How to Get an Hourglass Figure

Mainstream media praises the hourglass figure and I must admit, it had cultivated a tiny obsession. While everyone should still embrace his or her natural body shape, it is ok to healthily improve the body shape that you do have to get the desired look. The hourglass frame has curves in the right places, making exercises that target your waist and build at your hips the best exercises. But you also want to tone your abdominals, build your butt and build/tone your thighs. This way, you build out curves that you already have and accentuate the parts of your body that align with that hourglass body type.

If you are after an hourglass figure, the best kind of workout you can do is HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training, or bodyweight exercises in general. This way you can slim down where you want to and build muscle where you want to.

To do this, it is especially helpful to follow programs created by trainers, like the ones you can find on fitness apps. There are many available, one of the best ones is the 30 Days Fitness Challenge that has an array of focused routines, how-to’s for exercises, and the ability to track your progress. 

Here are some of the best exercises to work on to get closer to the hourglass body type.

Side plank lift – Side plank lifts are easily one of the best oblique exercises. Focus on keeping the line straight from your shoulders, hips, and ankles and really engaging your abdominals. Your hips should be going up and down rather than any back and forth movement.

Lunges – Lunges work your butt, hamstrings and quads. Start out by doing free lunges (without weights) and then slowly adding weights in. This will help to really build and tone.

Squats – Squats are one of the most popular exercises, as they really are effective. As with lunges, you can mix up how you squat depending on your goals. For example, you can add in weights, add in an exercise ball, hold and pulse to really activate your quads, and more. The most important thing with squats is to have proper form to not only make sure you get the most of your exercise, but also to avoid injury.

Push ups – Push ups activate your abdominals and help to tone your upper body. While you focus on building your lower body and toning your midsection, you want to also pay attention to your upper body. Whether you choose to tone or build here is up to you, but you want the strength in your lower body to compliment that in your upper body.

The most important thing to remember while working towards an hourglass figure is that you can enhance what you have by focusing on certain areas of your body, but ultimately you want to work with what you have and stay true to that. Your body may be best supported or you may feel your best with your body type by building out other areas on your body, so stay open-minded as you work on your training.

What are some of your favorite exercises? Let me know below!