Building an hourglass figure is an art. It’s all about accentuating different features to create a certain shape. There are several methods to help achieve more of this body type.

Today I will be focusing on how to round out the thighs and hips to create a feminine look.

I worked hard in the gym for years, not realizing my habits were working against me. I was building a masculine physique and keeping my hips straighter.

Dont work harder, work smarter 🙂

Today, I’m going to cut the time in half for you, and share my favorite gym tips that have transformed my hips from straight, to accentuated and curvy.

Tip #1: Forget how you Look

I will emphasize many times through this article…listen to your body! That is key.

Oftentimes, we can obsess over how we’re performing a certain movement, or we have heard advice from trainers (especially men) saying that our form is off—maybe we need to squat deeper, lift our chest up, etc.

Dump those words in the trash. This advice can disconnect you from your body.

Feedback is helpful, however it should be taken with a grain of salt. Not all advice is universal because our anatomies are unique and different. Our bodies move and function differently.

Your body knows the answer.

When something feels off, that’s because it is. However when it feels right, do more of it.

How you are feeling is very important. Make sure that you are feeling a burn in the right areas. If not, slow down, lighten the load, and readjust.

Remember that the best form for your body comes naturally when your body is aligned with a movement that is suited to its unique shape.

Tip #2: Lighten the Load

A very common behavior that hinders hourglass hips is the overdevelopment of quad muscles, leading too a more masculine physique.

This can result from overloading the quads too quickly and not spending enough time or attention to developing the upper thigh/glute muscles.

Remember, you want these upper thigh muscles to be the dominant ones; the ones that are the first, and easiest muscles to contract. Think of them as the default muscles that feel the burn in a movement. These are the muscles you want to activate the most.

If you’re doing an exercise and feel your quads taking over, this is a sign to slow down.

Since the upper thigh muscles are higher up in the leg, this may require lowering the weight and widening your range of motion to access those areas.

If you’re quad-dominant like myself, it may take some time to re-train your muscles to default to the upper thighs and glutes, rather than the quads. It may mean starting over, and going light or using bodyweight again.

This extra attention to these areas however, is definitely worth it, and I promise, it gets easier and more natural to feel contraction in the right areas with consistency.

Don’t give up!

Knowing when it’s time to Progress

When it is time to level up, you will know. Your body will naturally feel ready to go heavier or want to do more reps- it should never feel forced.

Moving up should come from a place of feeling ready to advance in your body, not from assuming that it should because you’ve spent x amount using a certain weight.

Take as long as you need to develop the desired areas. There is no rush! There are people out there who train with bodyweight only, and have amazing physiques! Don’t rush into lifting heavier than necessary.

Get out of your head, and get into your body.

When you’re training in the gym, move in ways that work best for you. How you look is irrelevant.

This leads to the next tip:

Tip #3: Keep the tension in the right areas only

As mentioned above, how the movement feels is everything!

Every rep matters!

Each rep performed is conditioning your muscles to contract in specific areas. The more frequently tension is stressed in an area , the more that area develops, and that area becomes more dominant.

Prioritize the mobility and fluidity of a movement to maximize your ability to feel it in the right area.

Choose a weight that allows you to stretch deep into the areas you’re trying to reach, and feel tension in the right places.

In the case of building hips, these areas are the upper thighs, not the lower portions of the thighs. Working these areas comes more naturally with a mobile and fluid range of motion.

Circles and Shapes

Rather than a straight line for movements, mess around with the shape of your movements. This creates more fluidity in the motion and helps you to find your sweet spot 10x easier.

For example, if you’re doing fire hydrants or leg kicks, do them in a circular or ovular motion. This allows your muscles to explore the different angles that work best for your body.

Experiment with movements, and when you feel that sweet spot, hold the tension there!

Remember that the more the right areas are activated, the easier it becomes for those areas to contract by default (because they strengthen), and the more fluid your reps will become and hit the right areas!

Restarting

As soon as tension is lost from the sweet spot area you’re trying to work, let go, and start the rep over.

As mentioned above, the priority is to feel it in the right place.

Keep in mind that in the beginning, restarting will most likely have to be done more frequently.

The more repetition the muscles have contracting in this sweet spot, the more they will contract in this area by default. As these areas strengthen, it will naturally feel easier to perform more reps without having to restart.

Tip #4: Stop doing extra sets and reps

If you’re like me, maybe you like to go for extra sets after completion of the original ones to get in more burn and perfect the form.

If this is you, stop doing this. You may think it’s giving you a more intense workout, but here’s why I stopped:

This behavior teaches your body perfectionism, and perfectionism is exhausting. Truth is, there will always be room for improvement.

More sets and reps mean the expenditure of more energy: It’s better to compress more energy into fewer reps.

Here’s why- more energy used in fewer reps means higher-quality reps. Quality starts to lack the more tired you get. Take your rest. It’s important. Have limits and strucure.

Stick to the amount of reps you originally say you will do, and no more.

Here, you can for example, slow down the movements and really focus on feeling the burn in the right area, or you can increase the weight, knowing that there are fewer reps to fulfill.

Save your precious energy.

Tip #5: Stick to a program

Programs are excellent for providing structure and guidance for a balance of exercises that will accentuate your hourglass hips.

Usually, creators of programs put together their favorite movements that helped them achieve their hourglass physique. You’re cutting the learning curve in half, by testing out approaches that have worked best for other women.

Choose a workout program designed by someone who has your ideal body type, and tap into their approach. You’re testing methods that have already built hourglass physique, and avoiding exercises that might steer you otherwise.

I recommend trying several programs. The more you try, the more you increase your odds of finding what works best for your body type.

Eventually, you can choose the exercises and approaches that have worked best for your body type, and tailor your own approach for your unique body!

Tip #6: Back-to-Back Sets to Target One Area

One of the best ways to make a desired area burn fast and effectively is to perform all sets with minimal rest, and in one area.

For example, if you’re performing cable donkey kicks, this would look like performing 3 sets of 20 reps, keeping the cable on your left foot, and resting, say, 10 seconds in between sets. This would be done using a lightweight or even bodyweight.

This is a great opportunity to really focus on your range of motion and refine where you feel those beautiful sweet spots during exercises.

This is exactly what you want, to shape your muscles in the right areas.

Conclusion

Shaping your thighs and hips to look rounded is easier than it seems. In the gym, it comes down to putting as much tension into the right areas.

Your body knows best what these sweet spots are, which are generally the upper thigh and glute area.

All of the tips provided will help you to maximize tension in those sweet spots during your workouts so that you’ll develop the right muscles that create that hourglass physique.

Developing the right areas for an hourglass also means avoiding the wrong ones; be careful with movements or resistance that place too much strain in the lower thigh areas, as overdevelopment of these areas will create a more athletic and masculine physique.

Have fun experimenting with these tips and remember to always listen to your body’s intuition. Happy training!