders off the ball slightly. Keep your lower body still as you move your torso forward to about a 45-degree angle to the floor. Squeeze your abs forcefully, slowly lower yourself back down and repeat.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform 10 to 12 reps with the hip exercises and 15 to 20 reps with the ab exercises. Do four or five sets of all the exercises and work out on three non-cardio days a week.
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