Working out is always a perk of helping you feel confident in your own skin. It isn’t about the weight, it’s about feeling healthier and seeing yourself grow into who you want to be. An hourglass figure seems to be the “ideal figure” currently and here’s why. An hourglass figure seems to show all the right assets, a small waist with a plump booty and thick thighs.
When creating an hourglass figure focusing on the abs may seem the way to go, but when strengthening a variety of muscles you may find quicker results. Focusing on eating healthy nutritional foods also plays a huge role in creating a body you want and strive for, but here are a few workouts that will help create that hourglass figure everyone seems to be talking about.
This exercise focuses on the upper body strength and targets the upper back. By focusing on the upper body then it makes the appearance of a smaller waist because you are growing your back and shoulders. The lat pull down exercise can be done in the gym using a variety of equipment. Most gyms will offer a lat pull down machine where it will allow you to change the weight around until you find a weight comfortable using. The lat pull down cable gives you more of a chance to make the workout your own. Since it is just using the cables you can chose which grip cable you want to use, as well as adjusting the weight to your preference.
Squats are a great workout focusing on your lower body strength. They help target the booty, which means growing those muscles and creating the appearance of a smaller waist once again. Strengthening your lower body has so many health benefits that it makes doing squats rewarding to do. If you’re new to working out, start with simple bodyweight squats and perfect your form. Then you can slowly add on weight and resistance to start seeing gains.
Hip thrusts are such an important exercise for seeing results in the hamstrings and glutes. Hip thrusts are explosive and help so much in the sculpting of your lower body. Similar to squats, you can start with just bodyweight motions and slowly add the weight and resistance as you feel comfortable. Make sure to perfect the form before adding on any weight, the same goes for any exercise so you avoid injuries.
Lateral arm raises may not be the most exciting workout, but it definitely has benefits. When doing lateral arm raises make sure to only raise them to shoulder level, to avoid excessive forces in the shoulder joint. This workout will shape your shoulders giving them a more broad look and then helping make the waist look smaller. Make sure you are adding a weight that adds resistance so you are getting the most out of your workout!
This workout focuses on your upper body strength, but focuses on the chest and shoulders. There are many variations to this exercise which makes it great to fitting it to your abilities. You can do the dumbbell bench press while lying flat on the bench or slightly elevated. You can also workout one arm at a time, or both. It’s completely up to you!
Finally a workout that is focused on the abs! Ab exercises are great to strengthen your core. Even if an exercise doesn’t seem to be working out your core, it most likely is because your core helps create stability when doing other workouts. This exercise also helps increase rotational strength in your core and abdominals. You can do this exercise with just your body weight, or add a light weight to make the workout more challenging. Make sure to go slow and focus on your abs while doing this exercise!
For this workout, you’ll need to use a cable station. You can use a rope for this workout and adjust the cable so it is leveled with your face. This exercise increases strength in your shoulders, but also in the forearms. Do not lean forward for this exercise and only take on as much weight as you can handle without sacrificing your form. It is important to take your time and focus on the muscles you are using.
Curtsey lunges may seem weird to do at first, but they are a great workout for targeting your lower body. Although, this is a lunge variation, it targets your inner thighs muscles along with the glutes. Its also great to help with posture and stabilizing your hips. Make sure to go slow because you will need your balance for this exercise. Start with just your body weight and add dumbbells if you feel comfortable enough. You’ll create a healthy, strong body in no time!
Hip adductions are a great workout because we use this motion everyday, getting out of the car, moving side to side and even getting out of bed. There are many variations to this exercise also which means if you get bored of one way of doing it then you can try another. This muscle is often forgotten about, which makes it important to workout especially since it contributes our ability to stand, walk and just rotate our legs. You can use the hip adduction machine, cables or even just your body weight and resistance bands to complete this exercise!
The bent over row is a great workout because it targets the back and bicep muscles. The shoulders are the secondary muscle that gets worked out, so you get an overall upper body workout. This workout increases endurance and stability. Bent over rows also engage your core and leg muscles. This is a great workout to achieve that hourglass look.
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