The Fuss Around Hip Dips – Is It Worth Worrying About?

Social media always comes with its positives and negatives. In the health and fitness industry for example, social media can act as an invaluable information tool that can help you better your health through exercise and healthy diet tips.

Unfortunately, however, social media can also lead to feelings of insecurity regarding your body – largely due to misinformation. This is the case with hip dips. A few years ago, hip dips were not a thing that anyone recognized or worried about in the fitness community. 

However, now, thanks to a few trending videos, the term has become very popularized and a majority of people seem to think that this is something that should not exist and needs to be fixed. But are hip dips really all that bad? Are they quite so unnatural and undesirable? 

Before you run to look for exercises that can fix this ‘mistake’, check out this article to learn scientific facts about hip dips, why some people have them and others don’t, and whether it’s true that diet and exercise could get rid of them.

What are hip dips caused by? 

What causes hip dips? – this question bothers people for many reasons. The logic may look like this: If I know the cause for my hip dips I’ll be able to find out how to get rid of them. 

Well, this may come as a surprise – hip dips have nothing to do with weight, or a body’s “abnormality”.

For starters, hip dips are normal, being entirely defined by your genetics and the shape of your pelvis (1). If you have hip dips, your hip bone is located higher than your femur, causing your fat and muscles to curve inwards. 

We all have a space between our ilium, greater trochanter, and hip socket. The visibility of your hip dip depends on how pronounced that space is. Hip width, greater trochanter size, and femoral neck length, all determine your figure (1). 

Hip dips are not indicators of how fit and healthy you are. Of course, muscle mass and fat distribution can accentuate the violin’s shape but they aren’t the cause of it (1). 

Hip hips are natural occurrences that look completely normal and we shouldn’t worry about them. 

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Are hip dips good or bad?

Hip dips are neither good nor bad – they are normal and you shouldn’t be ashamed of them. The only impact of hip dips on your health could be on your range of motion. However, if you don’t have any underlying condition, there’s nothing to fuss about (1). 

If you stumble upon social media gurus/influencers who blow it out of proportion by announcing essential remedies for treating hip dips, shut off the internet, escape to the forest, and live off the grid for a while. 

Kidding aside, simply avoid such people and try not to take their words seriously. If hip dips don’t cause any issues while sitting, walking, lifting, or jumping, you shouldn’t spend your time, energy, or money on making them less visible. 

Exercising and a healthy diet should be on your must-to-do-list though, whether or not you have hip dips. Living an active and proper life helps you feel good about yourself, both physically and mentally. 

Interested in practical workouts for hip dips? You can try Hip Mobility Exercises to amp up your hip mobility. 

Are hip dips attractive?

Beauty is subjective and you need to understand that beauty standards fluctuate yearly, resulting in new shapes and new perspectives. 

Most importantly, no one has the right to tell you whether something in your body needs “renovation”. You are unique the way you are, and your top-notch responsibility is to work on your wellness by eating healthier, sleeping well, and staying physically active. 

As long as you make the right choices, you become a better version of yourself and stop worrying about “social norms” of what is beautiful and what isn’t. 

Read more: 18 Exercises to Strengthen Hips Safely in 3 Steps

Is it possible to get rid of hip dips?

Wondering how to get rid of hip dips? Stop wondering as it’s impossible. Yet, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strengthen your hips as they serve you well. Making them flexible and strong is possible through Hip Dips Workout. 

Gaze at these 12 practical home exercises to jazz up your hips (2):

Glute Bridges

How to execute the movement: 

• Lie on your back with your legs bent about shoulder-width apart. 
• With your core engaged, lift your hips off the floor as high as you can. 
• Make a straight line from your knees to your shoulders and hold this top position 
• Slowly lower your hips back down to the ground and get ready for the next rep

Leg Raise

How to execute the movement: 

• Lie face down on the mat. 
• Tighten your stomach and glute muscles to raise one leg slightly off the floor. Keep your hips flat on the ground. 
• Hold at the top and then slowly lower your leg back down.
• Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds and repeat 2 times.

External hip rotation

How to execute the movement:  

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet together. 
• Press your knees out and down towards the floor. Feel free to use your hands to further allow the lateral sides of your knees to get as close to the ground as you feel comfortable.
• Feel a stretch, hold for around 10 seconds, and relax/ return to the starting position. Repeat 5-10 times.

Heel Slide

How to execute the movement:  

• Lie on your back. 
• Bend your right leg and slide your heel towards your butt. Your knee will then bend and create a 90 degree angle. 
• Slide your heel back again and straighten your right knee slowly.
• Repeat on the other leg. 

Hip Flexion

How to execute the movement:

• Stand up and march on the spot bringing your knees up towards your chest alternately. 
• Try not to raise your knees too high. 

Hip Extension 

How to execute the movement:

• Stand and start moving one of your legs backward, keeping your knee straight. 
• Clench your buttocks tightly, hold for five seconds, and repeat with the other leg. 
• Hold on to a chair for support.

Hip Abduction

How to execute the movement:

• Stand with one hand resting on the back of a chair and raise your leg straight out  to the side. 
• Hold for five seconds and lower your leg slowly. Keep your body straight throughout the movement. Repeat five times on each side.

Heel to Buttock

How to execute the movement:

• Stand with two hands resting on the back of the chair.
• Bend your left knee and pull your heel up towards your bottom. 
• Do the same on the other leg. 
• Your knees should be in line and your kneecap should point towards the floor.

Squats

How to execute the movement:

• Hold onto a chair or other sturdy surface for support.
• Squat down making sure your knees don’t go beyond your toes.
• Return to your standing position.

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Short arc quadriceps exercise

How to execute the movement:

• Roll up a towel and/or place it/ or a folded yoga mat under your knee. 
• Keep the back of your thigh on the towel, then extend your knee to lift your foot off the floor. 
• Hold for three seconds and then lower slowly.

Quadriceps exercise

How to execute the movement:

• Lie on the back with your legs at a hip distance apart. 
• Pull your ankles and toes towards you, keeping your leg straight and your knees pushed against the floor. 
• Feel the tightness in the front of your leg.
• Hold for five seconds and relax. 

Knee lift

How to execute the movement:

• Lie on your back and pull each knee to your chest in turn.
• Move to the point where you feel a stretch, hold for around 5-10 seconds, and relax. 
• Repeat 8 times. 

Read more: Beginner Hip Flexor Stretch – Loosen Tight Hips with a Few Easy Moves

FAQs

• Can an hourglass have hip dips?

Hips dips are inward curves along the side of your body that don’t alter these measurements and, therefore, don’t affect the figure shape. This means hip dips can be present in people with different body shapes, including men and women with hourglass figures. 

• Are hip dips rare?

No, hip dips are common among many people. If you have hip dips this is completely okay and natural. There’s nothing unhealthy about them. 

• Which body type has hip dips?

Any body type can have hip dips. Yet, people with wider or higher hips are more likely to have highly visible hip dips. 

• Is it possible to fill in hip dips?

No exercise or diet can fill in hips dips. Besides, filling them in makes no sense as they are completely normal in our body. The issue whirls around the unattainable beauty standards that impose the rules on what looks beautiful and what isn’t. You shouldn’t pay attention to them. Live a healthy lifestyle with your amazing hip dips.  

The Bottom Line

Today you’ve read about the fuss around hip dips – is it worth worrying about? The answer is no, as hip dips are normal areas of a body, being entirely defined by genetics and the shape of the pelvis. 

They are neither good nor bad, they are the way they are, just like your nose or your fingers. You can’t naturally get rid of hip dips and preferably shouldn’t feel bummed for having them. 

Prioritize exercising, eating healthier meals, loaded with protein, fiber, and healthy fats, sleeping well, and watching your mental well-being.

You live only once and wasting your time fussing about another beauty standard is not worth it.