How to Get Wider Hips
Wider hips are often associated with an hourglass figure, a body shape that many covet for its striking balance and curves. It’s important to note that while some factors that influence hip width are not changeable, there are ways to create the illusion of wider hips.
There are several reasons one may aspire to achieve this look: to feel more confident, to enhance certain types of clothing, or simply for personal preference.
For those wishing to accentuate and enhance their hip area, the right combination of a balanced diet, targeted exercises, and strategic fashion choices can all contribute to achieving the appearance of wider hips.
It’s crucial to incorporate these strategies with the understanding that our bodies are diverse and beautiful in all shapes and sizes.
Ultimately, It’s about feeling comfortable and confident in your own skin.
Understanding the Hip Structure
To effectively work on widening your hips, it’s essential to understand the underlying anatomy. The hip area comprises various muscles and bones that contribute to its structure and movement.
Bone Structure
The configuration of the hip joint is crucial for our movement and balance. It is a ball-and-socket joint where the femur or thigh bone meets the pelvis.
The head of the femur, which is ball-shaped, fits into a concave socket in the pelvis known as the acetabulum, introducing significant mobility.
Not only does this hip joint permit walking, running, and jumping, it also prioritizes stability. It supports our body weight, whether static (standing) or dynamic (moving). Furthermore, the socket’s encapsulating nature enhances joint stability.
Buttocks Muscles
The Gluteus Maximus, the largest of the buttock muscles, is responsible for shaping the outline of your buttocks and is fundamental in hip extension activities like standing upright, stair-climbing, and running.
The Gluteus Medius, lying beneath the Maximus, serves as a key stabilizer and mover when performing sideways motions.
The Gluteus Minimus is the smallest gluteal muscle and plays a crucial role in hip movement. It assists the Medius in moving the leg away from the body’s midline and contributes to rotating the hip inward.
Furthermore, it provides unique support for pelvis stabilization when the body is in motion.
Inner Hip Muscles
The Iliopsoas muscle holds immense importance in your hip anatomy. As the chief hip flexor, it facilitates actions like bending at the waist, drawing your knees towards your chest, and forward leg swinging while walking or running.
Thus, its strength and flexibility markedly influence your hip’s functionality.
Deep Buttocks Muscles
The role of piriformis muscles in your hip anatomy is pivotal. These muscles, located deep within your gluteal area, are involved in rotating your legs outward.
So when you turn your feet or whole body outwards, it’s the meticulous work of the Piriformis ensuring proper function, thereby bringing accentuated importance to your hip’s anatomy.
Quads
Quad muscles, or Quadriceps, although primarily associated with the thigh, play a significant role in hip function.
They help with hip flexion, enabling the forward movement of your body. They act as a connector between the hips and knees, facilitating overall movement.
Hamstrings
Your three hamstring muscles, located at the back of your thighs, directly affect your hip movement.
They assist the Gluteus Maximus in extending the hip and moving the body forward. Additionally, they play a pivotal role in bending the knee.
Thigh Muscles
Your Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL) lies on your hip’s outer edge. Engaging in activities that include moving your leg away from your body or rotating your leg inward will necessitate the use of your TFL.
It assists in hip flexion, abduction, and internal rotation.
Ab Muscles
Even though you might think of your abs mainly for core strength, they also contribute to the anatomy of your hips.
The abdominals, particularly the lower part, work in synergy with your hip muscles for spine stabilization and hip flexion. They help maintain proper posture and ensure a smooth range of hip movement.
Factors Affecting Hip Size
Taking a closer look at your physical structure, you might be curious about what influences hip size.
This section will delve into these factors, offering valuable insights to help you understand why your hips are the size they are and how these factors can actually contribute to certain changes.
Body Structure and Inherited Traits
Your DNA plays a substantial role in determining your body’s overall shape and size, including your hips. As with height and eye color, your genetics can define whether you have narrow or broad hips.
With that in your gene pool, there’s not much you can do to counter those inherited traits.
Age and Hormones
Your hip size can also change as you age, related to hormones that cause changes in fat distribution throughout the body, including the hips.
During puberty and pregnancy, hormones call for the expansion of hip bones, creating a wider pelvis area, particularly in females.
As you age further, hormonal changes combined with a slowing metabolism can cause fat storage changes, potentially leading to an increase in hip size.
Gender
Biologically, women tend to have wider hips than men due to the demands of childbirth.
A woman’s pelvis needs to be wide enough to accommodate a developing fetus and facilitate its birth. This demand results in women naturally having a broader hip area than men.
Weight
Your overall weight has a direct impact on your hip size. If you gain weight, extra fat may be stored around your hip area, leading to an increase in size.
Conversely, if you lose weight through a healthy diet and exercise, you can often reduce your hip size.
Posture
Posture significantly influences hip size perception. The way you stand or walk, such as excessive anterior pelvic tilt, can cause protruding buttocks, creating an illusion of wider hips. A straight, well-aligned posture enhances body proportion, offering a more balanced hip appearance.
Additionally, proper posture promotes optimal muscle function. Standing up straight engages and tones the core and hip muscles, impacting the overall hip size over time.
Daily Activities
Your daily activities drastically shape your physical characteristics. A sedentary lifestyle leads to muscle atrophy, which may decrease hip size.
Consistent inactivity can also encourage fat accumulation in the abdominal area rather than the hips, affecting the appearance of hip width. Hence, your day-to-day activities, or lack thereof, can substantially contribute to your hip size.
Lifestyle Changes for Wider Hips
Taking control of your body shape takes understanding and effort. When it comes to widening your hips, there are various lifestyle adjustments that can effectively help you work towards achieving wider hips.
These modifications are all about naturally enhancing your body shape in a healthy and balanced way.
Exercise
Implementing a specific workout routine is a key lifestyle change you can make for wider hips. Targeted exercises like squats, lunges, and hip abduction movements focus on your hip and buttocks muscles to help them tone, sculpt, and grow bigger.
By consistently incorporating these focused exercises into your routine, you can gradually broaden your hips.
Meal Plan and Food Choices
Beneficial dietary changes include incorporating more protein into your meals, as proteins help muscle growth.
Eating balanced meals with an emphasis on protein-rich foods like lean meats, eggs, legumes, and dairy can contribute to muscle development around your hips.
Daily Water Intake
Staying hydrated is crucial for muscle health and growth. Drinking plenty of water each day helps transport the necessary nutrients to your muscles, aiding their healthy development and maintenance.
This basic yet crucial habit can indirectly support the goal of wider hips.
Rest and Sleep
Giving your body ample rest is a lifestyle change that plays a significant role in helping your muscles grow.
Your muscles, including those in your hip region, repair and grow during periods of rest. So, ensure you get enough sleep and take rest days between vigorous workouts.
Changes in Posture
Focusing on postural changes can also help accentuate your hips. Standing and sitting with proper alignment can improve the appearance of your hips.
This doesn’t physically increase their size, but it can make your hips look wider.
Clothing Options
While it isn’t a physical change, adjusting your wardrobe can create the illusion of wider hips. Choosing the right style of clothing can emphasize your hips, effectively making them appear wider.
This could involve opting for high-waisted pants, belt-cinched dresses, or clothing with horizontal lines around the hip area. Also, certain patterns can visually add volume to your hips.
Targeted Exercises for Wider Hips
As you journey towards achieving wider hips, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with unique exercises designed to target this specific area of your body. Embrace these exercises as part of your regular workout regimen for the best results.
Squats
Squats are one of the most effective workouts for your hips. By activating your gluteus maximus, this full-body exercise adds strength and size to your hip area.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointed forward. Bend your knees and sink your hips back as if you’re about to sit on a chair, keeping your chest lifted. Ensure your knees don’t go past your toes.
Push through your heels to rise back up to a standing position. Repeat this movement several times.
Lunges
Lunges work multiple muscles in your lower body, including your hip muscles. They engage both the hip and thigh muscles, improving muscle hypertrophy.
Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart. Step forward with your right foot and lower your body until both knees form a 90-degree angle and your back knee hovers just above the ground.
Ensure your front knee is right above your ankle. Push back up to your starting position and repeat with the other leg.
Glute Bridges
This important exercise targets your glutes, hamstrings, and hip muscles. Glute bridges make your lower body stronger and can help widen your hips. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Arms should be at your sides. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold for a few seconds, gradually lower, and repeat.
Sumo Walks
Sumo walks are a fantastic way to work on your inner and outer hip muscles. This simple yet effective exercise not only strengthens your hip muscles but also improves your overall balance.
Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders, knees bent, and toes pointed out. Take a step to the right, lifting your left foot and moving it to the right. Repeat several steps to the right, then reverse, walking to the left.
Side Leg Lifts
Side leg lifts target your gluteus medius and minimus, strengthening and adding bulk to the hip muscles. Regularly performing this exercise can help you increase your hip size. Ensure you keep your movements controlled to maximize muscle engagement.
Lie on your right side with your legs straight and stacked atop each other. Rest your head on your right arm or hand.
Keeping your core engaged, slowly lift your left leg as high as you can, then slowly lower it back down. After several repetitions, switch to your left side.
Clamshells
This exercise is great for working on your hip abductor muscles. Laying on your side and opening your legs like a clamshell targets the gluteus medius and minimus, aiding in hip widening.
Lie on your right side with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle, your legs stacked, and your head resting on your right arm. Keep your feet together while you slowly lift your left knee as high as you can without moving your pelvis.
Slowly lower your left knee back down. After several repetitions, switch to your left side.
Banded Lateral Walks
Banded lateral walks target and strengthen the hip abductor muscles, which contribute to wider-looking hips. Regular practice can lead to muscle growth in the hip area, creating an appearance of increased hip width.
To perform banded lateral walks, place a resistance band around your ankles or above your knees. Stand straight, lower into a half-squat position, and step to one side while maintaining tension in the band.
Take several steps in one direction, then return by stepping in the opposite direction. Repeat these back-and-forth movements for several rounds.
Medical Options for Wider Hips
If lifestyle changes and exercises don’t result in the broader hips you desire, or you’re looking for a more immediate transformation, it’s interesting to learn about all the medical procedures you can choose to widen your hips.
Each procedure has its own merits and possible downsides, and talking about them with a medical professional can help you determine the best course of action for your specific needs.
Hip Shaping
Cosmetic Hip Shaping employs non-invasive fat reduction procedures to contour and shape the body, such as CoolSculpting, Laser Lipolysis, and Ultrasound Fat Cavitation.
Using specific devices, the process targets and helps reduce fat in particular areas, like the hips, and contours those regions for an enhanced appearance. Not requiring surgical intervention, it’s a preferable route for those fearing extensive procedures.
Surgical Hip Enhancements
The hip augmentation procedure involves the surgical addition of implants to increase the circumference of your hips. The implants can be made from various materials, most commonly silicone.
If hip augmentation is an option for you, consider the permanence of the procedure and possible complications, such as infections and reactions to the materials.
Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)
This procedure involves extracting fat from other parts of your body (like the abdomen or thighs) and injecting it into your buttocks and hips to create a curvier appearance. This method offers a more natural look and feel compared to implants.
However, realistic expectations and understanding the risks, such as fat embolism, are essential.
Fat Transfer to Hips
Liposculpture is a procedure that combines liposuction and fat grafting. Fat is removed from areas where it’s unwanted and then injected into your hips. This adjusts proportions and results in a more hourglass-like figure.
With similar risks to other surgical procedures, liposculpture requires an experienced surgeon to minimize potential complications.
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors affect hip size?
Several factors can influence the size of your hips. These include genetics, which can determine whether you naturally have narrow or broad hips, and your age, as hormonal changes during different life stages can contribute to hip size.
Your gender also plays a role because women typically have wider hips than men due to childbirth needs. Additionally, your weight and certain types of exercise can affect hip size, as well as hormonal changes from events like pregnancy or menopause.
What lifestyle changes can help achieve wider hips?
Lifestyle changes that can help widen your hips include adopting exercise routines that target your hips, such as squats, lunges, and hip abduction movements.
Tweaking your diet to increase your protein consumption can also help, since proteins promote muscle growth. Staying hydrated, ensuring ample rest, and focusing on your posture are also pivotal.
Additionally, choosing clothing styles that accentuate your hips can create the illusion of wider hips.
Which exercises are beneficial for wider hips?
Exercises that can help you achieve wider hips include squats, which activate your gluteus maximus, lunges that engage both hip and thigh muscles, and glute bridges that target your glutes, hamstrings, and hip muscles.
More examples include sumo walks, which work on your inner and outer hip muscles, side leg lifts targeting your gluteus medius and minimus, and clamshells that focus on your hip abductor muscles.
Can medical procedures help to get wider hips?
Yes, there are various medical procedures available to widen your hips. These include hip augmentation, which involves adding implants to increase hip size, and Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), where the buttocks are contoured using fat transfer to meet the preferred physique.
Liposculpture, which includes liposuction and fat grafting to tweak your proportions, and non-invasive cosmetic hip shaping, are also methods to help widen your hips.
