How To Get An Hourglass Figure
When talking about an hourglass figure, we think about; Beyonce, Scarlette Johanson and Marilyn Monroe.
It is the most desired female physique.
It's classic Hollywood, the body on the front cover of magazines.
It oozes sexuality and femininity.
And for many women, it feels like the hourglass physique is reserved only for celebrities and movie stars.
Well, I'm here to tell you that's bullshit.
Anyone can build an hourglass shape with the proper training and diet.
But, yes, the end result's extremity depends on genetic factors like pelvic shape, limb lengths and fat distribution.
Don't let that stop you!
What Is An Hourglass Figure?
It's simple.
An hourglass figure is characterised by wide hips and shoulders and a smaller, defined waist.
Think of a classic Coca-Cola bottle.
Those curvier hips are, of course, characterised by big curvey glutes.
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How To Build An Hourglass Figure?
Now you know what an hourglass shape is, how can you develop one?
There are three target areas to work on for an hourglass figure:
1. Glutes.
2. Upper Body (back and shoulders).
3. Waist (core muscles and body fat levels).
Depending on your natural shape, you may need to work on one or more of these areas.
How To Grow Your Glutes For An Hourglass Figure.
Let's start with a hefty dose of reality and setting expectations.
This is not an 8-week project.
You won't get that hourglass shape doing Chloe Ting YouTube workouts and 6-week shreds from your favourite Tittok influencer.
This goal will likely take months and years of hard work.
Exercise Selection For Bigger Glutes.
When we talk about building big glutes, we focus on the glute max muscle. A well-developed glute max gives your bum the size, shape and killer side profile.
Nothing will ever beat these exercises for your glute max and glute growth:
Romanian Deadlifts & Good Mornings
Bulgarian Split Squats & Split Squats
Deadlifts (all)
To put together a great leg and glute workout, I would pick 4-5 of these exercises (or a variation of one) and do them 2-3x a week.
Simply focus on getting stronger on these 3-5 exercises, and you'll see glute growth.
We also need to build the Glute Medius.
This muscle helps build the coveted booty shelf, giving shape to the upper bum region.
To target the glute med, we want to add in some of the following exercises (there are, of course, many, many, many more):
Take 1-2 of these exercises and put them at the end of your workouts.
These are like the icing on the cake; they provide some shape, lift and refining but will build the mass differently than the compound exercises.
I have a dozen articles on glute development.
I suggest you check a few out for a more detailed picture of how to get your bum as big as possible.
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How To Grow Your Upper Body For An Hourglass Figure.
Now things get real.
The upper body is the area most women neglect or ignore entirely for fear of looking bulky and manly.
Big mistake, ladies.
You can not ignore your upper body if you want an hourglass figure.
A well-developed back and shoulders are just as important as big glutes.
They will develop the width and shape of the upper body and, importantly, make your waist look smaller.
Once again, I have the perfect article for developing your upper body to get that hourglass shape.
Go read it here: How To Shrink Your Waist Without Dieting.
How To Train Your Abs For An Hourglass Figure.
Having a small waist is the name of the game.
That comes down to two things:
A tight, strong core that's not overly muscular/thick.
Lower body fat levels.
Once more, with the reality check!
Training your abs doesn't make your stomach fat disappear.
We can't spot reduce fat!
That's all down to your diet.
People love over-complicating core training and making sexy 8-minute ab videos for YouTube.
In reality, we need to keep it simple.
The core is made up of several muscle groups, but the four key muscle groups we'll focus on here are:
The Transverse Abdominus (think of it like a belt around your waist).
The Rectus Abdominus (the Six-Pack/Upper/Middle/Lower abs).
The Internal Obliques.
The External Obliques.
We want to focus on movements that hit these muscle groups, ideally with body weight only.
Check out a few of my clients who are developing amazing hourglass figures:
Why?
Because, in this instance, we want to avoid developing any extra muscle size or thickness.
We want the waist to be small, so we don't want to use weights and risk building them up (as much as this goes against every fibre of my being!).
Great options are:
Stomach vacuums
Plank variations
Side Plank variations
Ab Bicycles
Russian Twists
Deadbugs
Pallof Presses
Leg Raise variations
Pick 2-3 core exercises and work them into your lower and upper body workouts as either a superset or at the end of training.
Train core 2-5 times weekly or as much as you need to see and feel results.
They can handle a surprising amount of work.
We've covered growing your glutes, back, and shoulders and tightening your core muscles.
Now we have to talk about diet.
This is the tricky part.
It's also the most crucial part.
Without a good diet, you'll never build any muscle or lose any fat.
Luckily for you, I've already covered everything you need to know about building muscle in this article:
👉 How To Eat To Build Your Glutes.
Once you've built all the curves you want to get that hourglass shape, we must diet down and trim the waist.
And would you believe it, I have an article for that too!
You can read it here:
👉 How To Calculate Your Macros For Fat Loss.
OR I’ve got a brilliant and handy CALORIE CALCULATOR on my Instagram Bio that will give you custom calorie targets, advice on macro splits and advice on building muscle, check it out.
You've got a lot of reading to do!
But if you take it all in, you'll have a much greater understanding of how to get that hourglass figure than ANY YouTube workout will EVER give you.
Your Game Plan.
Begin with a calorie surplus and a high-protein diet.
Next, focus on developing your glutes, back and shoulders.
Train your core regularly with mainly bodyweight exercises.
Grow until you are happy with your shape and curves.
Then go into a calorie deficit and focus on fat loss to reveal all that sexy new muscle and tighten your waistline.
Easier said than done.
If you've enjoyed this article and the others and learned a lot, imagine what it would be like working with me as your coach!
Looking to get incredible, life-changing results?
Want to get those glutes popping?
Want to be the strongest, most capable you ever?
Do you want to finally STOP wasting your time, effort and money on influencers, programs and coaches that suck?
Just hit the link below, get in touch, and we can discuss your goals and coaching in detail.
And Check out of a few of my clients below, who’ve gone from Mini to Mighty
I’m Aaron Schiavone, owner of Mind Muscle Personal Training. Over the past 7+ years I have helped women increase their self confidence, improve their relationship with food, improve their health, become stronger, fitter and happier..