The Best Hourglass Figure Workout Plan

What Is An Hourglass Figure | How To Achieve | Frequency Of Workouts | Cardio | HIIT | Strength | Hourglass Figure Workout Routine | FAQs

Hourglass figures have long been thought of as desirable, with Marilyn Monroe perhaps the most well-known example of this body shape being seen as highly attractive.

Assistant Manager And Personal Trainer At PureGym Craigavon, Anna Hamilton, shares everything you need to know about achieving an hourglass figure, including a full body workout plan for an hourglass figure.

An hourglass body shape has a narrow waist, with a wide bust and hips that are similar in size to each other. These proportions are similar to the shape of an hourglass timer, which is where the name comes from.

While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to enhance your appearance, it’s important to remember that no body shape is inherently more attractive or healthier than others.

For some people, achieving a true hourglass figure will be extremely difficult. Because an hourglass figure is characterised by proportions rather than body fat alone it depends on multiple genetic factors, such as bone structure and where your body naturally stores fat.

If you have a wide rib cage or tend to store fat around the abdomen rather than the hips and legs, achieving a true hourglass figure may not be possible without dedicating all your time and energy to it.

However, regardless of your naturally body shape, it is possible to achieve more hourglass shape proportions through diet and exercise by:

People with an hourglass figure have a small, defined waist. If you have fat in this area, losing weight can help with reducing the size of your waist to create a leaner, more defined midsection.

Fat loss should be predominantly achieved through a dietary calorie deficit, but cardio can help by increasing your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Getting more non exercise specific daily movement (known as NEAT) can also help with weight loss too.

Building muscle mass in the shoulders, back, hips, and thighs, can help to create an hourglass figure silhouette by increasing the proportions of your upper and lower body in comparison to your waist.

If your goal is to create an hourglass figure, these areas should be your focus. However, it is important not to neglect other muscle groups such as the chest and hamstrings as this can create muscle imbalances and increase risk of injury and poor posture.

To achieve hourglass body proportions through workouts, aim for three moderate intensity cardio workouts a week, and at least three strength training workouts a week, while making sure to factor in at least one rest day a week. This will ensure you are regularly burning calories while challenging the muscles enough to stimulate muscle growth.

In addition to your workouts, aim to get plenty of low intensity exercise like walking each day, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

The main purpose of cardio in any hourglass workout routine is to burn calories to assist with overall fat loss, as it is not possible to lose fat from a specific area through cardio (or diet). Aim for three lots of 30 minute cardio workouts a week, staying in zone 2 heart rate (60-70% of your max heart rate) as this is great for burning fat.

Finding a type of cardio exercise that you enjoy and can stick to three times a week is going to be most beneficial, as consistency is key when it comes to weight loss, but some of the best exercises to try include:

• Brisk incline treadmill walking: Walking on an incline is more challenging than walking flat as you are moving against gravity. This increases muscle activation and gets the cardiovascular system working harder, meaning more calories burned. Find incline treadmill walking workouts to try here.

• StairMaster: Like incline walking, walking on the StairMaster involves fighting against gravity with each step. The StairMaster has an added benefit of glute engagement, which is one of the key muscles you want to work in an hourglass figure workout.

High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a format of training that alternates bursts of all out effort exercise with periods of rest or low intensity exercise. These workouts typically take around 15-20 minutes and are great for burning calories in a short amount of time, as well as burning calories for up to 24 hours after the workout has finished. They can also be done without any gym kit, great if you need a cardio workout you can do at home.

Try adding a 10 minute HIIT workout onto the end of your workouts or swapping one of your cardio workouts for a HIIT workout each week. Check out some of our HIIT workouts for fat loss here.

Building muscle in the right places is a key part of creating an hourglass shape. It's not just what exercises you do, but how you do them. For each exercise, aim for 1-2 sets of 6-10 reps at a heavier weight, and 1-2 sets of 10-15 reps at a lighter weight, aiming to get close to failure in each set. Each week, aim to increase either the weight or rep to progressive overload the muscles and continually challenge them to build muscle.

Some of the best exercises to include in your hourglass shape workout are:

Shoulders:

• Dumbbell shoulder press

• Chest supported dumbbell lat raises

• Incline smith machine shoulder press

Back

• Dumbbell chest supported row

• Single arm row machine

• Single arm cable pulldown

Glutes

• Barbell hip thrusts

• Hyperextensions

• Glute kickbacks

• Romanian deadlifts

Quads

• Heel elevated goblet squats

• Leg extensions

• Close stance Bulgarian split squats

• 3-5 minutes moderate cardio

• Leg swings - 30 secs per leg

• Arm swings - 30 secs per arm

• Walking lunges - 30 seconds

Romanian deadlifts

• 2 x 6-8 reps

• 1 x 10-12 reps

Barbell hip thrusts

• 3 x 10-12 reps

Dumbbell chest supported row

• 2 x 8-10 reps

• 1 x 12-15 reps

Dumbbell shoulder press

• 1 x 6-8 reps

• 2 x 8-10 reps

Chest supported lat raises

• 2 x 8-10 reps

• 1 x 10-15 reps

Hyperextensions

• 3 x 15-20 reps

• 30 seconds stretching per muscle: shoulders, lats, glutes, quads

Ready to workout? Find your nearest gym here.