Achieving visible results from your workout and diet requires patience, as hard work takes time to pay off. An essential part of this process is regularly monitoring your body to track the gradual changes, which can serve as motivation to keep pushing forward and also can indicate your health status. In this article, we’ll guide you step-by-step on how to measure hips! Keep reading for workout tips that could transform the way you view your body.
How Can Measuring the Body Help You?
Tracking visible progress is crucial for understanding whether your workout is delivering the results you want. If your goal is to build muscle, regularly measuring different body parts can help you assess whether your exercises are effective enough to stimulate muscle growth. If progress slows down, it may indicate the need for progressive overload in your routine.
If weight loss is your goal, tracking body measurements at regular intervals is a great way to see if your diet and fat-burning exercises are working. A simple measuring tape can help you determine if your waist size is shrinking or your arms are slimming.
Additionally, seeing tangible progress can boost your motivation to continue working toward your transformation. By maintaining healthy eating habits, tracking your workout progress, and measuring body changes, you’ll develop a disciplined mindset that fosters lasting healthy habits.
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Why Should You Measure Your Hips?
According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1 in 3 adults in the US are overweight. Out of the many contributing factors and indicators of weight gain, the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is an important one. It gives you a measure of how much internal fat is present around your waist in comparison to your hips and is derived from dividing waist measurement by your hip measurement (also calculated as waist and hip circumference). A high WHR indicates a higher risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke, cholesterol, etc [1].
When it comes to monitoring workout progress, so many lower-body workouts require hip mobility and the use of hip flexors. This includes running, dancing, cardio, glute workouts, leg workouts, and so much more. Depending on the type of exercises that you do and your body’s physical status, you’ll notice a toned region with narrower hips or greater muscle growth. If you’re looking to work on exercises for an hourglass figure, a slim waist and wide hips are the aesthetic to go for. So, measuring your hips is a great way to track progress!
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How To Measure Hips?
Check out the following tips and steps on how you can accurately get your hip measurements.
- Understand the difference between your waist (the narrowest part of your torso) and hips (wider, located below the waist).
- The rib cage is located above the waist, so ensure you measure below it to focus on the hips. It is recommended to measure 6 to 8 inches down from the natural waist.
- Use a full-length mirror to ensure the tape is level and not twisted.
- Stand with feet together and relaxed.
- Use a soft, flexible measuring tape loosely for comfort. A cloth tape measure is recommended.
- Wrap the tape around the widest part of your hips and buttocks, keeping it parallel to the ground to measure hip width.
- Take a deep breath in, then exhale and take the exact measurements.
- Adjust the tape slightly if needed to find the widest point for an accurate measurement.
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Conclusion
We hope that this article has given you all the information you need to go about taking those hip measurements, along with taking other body measurements that can come in handy. For more workout tips and exercises for the hip area and waist, check out the JustFit app!
For more workout tips:
Upper Body Workout for Women With Broad Shoulders: A Slim and Reduce Guide
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How do I measure my hip size?
What size is a 37-inch hip width?
Where to measure hips with hip dips?
Elsayed, E. F., Tighiouart, H., Weiner, D. E., Griffith, J., Salem, D., Levey, A. S., & Sarnak, M. J. (2008). Waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index as risk factors for cardiovascular events in CKD. American journal of kidney diseases: the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation, 52(1), 49–57. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2008.04.002 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Overweight & Obesity Statistics - Niddk. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Available at: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity#:~:text=the%20above%20table-,Nearly%201%20in%203%20adults%20(30.7%25)%20are%20overweight.,9.2%25)%20have%20severe%20obesity.
