To get a more toned backside and a smaller waist, try pairing regular cardiovascular exercise with targeted strength exercises for the glutes and abdominal muscles.
Image Credit: Cultura RF/Cultura/GettyImages You may be wondering how to get a smaller waist and bigger hips — and you’re not alone. Keeping up with the Kardashians in terms of booty-to-waist ratio may seem unrealistic, but obtaining more of an hourglass figure is certainly possible with a little hard work and dedication.
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Tip To get a more toned backside and a smaller waist, try pairing regular cardiovascular exercise with targeted strength exercises for the glutes and abdominal muscles.
Straight to Your Stomach
Before you can jump into your waist-slimming, rump-boosting workout routine and get results, it’s crucial to consider your diet. After all, “you are what you eat,” and if you are feeding your body nothing but junk, it makes it next to impossible to achieve the desired results.
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So what are you putting into your body? According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's (ODPHP) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a balanced diet should incorporate vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, protein and oils on a daily basis. Try alternating foods like salmon, chicken, eggs, kale, broccoli, avocado, Greek yogurt, blueberries, nuts, milk, cottage cheese and more.
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And if you're wondering what foods go straight to your stomach, there's evidence-based science on that, too. The ODPHP explains that many grocery store and restaurant items contain too much sodium, saturated fat and added sugars. These all harm your waistline and promote the accumulation of visceral fat, which stacks up deep in the abdominal cavity.
It’s also recommended that you limit alcohol consumption as well if drinking is part of your lifestyle. According to the ODPHP, moderation — up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men— is key.
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Read more: Side Effects of Switching to a Healthy Diet
Change Your Physique
In order to truly change your physique and get closer to the hourglass figure you may be seeking, it’s important to pair a healthy diet with regular exercise. For the start, make sure you’re getting cardiovascular exercise in — and often!
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The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week, at a minimum. To lose weight, however, you may want to add more time to this equation. Try incorporating High-Intensity Interval Training exercises into your routine for faster, more effective results, points out the American Council on Exercise.
Read more: Take Your Next HIIT Workout Outside
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To tone the buttocks and slim down your waistline, you will want to pair your regular cardio routine with targeted strength training. But be warned — spot reduction, or the idea that you can lose weight in just one area of your body by doing these strength exercises, is a myth.
Doing a whole lot of crunches, for instance, won’t trim down your waistline unless you get your cardio in and focus on strengthening the body as a whole.
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Target Your Tush
There are many great exercises out there to help sculpt and tone the booty. All you have to do is start. Move 1: Squats This standard move works wonders for the rear.
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Start standing, with your feet hip-distance apart, and your arms extended straight forward. With the majority of weight in your heels, bend at the knee as you push your butt far back while keeping your chest tall and proud. Lower down as if you are trying to sit in a really low chair, but be mindful to make sure your knees aren’t protruding beyond your ankles. This will help protect your knees from injury. Stop when your thighs become parallel with the floor and then drive through your heels to stand up again. Repeat until you reach fatigue or for a designated time interval.
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Tip For an added challenge, try holding one heavy dumbbell against your chest as you perform the same squatting motion.
Move 2: Bridges Bridges are one of the best exercises for targeting your backside.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor about a foot or so from your buttocks. Driving through your heels, lift your buttocks off the floor using your gluteus maximus muscles. Lift as high as you can, while maintaining a neutral spine. Lower down in the same fashion and repeat. Try varying your tempo for an extra challenge.
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Tip For an added challenge try holding one or two dumbbells on your hips as you lift and lower in your bridge.
Move 3: Hydrants While it may sound a bit silly, this move mimics the “leg lift” a male dog makes when urinating on a fire hydrant or tree.
Start on all fours in a tabletop position, with your wrists below your shoulders and your knees below your hips. With your hips square to the ground, lift your right knee out to the side, keeping your knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Lower down in the same fashion and repeat. Switch to the other leg after reaching fatigue on your first side.
Work Your Abs
Tap into your core strength and make these waist-slimming exercises part of your weekly routine. Move 1: Russian Twist The twisting motion from this ab exercise is excellent for slimming down the waist.
Start in a seated position on the floor, with your legs out in front of you, knees bent. Engage your abs as you lean slightly back, and lift your feet off the ground while keeping your knees bent. Balancing on your sit bones, tuck your elbows in tight to your body, and begin twisting your upper body right to left in a consistent back-and-forth motion. Continue twisting for your desired amount of time, or until you reach fatigue.
Tip To modify this exercise, keep your feet planted on the ground as you twist side-to-side. For an added challenge, try holding a dumbbell at your chest as you twist side-to-side. Move 2: Sprinters Start in a supine position, laying on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor.
Sit all the way up as you twist across your body, tapping your right elbow to your left knee. Lower down one vertebra at a time, and then repeat by twisting the opposite direction. Be delicate on the way down, to make sure you aren’t slamming your back on the ground. Repeat for your desired amount of time, and feel the burn.
Tip To modify this exercise, lift your shoulder blades only as you come up instead of sitting all the way up into your twist. Move 3: Leg Drops The lower abs can be a “problem area” for many people. Leg drops target this spot and can be easily modified if needed.
Start in a supine position, laying on your back with your arms at your side. Hinging at your hips, lift your legs straight up, and flex your feet as though trying to stamp the souls of your shoes on the ceiling. Keeping your arms by your sides, or sliding them under your butt for extra support, lower your legs down to hover the ground, and then lift them back up again in the same fashion. Repeat for your desired amount of time, or until you reach fatigue.
Tip To modify this exercise, try bending your knees as you lower and lift your legs. Or, as an alternative, you can also try dropping one leg at a time, alternating right to left. Read more: Ab Exercises to Avoid in Order to Get an Hourglass Figure
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references
American Heart Association: “American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids”
American Council on Exercise: “8 Reasons HIIT Workouts are So Effective”
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020”
Harvard Health Publishing: “Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It”
references
American Heart Association: “American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids”
American Council on Exercise: “8 Reasons HIIT Workouts are So Effective”
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020”
Harvard Health Publishing: “Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It”
To get a more toned backside and a smaller waist, try pairing regular cardiovascular exercise with targeted strength exercises for the glutes and abdominal muscles.
Image Credit: Cultura RF/Cultura/GettyImages
Image Credit: Cultura RF/Cultura/GettyImages
To get a more toned backside and a smaller waist, try pairing regular cardiovascular exercise with targeted strength exercises for the glutes and abdominal muscles.
For an added challenge, try holding one heavy dumbbell against your chest as you perform the same squatting motion.
For an added challenge try holding one or two dumbbells on your hips as you lift and lower in your bridge.
To modify this exercise, keep your feet planted on the ground as you twist side-to-side. For an added challenge, try holding a dumbbell at your chest as you twist side-to-side.
To modify this exercise, lift your shoulder blades only as you come up instead of sitting all the way up into your twist.
To modify this exercise, try bending your knees as you lower and lift your legs. Or, as an alternative, you can also try dropping one leg at a time, alternating right to left.
American Heart Association: “American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids”
American Council on Exercise: “8 Reasons HIIT Workouts are So Effective”
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020”
Harvard Health Publishing: “Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It”
