Slimming the hip area?

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kell_riley
kell_riley Posts: 312
in Fitness and Exercise
hey!!
I was looking for some advise on what exercises I could do to slim down my hip area. I am aware you can't loose weight from specific areas but I have noticed significant differences in the stomach, arms and legs and I work them at the gym, I thought maybe adding something for this area to my routine may help me to see results?

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  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
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    Two things. Cardio & diet. Any exercise besides a catabolic exercise such as cardio with not help slim.
  • MrsT_2009
    MrsT_2009 Posts: 90 Member
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    I'm right there with ya. I lose weight from the top down and am starting to feel too thin on top but still "fluffy" on the bottom half of my body. Speed walking really makes my hips burn so I'm trying to focus on that to tone up the lower half!
  • kell_riley
    kell_riley Posts: 312
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    Cheers! I'm doing a fair amount of cardio on a weekly basis and eating pretty good even if I do say so myself lol!
    Ok I guess what I'm trying to say is how do I strengthen the muscles under the layer of fat?
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    Tone it up, sure... but for heavens sakes, don't "slim" it. Don't you know about waist-to-hip ratio and what a huge advertiser of health & attractiveness it is?!? Do you know what your WHR is? (circumference of your waist at the narrowest point divided by your hips at their widest point)

    from Wikipedia:

    "The concept and significance of WHR as an indicator of attractiveness was first theorized by evolutionary psychologist Devendra Singh at the University of Texas at Austin in 1993.[14][15] Singh argued that the WHR was a more consistent estrogen marker than the Bust-waist ratio (BWR) studied at King's College, London by Dr. Glenn Wilson in the 1970s.[16][17]

    Some researchers have found that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a significant measure of female attractiveness[18]. Women with a 0.7 WHR are usually rated as more attractive by men from Indo-European cultures.[19] Beauty icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Salma Hayek and Sophia Loren typically have ratios close to 0.7, even though they have different weights and heights. In other cultures, preferences appear to vary according to some studies,[20] ranging from 0.6 in China,[21] to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa,[7][22][23] and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.[24][25]

    It appears that men are more influenced by female waist-size than hip-size:

    "Hip size indicates pelvic size and the amount of additional fat storage that can be used as a source of energy. Waist size conveys information such as current reproductive status or health status ... in westernized societies with no risk of seasonal lack of food, the waist, conveying information about fecundity and health status, will be more important than hip size for assessing a female's attractiveness."
    —Journal of Biological Psychology, [26]
    To enhance their perceived attractiveness, some women may artificially alter their apparent WHR. The methods include the use of a corset to reduce the waist size and hip and buttock padding to increase the apparent size of the hips and buttocks. In an earlier attempt to quantify attractiveness, corset and girdle manufacturers of the 20th century used a calculation called hip spring[27] (or hip-spring or hipspring). Hip spring is calculated by subtracting the waist measurement from the hip measurement. However, this calculation fell into disuse because it is a poor indicator of attractiveness; for example, a hip spring of 10 inches (250 mm) would likely be considered quite attractive for an average-sized adult woman, but a child or petite woman with the same number would more likely be seen as malnourished."

    Personally, I've been trying to "build-out" my hips with resistance training to get my WHR as low as possible.
  • kell_riley
    kell_riley Posts: 312
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    waist 28' hips 37 inches!
  • littlemissanguissette
    littlemissanguissette Posts: 248 Member
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    No matter what do, don't think I will be able to tone or slim any of my hips...they have no layer of fat over them.

    So I'm stuck with a 40" hip, and 26" waist...have no idea what HWR is for that.

    Some people just have big hips :(
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    waist 28' hips 37 inches!

    Yeah sweetie, you're at .75ish. You want to do cardio combined with core/ab work to slim your >waist<, not your hips. Try doing high weights/low reps that work your glutes & hips/thighs to tone & build out your hips. My measurements may be higher than yours, but my WHR is lower. Idk, when I was younger, I used to think that straight ("banana"-shape) body was ideal... it seems to be the ideal when women compare themselves to other women. I hit puberty before most of my girl friends and the complex didn't wear off until I started having kids. Then I got into evolutionary biology and realized the importance of WHR when it comes to how attractive >men< find women and I finally learned to embrace my curves and strive for even better ones via a lower WHR.
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    No matter what do, don't think I will be able to tone or slim any of my hips...they have no layer of fat over them.

    So I'm stuck with a 40" hip, and 26" waist...have no idea what HWR is for that.

    Some people just have big hips :(

    You're at .65! I...would...KILL...for...that! You do realize that's like, better than "perfect" (.70) right? Most Playboy models fall in the .68-.70 range and you're sporting a .65!!! A frowny face for "big hips" & a tiny waist?!?! I should bonk you on the head silly girl... you're rocking Beyonce/Shakira level curves and are unhappy about it :(
  • abalicious
    abalicious Posts: 361 Member
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    Yup, cardio and diet. I'm doing ab exercises with a medicine ball, and once you start twisting that ball around your mid section you can feel the difference and tightening of that area.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
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    No matter what do, don't think I will be able to tone or slim any of my hips...they have no layer of fat over them.

    So I'm stuck with a 40" hip, and 26" waist...have no idea what HWR is for that.

    Some people just have big hips :(

    You're at .65! I...would...KILL...for...that! You do realize that's like, better than "perfect" (.70) right? Most Playboy models fall in the .68-.70 range and you're sporting a .65!!! A frowny face for "big hips" & a tiny waist?!?! I should bonk you on the head silly girl... you're rocking Beyonce/Shakira level curves and are unhappy about it :(

    ahhhh I knew she was perfect ;)
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    ahhhh I knew she was perfect ;)

    Apparently she does too by that pose over the car hood in her profile. She knows she's highlighting assets, lol.
  • kell_riley
    kell_riley Posts: 312
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    I've never really looked at it like that, I'd still like to lower my hip measurement tho lol!
  • littlemissanguissette
    littlemissanguissette Posts: 248 Member
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    I have never even heard of that ratio until now! I've always just been told "you have big hips, you'll be stuck with them for your whole life" ha

    Thanks for cluing us in on this ratio, it is very interesting and it goes make me feel better about the large hips.

    [And I just like "posing" for photos like the one on the hood of my truck ;) hahaha]

    I'm going to do more research on the ratio.
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    I'm going to do more research on the ratio.

    :D Warning: once you get into evolutionary biology/psychology there's truly no going back. You'll learn so many ways to wrap men around your little finger, it isn't even funny.

    Online has some good info on WHR, but if you really want to delve, check out:

    It's Not You, It's Biology by J. Quirk (available on iBooks)
    http://www.oprah.com/relationships/The-Science-of-Sex-Appeal
    TLC's program The Human Face hosted by John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley
  • jmula
    jmula Posts: 38
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    36 24 36! shes a brick house! haha! couldnt help it, commodores ;)
    Actually your hips will always be the last part to slim down. As long as you have a narrow waist, you can trick the eye a bit on proportions. If you tone the upper body a bit more it will make the lower half seem smaller.
    Also, squats are super important in keeping the lower half sexy and tone. whatever you do, dont get obsessive with wanting to thin of a hip line. not many men are attracted to the straight stick figure look on a woman. most men like tight curvy lines :)
  • Mmoore717
    Mmoore717 Posts: 2
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    spin classes have helped me along with jogging and excercise i just started this program but ive love 100 plus pounds on my own i went from a flabby butt to one with firmness and thighs also squats are wonderful
  • Starrr126
    Starrr126 Posts: 90 Member
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    I'm so glad I came upon this thread. I've been frustrated I've dropped 2 inches from my waist, but nothing from my hips. Then I did the calculations and saw I'm at a .78 which I know is over the "ideal" but it's not a terrible distance off! Now I won't fret as much about that # and hope maybe rocking some curves will stir up my social life. Haha. Thanks for the info!
  • Luthorcrow
    Luthorcrow Posts: 193
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    @jessiebug
    No matter what do, don't think I will be able to tone or slim any of my hips...they have no layer of fat over them.

    So I'm stuck with a 40" hip, and 26" waist...have no idea what HWR is for that.

    Some people just have big hips :(

    LOL, as everyone said you have a great ratio. Hell that is the perfect ratio to be a video vixen. Someone get 50 Cent on the line. ;)

    @kell_riley
    It's the ratio that matters more than anything. It sounds like you actually want your hips to be bigger to achieve that hourglass look (.7 or lower).

    The biggest bang for your buck and the best for your hips will be the squat. Technically it will not make your hips smaller but it will make them look much more toned as you lose body fat. Despite what all the women's and fashion magazines and TV imprints on you, men like hourglass figures. To often the media reenforces the image of women that look like boys.

    As long as your waist is tight, your hips do not need to be narrow. You are better off playing to your strengths rather than trying to be an ideal that doesn't fit.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I have wide hips. Birth hips, as someone once told me.

    Lower body exercise is good. Kickboxing is good. Abductor and Adductor workouts are good. Pilates.
  • Swimgoddess
    Swimgoddess Posts: 711 Member
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    I'm so glad I came upon this thread. I've been frustrated I've dropped 2 inches from my waist, but nothing from my hips. Then I did the calculations and saw I'm at a .78 which I know is over the "ideal" but it's not a terrible distance off! Now I won't fret as much about that # and hope maybe rocking some curves will stir up my social life. Haha. Thanks for the info!

    Anytime sweetie ;) I wasted SO much of my youth wishing I had that uber-skinny non-curvy body the other girls had thinking that's what >boys< were interested in. Lo & behold, I actually had the ideal shape >men< were more innately drawn to :D

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