How To Get Rid Of Hip Fat: 10 Exercise And Workout Options

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HealthlineSubscribeWant to Burn Hip Fat? Try These 10 Exercise Options

Medically reviewed by Micky Lal, MA, CSCS,RYT — Written by Sara Lindberg — Updated on February 21, 2025

Squats
Side lunges
Fire hydrants
Wall sits
Banded walk
Step-ups with weights
Side-lying leg raise
Jump squat
Stair climbing
HIIT
Other factors
Takeaway

When it comes to reducing hip fat, the right diet and exercise may make some difference. It’s difficult to reduce fat in one particular body area, though, so it can help to focus on reducing overall body fat.

Having less fat and stronger lower body muscles may give your hips a leaner, more sculpted appearance. Plus, having more muscle will help you burn calories at a faster pace, making it easier to manage your weight.

Once you start losing weight or if you’re already at a healthy weight for you, you can focus on exercises that can help tone the muscles in and around your hips and core.

Read on to learn more about the best ways to drop inches and tone your hip muscles.

1. Squats

Squats are an adaptable exercise that targets many of the muscles in your lower body. You can do squats with just your body weight.

Once you’ve mastered this exercise, you can make it more challenging by holding a dumbbell in each hand or a kettlebell with both hands while doing a squat.

To do a squat with good form:

Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart.
For bodyweight squats, you can put your arms out in front of you for balance.
Engage your core, keep your back straight and your spine tall, and lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Pause with your knees over, but not beyond, your toes.
Exhale and stand back up.
Perform 10 to 15 repetitions.

2. Side lunges

Also called a lateral lunge, the side lunge is a variation of a forward lunge. It focuses more on the outer thigh and hip area.

To do a side lunge:

Stand with your feet a little wider than hip-width apart. With your body tall, core engaged, and eyes facing forward, take a wide step to the right and squat down.
Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor.
Pause, then push off with your left foot and return to center.
Perform this move, alternating sides, 12 to 16 times.

3. Fire hydrants

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The fire hydrant exercise is a move that targets your glutes and hip area. It also uses your core muscles for stability. If you have issues with your knees, you may want to use a mat for this exercise.

To do it:

Get on your hands and knees, with your knees and feet hip-width apart and your palms on the floor.
Keep your gaze looking slightly ahead and down.
Engage your core, lift your right knee off the floor, and lift it out to the side and up. Your knee should stay bent the entire time.
Pause at the top, then lower your leg to the starting position.
Complete 10 repetitions with your right leg before repeating with your left.

4. Wall sits

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Wall sits, also known as wall squats, are great for working your thighs, hips, and lower abs. They can be a great move to build core strength, test your muscle endurance, and lose weight.

Here’s how to do it:

Stand up straight with your back pressed against a wall and your legs a few inches away from the wall.
Slide down the wall until you’re in a sitting position with your legs at a right angle and your hamstrings parallel to the floor.
Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds. As you build your strength and fitness, try to work up to 1 minute.
Rise back up to the starting position.
Repeat 3 times

5. Banded walk

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The banded walk exercise uses a resistance band to keep tension on your hips while you move laterally for a certain amount of paces. It’s a beneficial exercise for targeting your hips and strengthening your glutes.

Choose a wide exercise band with enough resistance to challenge your lower body, but one that’s light enough to complete 10 reps in each direction.

To do a banded walk:

Put the exercise band around your ankles, bend your knees slightly, and widen your stance.
Walk to the side without letting your feet touch.
Take 10 steps in that direction, then 10 steps back to your starting point.
Repeat 2 to 3 times.

6. Step-ups with weights

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Step-ups work the muscles in your glutes, hips, and thighs. They can also improve your balance and stability.

To do this exercise:

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart in front of a knee-height bench or step, with a dumbbell in each hand.
Step onto the bench with your right foot, and drive your left knee up while keeping the weights at your side.
Lower down your left leg, stepping backward off the bench.
Complete 10 to 15 reps, leading with your right leg, then switch and do the same number of reps leading with your left leg.
Do 2 to 3 sets on each side.

7. Side-lying leg raise

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The side-lying leg raise is an isolation exercise that strengthens and tones the hips. Correct form is critical for this exercise.

Here’s how to do it:

Lie on an exercise mat on your right side.
Slowly raise your top leg (left leg) as high as you can go. Keep your toes pointed forward.
Pause at the top, then lower your leg to the starting position. Make sure to keep your pelvis steady and your core engaged.
Repeat 10 times on each side.

8. Jump squat

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The squat jump is an advanced plyometric exercise that takes the basic squat and adds a jump for power training.

To do it:

Get in a basic squat position with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Keeping your weight on your heels, squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
From this position, jump upward forcefully and come back down.
Upon landing, lower yourself back down to the squatting position. Make sure to land softly, with the balls of your feet hitting the ground first, then transferring the weight back to your heels.
Repeat for 30 seconds or 10 to 12 repetitions.

9. Stair climbing

Stair climbing is an effective way to tighten and tone your glutes and hips, plus get an excellent cardiovascular workout all at the same time. If you have access to a set of bleachers, a multi-level parking garage, or a tall building, you can run or jog up and down the stairs.

Run or jog to the top of the stairs, then walk back down. Try to repeat for 5 minutes. You can also use a Stairmaster or StepMill machine at the gym for a stair-climbing workout.

10. High intensity interval training (HIIT)

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a type of cardio workout that requires you to do short bursts of intense exercises, followed by a short rest period.

You can burn a lot of calories quickly with HIIT, and research from 2023 suggests it’s an effective way to burn body fat.

One example of HIIT is to do 30 seconds of fast sprinting on the treadmill, followed by 15 seconds of walking on the treadmill. Or, you could do jump squats or burpees for 45 seconds, followed by a 15-second rest period. There are many variations and options when it comes to a HIIT workout.

A HIIT workout will typically range from 10 to 30 minutes in duration. Aim to do a HIIT workout at least twice per week.

Other ways to lose hip fat

Exercise is a great tool to help you build lean muscle mass and decrease body fat. It’s also one of the best ways to help keep weight off after losing it.

But if you’re looking to maximize your overall weight loss, it’s important to consider other lifestyle changes, too.

Eat a healthy diet

When it comes to losing weight and trimming down your hips, eating a healthy diet plays a key role. Try to follow an eating plan that focuses on whole foods across all food groups.

You can avoid foods and beverages with added sugars and keep an eye on your portion sizes. You may want to aim to consume fewer calories than you burn each day.

Get good quality sleep

Getting the right amount of sleep each night can help support your weight loss efforts. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night.

Keep stress in check

We all have stress in our lives, but research from 2018 shows that having too much stress can lead to health complications such as weight gain. That’s why keeping your stress in check is a critical part of a weight loss program.

If you deal with stress regularly, you may want to try stress-reduction activities like yoga, meditation, or deep-breathing exercises. Exercise can also help reduce stress levels. Consider talking with a doctor or therapist about ways to manage your stress.

Takeaway

While it’s not possible to spot-reduce fat on your hips, you can design a program that prioritizes fat loss with an emphasis on lower body strengthening exercises. The result may include hips that are trimmer, stronger, and more toned.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Contreras F, et al. (2024). Health benefits beyond the scale: The role of diet and nutrition during weight loss programmes.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/21/3585
How much sleep is enough? (2022).https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep
Khodadadi F, et al. (2023). The effect of high-intensity interval training type on body fat percentage, fat and fat-free mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10054577/#
Kubo K, et al. (2019). Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/
Lee J, et al. (2022). Effects of an 8-week lunge exercise on an unstable support surface on lower-extremity muscle function and balance in middle-aged women.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9925109/
Martins EC, et al. (2022). Looped elastic resistance during squats: How do band position and stiffness affect hip myoelectric activity?https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9396979/
Neto WK, et al. (2020). Gluteus maximus activation during common strength and hypertrophy exercises: A systematic review.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7039033/
Ozaki H, et al. (2019). Effects of progressive walking and stair-climbing training program on muscle size and strength of the lower body in untrained older adults.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6873118/
Papatriantafyllou e, et al. (2022). Sleep deprivation: Effects on weight loss and weight loss maintenance.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9031614/
van der Valk ES, et al. (2018). Stress and obesity: Are there more susceptible individuals?https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5958156/

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Medically reviewed by Micky Lal, MA, CSCS,RYT — Written by Sara Lindberg — Updated on February 21, 2025

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1. Squats

2. Side lunges

3. Fire hydrants

4. Wall sits

5. Banded walk

6. Step-ups with weights

7. Side-lying leg raise

8. Jump squat

9. Stair climbing

10. High intensity interval training (HIIT)

Other ways to lose hip fat

Eat a healthy diet

Get good quality sleep

Keep stress in check

Takeaway

How we reviewed this article:

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