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workouts
women: hips
By Martha Lourey Bird | MSpSC, BSpSC (ExSc), DipRT

When it comes to your hip area (as with every other area of the body), remember that to actually reduce accumulated fat, you need to burn calories and control the amount of food you eat. However, to tone your hips, you can also add the following exercises to your workout. Do a set of 12 to 20 of the first exercise, then switch to the second, then to the third. Continue alternating until you've done each three times, or for 5 to 10 minutes.

Instructions

1.	lower-leg lifts Lie on your side with your head resting in your hand and the top leg resting on the ground in front of you. To work your inner thigh area, raise your lower leg off the floor towards a 45-degree angle, as shown. Make sure you don't lift your leg too high. When you lower your leg, keep it just above the floor and avoid resting it between lifts. Roll over and work the other leg for the same amount of time.

2.	upper-leg lifts Lie on your side with the bottom leg bent as shown. To work the outer thigh area, lift your upper leg towards a 45-degree angle. Again, make sure you don’t lift your leg too high. When lowering your leg, keep it just above the floor so you don’t rest between lifts. When one side gets tired, roll over and change legs.

3.	upper-leg presses To begin, lie on your side, resting your head in one hand. Place the other hand and one knee on the ground in front of you, as shown (in picture a). To work your bottom area, straighten your leg and push your heel away from you, as shown (in picture b). Slowly and smoothly continue to bend and straighten the leg as you lower your knee to the floor and then push your heel away from you. Do as many repetitions as you can with good form on one side before rolling over to work the other leg.