Unless you have been living under a rock, you already know wide hips are in trend. It’d be safe to say that reality TV stars like Kim Kardashian, pop stars like J Lo and Nicki Minaj, Instagram models like Ana Cheri, and movie megastars like Salma Hayek are protagonists of the trend.
Looking at these beauty queens and their perfectly-chiseled rears can make girls self-conscious and envious. It is one of the reasons why some girls list one of these celebs as their motivation for joining a gym.
But why are women after bigger butts, you ask? Besides looking aesthetically appealing, bigger posteriors can make a female look more healthy and athletic.
When most girls think about building bigger derrieres, they think about bubble butts. However, besides focusing on adding thickness, you need to focus on adding width to your rear to achieve a jaw-dropping figure.
Who brought big and wide hips into vogue is hard to say, but the trend is here to stay, so you better hop on or risk getting left out.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about building an hourglass figure. You’ll learn about the best exercises to build wide hips, how to improve your hip-to-waist ratio, and the changes you need to make to your diet to add size to your rear.
Related: The 15 Best Glute Isolation Exercises for a Stronger, Shapelier Butt
Role of Genetics and Hip Structure in Building Wide Hips
Before we get into finer details, let’s talk about the role of genetics in building your figure.
It’s no secret genetics play a big role in your body structure. While some people are born with wider hip bones that lead to a wider rear, others have a narrower frame, leading to a more compact figure. Furthermore, people with wider hip bones have less trouble adding and holding on to width and size than their thinner peers.
Women’s hips start to widen during puberty. The hormone estrogen is responsible for this, prompting the pelvis to widen, so it is the widest at peak fertility years, between 20 and 30.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology, estrogen may influence where you store fat. Women often store fat around the pelvis, buttocks, and thigh area to act as reserve storage for the energy demands of lactation during pregnancy.
In other words, women have wider hips than their male counterparts for biological reasons. Additionally, “birthing hips” allow for easier passage of a baby during labor.
Decoding Waist-to-Hip Ratio
Illusion plays a big role in physique aesthetics. Bodybuilders that look ginormous on social media aren’t always as big in real life. In the same way, the pear-shaped glutes you see on Instagram are bigger than they are in real life.
However, models with shapely derrieres aren’t using any top-secret Instagram filters. Social media models with seemingly big butts have a nice waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) that accentuates their figure.
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What is the Waist-to-Hip Ratio?
The waist-to-hip ratio compares your waist measurement to your hip measurement. While higher ratios mean you have higher stored fat around your belly, a lower ratio indicates a bigger butt than your waist.
How to Measure Your Waist-to-Hip Ratio?
This is how to measure your WHR correctly:
- Wrap a tape measure around your belly button. This is your waist circumference. Record the number.
- Wrap the tape measure around your hips at the widest part. It will be your hip circumference. Record the number.
- Divide your waist size by your hip size, and you will have your waist-to-hip ratio.
- For example, if you have a 30-inch waist and a 32-inch waist, your WHR is 0.93 (30/32).
WHO defines abdominal obesity in women as a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.85 or more, and it jumps to 0.95 in men. The report further states that people with WHR greater than 1.0 are at a higher risk of contracting health problems.
A 2014 study found that the lowest waist-to-hip ratio in Playboy models was 0.529, the highest was 0.844, and the mean was 0.677, proving healthier women with smaller WHR are considered more aesthetically appealing. [1]
Another study concludes that a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 is the most healthy and aesthetically appealing for both men and women. [2]
Addressing the elephant in the room: Many social media influencers edit their photos, undergo cosmetic surgeries, or use padding to make their figures look more desirable.
While everyone has (or should have) the freedom to do what they want with their bodies and lives, you shouldn’t let how you look negatively affect your self-image.
Related: Average Waist Size For Women and Men
How to Build Wide Hips
Here is everything you need to know about building broad and thick glutes:
Target Muscles For Building Wide Hips
Although you cannot alter the shape or size of your hip bones, at least without surgery, you can add muscle mass to your frame by focusing on the following gluteal muscle groups:
- Gluteus Maximus: Maximus is the biggest gluteal muscle that gives your booty its shape. It helps extend the hip (move the leg back) and externally rotate the leg.
- Gluteus Medius: While the maximus is the biggest and most powerful gluteal muscle, it is the medius you should focus on if your goal is to build wide hips. It helps lateral movements and acts as an important stabilizer for your hips and knees. Gluteus medius is located on the lateral aspect of the upper buttock, below the iliac crest.
- Gluteus Minimus: It is the smallest gluteal muscle and works to stabilize and abduct the hip. The gluteus minimus is located just beneath the gluteus medius muscle.
- Tensor Fasciae Latae: The TFL works in tandem with the three muscles mentioned above to support a variety of hip movements.
Exercises for Building Wide Hips
Adding these lifts to your exercise arsenal will help add size to your rear:
1. Squat
The squat is one of the best exercises to build lower body muscle mass and strength. Here is how to perform the exercise:
- Stand under the bar with a shoulder wide stance.
- Unrack the bar and step back to get into the starting position.
- Slowly lower your body by bending at your knees while maintaining an upright torso.
- Squat down until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor.
- Explode back up by pushing through your heels.
- Pause and contract your glutes at the top.
- Do not lock the knees out when you stand up.
- Repeat for desired reps.
Check out our complete guide on barbell squat!
2. Hip Thrust
The hip thrust is one of the most effective exercises for building bigger and stronger glutes.
- Start in a supine position with your back against the long side of a bench.
- Roll a loaded barbell up to the crease of your hips. This will be your starting position.
- While driving both feet into the floor, squeeze your glutes while bridging your hips until your upper legs are parallel to the floor.
- Pause and contract at the top.
- Lower your hips back to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Check out our complete guide on hip thrust!
3. Glute Bridge
The glute bridge is a variation of the hip thrust but can be as effective if done with the correct form.
- Sit up straight with your legs extended and roll a barbell up to the crease of your hips.
- Lay back in a supine position on the floor while holding onto the bar with an overhand grip. This will be your starting position.
- Drive your heels into the floor and lift your glutes off the floor by squeezing them.
- Pause and contract your glutes at the top.
- Lower your hips back to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Check out our complete guide on glute bridge!
4. Smith Machine Glute Kickback
The Smith machine glute kickback is a great unilateral exercise that helps you focus on each side of your body.
- Set the Smith machine bar to a height so that the bar is at your hip level at the starting position.
- Get on all fours on the floor while facing away from the Smith machine. Place your foot under the bar and slowly kick it up as high as possible while contracting your glutes.
- Slowly lower your leg back until your upper leg is parallel to the floor.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps before switching sides.
Check out our complete guide on the Smith machine glute kickback!
5. Barbell Side Lunge
It is an incredibly effective exercise to add width to your glutes. This is how to perform it correctly:
- Stand upright with a shoulder-width stance with a barbell resting across your traps.
- Step laterally with your trail leg extended and descend until the thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Drive through the weight-bearing leg and extend the knee as you push back to the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Alternate between sides for the desired number of repetitions.
Check out our complete guide on Barbell Side Lunge!
6. Goblet Squat
The goblet squat is a great exercise for building your posterior muscles as it allows you to achieve depth while maintaining an upright torso.
- Stand upright with a shoulder-wide stance.
- Position a dumbbell at chest height with one hand under each edge of the top plate of the dumbbell.
- Slowly lower your body towards the floor by bending at your knees and pushing the hips back.
- Go as low as you comfortably can.
- Explode back to the starting position by driving through your heels.
- Pause and contract your glutes at the top.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Check out our complete guide on goblet squat!
Glute Workout for Building Wide Hips
If your goal is to add muscle mass to your glutes, your best bet would be to achieve muscular hypertrophy by staying in the 8 to 12-rep range. Here is a sample glute workout for building width and thickness:
- Barbell squat: 4 x 8-12
- Hip thrust: 4 x 8-12
- Glute bridge: 4 x 8-12
- Smith machine glute kickback: 4 x 8-12
- Barbell side lunge: 4 x 8-12
- Goblet squat: 4 x 8-12
Related: The 11 Best Set/Rep Schemes for Hypertrophy
Diet for Building Wide Hips
There is no magic diet for adding size to your hips. Your diet will depend on your current weight and your goal physique. If you have genetically wide hips but struggle with a high WHR, you will need to be on a calorie deficit, meaning you will have to expend more calories in a day than you consume.
On the other hand, if you weren’t blessed with Kardashian genes and have a slim structure, you will need to ramp up your calorie intake.
Experts believe you need to consume 250 to 500 calories more than you already consume in a day, meaning 1,500 to 3,500 calories a week if you want to add weight at a safe rate — between 0.5 to 1 pound every week.
Similarly, you should reduce 250 to 500 calories a day from your diet if you want to shed excess body fat.
Related: How to Lose 20 Pounds in a Month
Recovery
After you have an effective diet and training program in place, you should ensure you are giving your body enough time to rest and recover between workouts.
Remember, you are breaking down muscle mass while training in the gym. Your muscles grow back bigger and stronger while you’re asleep. Make sure you are getting at least seven hours of sleep every night for optimal recovery.
Related: 8 Ways to Speed Up Recovery After Training
Wrapping Up
If you want wide hips, you should aim for a hip-to-waist ratio of 0.70 or 0.75 and lower. You could achieve your goal figure by adding muscle mass by performing the exercises mentioned above and following an effective diet and recovery program.
On the other hand, if you are limited by your genetics, you could improve your lower body aesthetics by shedding excess belly fat and improving your waist-to-hip ratio.
References
- Bovet J, Raymond M (2015) Preferred Women’s Waist-to-Hip Ratio Variation over the Last 2,500 Years. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0123284. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123284
- Singh D. Female mate value at a glance: relationship of waist-to-hip ratio to health, fecundity and attractiveness. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002 Dec;23 Suppl 4:81-91. PMID: 12496738.
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