How to Get Wider Hips: 7 Best Hip-Shaping Moves

Is it possible to counteract your hip genetics through exercise?

If you’re looking to take slim hips to a dramatic va va voom figure and get more of a slim thick body type, these workouts can help you strengthen your hips and build your glutes for a more shapely physique.

Hourglass Figure

Although body trends come and go, the hourglass figure seems to be here to stay. Among female body types, hourglass shapes are some of the most popular body goals that women strive to achieve.

This body has wider hips and a slim, tapered waist. On top, true hourglasses have fuller bosoms and widget shoulders to balance out their bottom curves.

Another body type with wider hips is the pear shape.

These women aren’t as built in the upper body area as women with hourglass curves. That being said, pear shapes share the curvy lower half look.

With round butts, wide hips, and thick thighs, pear shapes are also a popular look for women to try and achieve.

Hip Genetics

Genetically, what you get is what you’re born with. Hip width is mostly determined by genes.

The size, width, shape and positions of your pelvis have to do mostly with your genetic inheritance.

These will determine how your hips sit in your body and perform when it comes to athletics and functional movement.

Take a look and see how genetic factors can impact your hip shape.

Gender and Hip Width

At an evolutionary level, wider hips are one of the most attractive features a woman can have.

Consistently, men tend to report a preference for women with a lower waist-to-hip ratio. This means a smaller waist in proportion to wider hips.

There are a few scientific theories as to why scientists think this preference exists, including factors like signalling reproductive age (a woman with wider hips may be more fertile).

Wide hips are a sign of sexual dimorphism too, that differentiates biological males from biological females.

Generally, pelvic differentiation between males and females occurs somewhere around puberty. However, some scientists have claimed that a subtle degree of dimorphism can happen while you are still a fetus.

Regardless, on average, women’s hips and pelvises are wider compared to men’s.

Ethnicity

Evidence indicates some disparities between people of different ethnicities in terms of hip or pelvic size.

Most of this has to do with aesthetic beauty standards that are specific to different cultures. If wider hips are the sign of beauty within a given culture, people tend to select more wide-hipped partners to pass these desirable genes on.

How to Get Wider Hips as a Guy?

Increasingly, men are working towards getting bigger butt just like women.

Many athletes, like football and hockey players have body types with thicker quads, and larger glutes. This type of body shape may come along with wider hips as well.

Athletes in these sports often do a lot of their work squatting down to run, jump, skate, and more. This leads to increased muscle gain in the legs.

More muscles in this area can lead to your hips looking wider.

Although gender stereotypes in the gym still exist, wider hips for men can be very masculine, if this is a look that you want to achieve.

Think about it: athletes are highly masculine and can be role models or body goals for many young men.

Wide hips or a bigger bum can look very aesthetic on male bodies too. Especially when paired with a broad chest, wide clavicles, strong shoulders and a V-line on the abs, broad hips can give you a highly balanced body as a man.

Let’s explore a few workouts you can do for wider hips. These workouts can be great if you’re looking to get wider hips as a man but are also great for people of any gender.

How Long Does it Take to Get Wider Hips?

If hip growth is your goal, you may be wondering how to get wider hips overnight.

Unfortunately, muscle growth takes time. Although you won’t see results instantly, we recommend adding a few of the exercises that we’ll detail below to your routine at least 2x to 3x per week.

If you train for hypertrophy, aka muscle growth, true beginners can sometimes see growth in a few weeks. If you’re a more experienced weightlifter, you may take a few months to see improvements in your hip width or muscle structure.

That being said, how quickly you put on muscle depends on your genes and lifestyle factors. Make sure you’re resting, eating, and hydrating properly and you may see wider-looking hips sooner.

Exercises for Wider Hips

To get the look of wider hips, there are a few things you need to do.

Workout-wise, you’ll need to work on isolating the sides of the glutes and hips. This mostly means building up your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles.

Let’s look at a few moves you can use to round out your hips.

Bodyweight Squats

It’s the “king of exercises” for a reason! Squats are fantastic for forming thick hips, a round butt and toned thighs.

This move works most of the major lower body muscles. It also relies on serious stabilization to keep you up. Engaging your muscles to keep you stable can create a strong waist and toned core.

Working these muscles will help your hips look even better in contrast.

To do a squat:

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Lower your body by bending your knees and pushing your hips back as if you are sitting in a chair.
• Keep your chest up, and make sure your knees don't go beyond your toes.
• Stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top.
• Repeat for 12-15 reps.

Pro-Tip: If you want to kick things up a notch, add a heavy barbell for a barbell back squat. You can also do squats with resistance bands if you prefer. This will help activate your butt and the sides of your hips. Make sure you work up to these moves gradually so your hips don’t hurt when you squat.

When you’re adding a new type of squat to your toolkit, It can be helpful to work with someone who knows how to spot a squat.

Glute Bridges

Glute bridges are a great way to activate your glutes. They get your hips moving and feel all the muscles in your back body and posterior chain hard at work.

Targeted posterior chain exercises (moves that target your back body) may be one of the best ways to help alleviate back pain when practiced correctly.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Lift your hips towards the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top.
• Hold for a moment and then lower your hips back down.
• Repeat for 15 reps.

Hip Thrusts

Like their cousins, glute bridges, hip thrusts get your hips high in the air and work your back body.

In this variation, you add a weight bench to support your back in the move for a better range of motion. This puts the front of your hips into deeper hip flexion.

• Find a flat weight bench and load a barbell with a heavy weight.
• Lean your back up against your weight bench. The bench should hit you at around your mid to upper back.
• Place the barbell over top of your hips, resting it on your pelvis near your hip bones. Use a mat or pad if this is painful for you.
• Bend your knees and plant both feet firmly on the floor.
• Your toes can point slightly outward. Make sure your knees are a comfortable enough distance away from you so that at the top of the move, your thighs will be parallel to the floor.
• Drive through your feet. Squeeze and engage your glutes and core and lift your hips towards the ceiling. Once your thighs line up with your torso, you’re at the proper angle.
• Slowly lower your hips back toward the floor, being careful to keep your leg muscles turned on and your core fully engaged as you lower. Continue for reps.
• For beginners, we recommend three to four sets of 8 to 10 reps.

Lunges

• Stand with feet together.
• Take a step forward with your right foot, lowering your body until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.
• Push off your right foot to return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other leg.
• Continue alternating legs for 12-15 reps on each leg.

Donkey Kicks

• Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position.
• Lift your right leg, keeping the knee bent at 90 degrees, and kick it towards the ceiling.
• Lower it back down without touching the floor and repeat.
• Perform 15 reps on each leg.

Russian Twist

The Russian twist is one of the simplest moves you can do to build stronger obliques. These muscles located along the sides of your body are your waist muscles.

Russian twists won’t necessarily help you slim down (you need to lose fat to do this!) but, they can give you the illusion of a smaller waist and tighter core by strengthening your obliques.

A small waist on top of a big booty can give you the look of wider hips.

Let's walk through how to do a Russian twist.

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent. Keep your feet flat on the ground.
• Lean back slightly and keep your back straight, bracing your abs as you move. Your body should form a V-shape with your torso and thighs.
• Clasp your hands together in front of you. Lift your feet to, balance on your “sit bones” (the back part of your pelvis that you would sit on).
• Twist your body to one side, bringing your hands down towards the floor near your hip.
• Keep your abs activated as you move.
• Return to the center, then twist to the other side.
• Keep going, alternating from side to side.
• Continue this movement for 10 reps (one complete rep = a twist to each side).
• Aim for 3-4 sets of 10 reps as a beginner.

Banded Hip Abduction

Hip adduction is one of the best ways to grow your side glutes. You can do this move standing, sitting down, lying on your side, or a hip abduction leg workout machine.

For a seated hip abduction variation:

• Sit on a weight bench or box.
• Wrap a resistance band around your mid-thighs.
• Hold the sides of your weight bench for stability
• Plant your feet comfortably on the ground.
• Push your knees outward to send your hips away from your midline.
• Working against the tension of the band, bring your knees back to the starting position with control.
• The band should not be snapping or jerking your knees together.
• Repeat for as many reps as needed. We recommend 3 sets of 10 reps.

The Takeaway

If you’re slim, you may not have a dramatic hip shape.

This is due to many factors: gender, genes and lifestyle mostly. That being said, if you’re looking to build curves around the hips to give more structure to your frame, there are several exercises you can work on.

Lots of strength training and physical activity to work your glute muscles is a great way to improve the look of your hips.

Moves that build up your gluteus minimus and gluteus medius are a great way to improve the looks of your hips.

These muscles sit in your upper and side glute areas. Strengthening them can contribute to building shapelier hips.

You can also work out your waist for a more tapered look. The obliques are a key muscle group to hit if you want better-looking hips. Exercises like the Russian twist are a great way to strengthen your waist and enhance shapely hips.

Remember to refuel your body with plenty of lean protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats if you’re looking to work out for wider hips.

Diet

A diet rich in nutrients can help you work toward your goals faster. Get your protein in. If you think you may not be hitting your protein requirements, you may want to investigate protein powder supplements.

Keeping a healthy body weight and body mass index (BMI) may also be good ways to get better looking glutes. Maintaining lower body fat is a great way to avoid health risks like heart disease.

Your bone structure plays a role in hip shape too, so don't dispair if you don't see immediate improvement.

Before choosing a powder, check out how they make your protein powder. Be sure to choose a powder with ingredients that will agree with your body and benefit your fitness goals.

Make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep after you work out. Resting to repair your muscles, as well as recovery techniques like muscle scraping can all help benefit your muscle growth.

Taking care of your muscles in your off time from the gym allows them to repair, refresh and grow.

References:

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Handa, V. L., Lockhart, M. E., Fielding, J. R., Bradley, C. S., Brubaker, L., Cundiff, G. W., Ye, W., Richter, H. E., & Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (2008). Racial differences in pelvic anatomy by magnetic resonance imaging. Obstetrics and gynecology, 111(4), 914–920. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0b013e318169ce03

Krzysztofik, M., Wilk, M., Wojdała, G., & Gołaś, A. (2019). Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(24), 4897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244897

Tataryn, N., Simas, V., Catterall, T., Furness, J., & Keogh, J. W. L. (2021). Posterior-Chain Resistance Training Compared to General Exercise and Walking Programmes for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain in the General Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine - open, 7(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-021-00306-w

Wang, S. C., Brede, C., Lange, D., Poster, C. S., Lange, A. W., Kohoyda-Inglis, C., Sochor, M. R., Ipaktchi, K., Rowe, S. A., Patel, S., & Garton, H. J. (2004). Gender differences in hip anatomy: possible implications for injury tolerance in frontal collisions. Annual proceedings. Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, 48, 287–301.

Yamazaki, W., & Tanino, Y. (2017). Gender differences in joint torque focused on hip internal and external rotation during a change in direction while walking. Journal of physical therapy science, 29(12), 2160–2164. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.29.216