Hip-Enhancing Exercises
The main muscles of the hips are the gluteus maximus, minimus, medius and the tensor fascia latae. These are the muscles that we will primarily want to work.
I want to say that you do not want to neglect on the big and main exercises, like the squat, lunge, etc. These types of exercises are what target the most muscle groups at a time. And these will be the best for toning, sculpting, and popping your overall lower body curves (hips, thighs, butt).
But I will go over those workouts in the up-coming lessons. For now now I will be going over some great hip building exercises below that you can specifically preform for widening the hips and activating the glutes.
1) Side Lying Hip Abduction
Since we are focused on growth, we want to do the exercise relaxing a dumbbell on the leg we will be lifting into the air. You should do each rep with your leg and hips lower than in this video, as to avoid over- stretching and injury when weight is applied.
2) Standing Side Abduction
This is same as a side lying hip abduction, except its from a standing position. Simply hold onto a wall and grab a dumbbell. Allow the dumbbell to relax against your outer thigh and raise that leg. Keep your back straight, and upright while doing this. As you cans see by the picture this can also be done via a resistance band for making your hips wider.
You can purchase a Stretch Resistance Band here
3) Sumo Walk for Hips
Recommend doing these at the ankle level, or whatever you prefer. Be sure to keep an ever so slight bend in the knees throughout the entire exercise to reduce unneeded strain and recruit more glute activation.
4) Side Lunge
When the sumo walk start to get too easy, there is an alternative way to perform these to avoid less stress on the knees while using a weighted barbell. Another great option for your making your hips look wider.
