Women’s Body Shapes – Changes Through Exercise

16

JULY, 2021

In short, there are 10 body shapes common to women: 

1.  Rectangle: hips, chest and shoulders are the same width

2. Triangle: hips wider than shoulders and chest

3. Spoon: hips are much wider than the shoulders and chest

4. Hourglass: hips and chest are wide with a narrow waist

5. Top Hourglass: chest is wider than hips, narrow waist

6. Bottom hourglass: hips are wider than chest, narrow waist

7. Inverted Triangle: shoulders and chest wider than the hips

8. Round: similar width for the chest and hips, full midsection

9. Diamond: wider hips than chest, fuller midsection

10. Athletic: muscular but not particularly curvy

Body shapes are given to us by genetics, but as with many things about our physical appearance, they are a factor of both nurture and nature. That means that our environment, that is, the food we choose to eat and the exercise we choose to do can significantly change our body shape!

The most common aspects that women want to change about their body shapes are achieving a slimmer waist and a bigger booty. Exercise can help you achieve both!

The waist is a product of fat percentage. Fat is commonly stored around the waist – this makes sense – if more was stored around the arms and legs how could we move properly!?

So what’s the best way to lose weight? The most up to date science suggests HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is the fastest way to burn calories. 

HIIT is a training methodology that incorporates both interval training and fitness circuits. The main thing to worry about is the rest to training ratio and the intensity of exercise. As the acronym suggests, the exercise should be high intensity (90-100% Max HR). 

These bouts of intense exercise should be interspersed with bouts of low intensity exercise or rest periods. This creates a lasting burn even after finishing training. 

The fastest way to grow muscle, especially in the legs and butt is heavy weights training. Heavy weights training for women should consist of compound movements such as heavy squats, deadlifts and lunges.

The most effective leg exercise for growing the butt is the squat – especially squats with wider stances!

Wider stances help engage the glutes and help grow the butt at the fastest rate. Make sure to challenge yourself.

Remember that muscles only grow when they are stressed. This means you always need to be working at your limit. 

A good guide is to try to sit in the 8-12 rep range at maximum exertion. If you can’t do 8 squats the weight is too heavy, if 12 squats is too easy then it’s time to increase the weight. 

If you need more help contact the top gym in Mandurah!