At-Home Weighted Hourglass Body Workout Plan

You’ve heard it all before: “snatch your waist in two weeks”, “tone up fast”, “hourglass overnight”. Today, though, the real fitness goal is shifting to strength, balance, and confidence. 

An hourglass look typically comes from three things you can influence: stronger glutes for lower-body curves, stronger shoulders/upper back for balanced proportions, and a stable, trained core that helps your waist look more defined. Your bone structure and natural proportions still matter, but you can absolutely train to bring out your best shape with the right exercises, progressive overload, and consistency.

Below is a simple, weighted workout plan that prioritizes the glutes, shoulders, upper back, and core, plus guidance on how to progress and what results to expect. 

How Do You Get an Hourglass Body?

You can’t change your bone structure, but you can influence how your body looks by building muscle in key areas and reducing body fat over time. For a more hourglass-like silhouette, focus on three training priorities:

1. Hips + Glutes (lower-body curves)
   Build glute size and shape with hip-hinge and hip-extension moves (e.g. deadlifts/RDLs, squats) and add targeted outer-hip work (e.g. clam shells, band walks).
2. Shoulders + Upper Back (balanced proportions)
   Developing shoulders and upper back can create stronger “top” balance. Prioritize presses and raises (e.g. overhead press, lateral raises) plus upper-back work (e.g. rows, reverse flies).
3. Core (waist definition and posture)
   You can’t spot-reduce fat, but you can train your deep core and improve posture so your midsection looks tighter and more supported. Use planks, anti-rotation work, and controlled core moves.

The goal isn’t a “perfect” shape, it’s building strength, posture, and definition in the areas that most influence an hourglass-like look – safely and sustainably.

Can Working out Give You an Hourglass Shape?

While training won’t change your skeleton, it can change your silhouette. Muscle growth in the glutes and shoulders, combined with core training and overall fat loss (if needed), can create a more defined waist-to-hip/shoulder contrast.

There’s no special secret – all you need is a combo of hypertrophy training, proper nutrition, and cardio. Incorporating cardio into your weekly fitness routine (such as brisk walking, running, cycling, or swimming) can help you burn more calories and reveal muscle definition (2).
This will perfectly complement your resistance training sessions from this article. For example, use brisk walking as a part of the active recovery day between strength routines. 

That being said, you shouldn’t neglect your entire body. A balanced hourglass shape workout plan you’ll cover soon can amp up your strength and overall function, while still prioritizing the areas that define an hourglass silhouette. 

Combining these programs with proper nutrition and recovery results in muscle hypertrophy, or muscle growth. Over time, muscle accumulates in all the right areas to build the silhouette you’re looking for.

Results vary for everybody: some people may see faster changes, while others will need more time to reach their fitness goals. Your starting point and how your body responds to the training play a huge role.

But don’t be discouraged – building a stronger and healthier body is always the number 1 goal. While you can’t magically sculpt an hourglass overnight, you can shape into a stronger and capable version of yourself. 

What Is the Best Hourglass Body Workout Plan?

Strength training is an effective way for shaping curves in the right places. By working your hips, glutes, and shoulders, you’ll create muscles that naturally shape an hourglass figure. At the same time, keeping your core engaged helps you define your waist, giving you that strong, sculpted midsection. 

This hourglass workout plan isn’t about the best looks – it’s about power and confidence in your body. Over time, these and other challenging exercises won’t just tone your body, they’ll transform the way you think about yourself. 

Here’s what you’ll need: two to three sets of dumbbells. If you have only one set of dumbbells, that’s all right. Simply adjust the reps accordingly to provide a challenge – for example, do more repetitions for one exercise. 

If you don’t have dumbbells, you can use household items such as water bottles, soup cans, or milk jugs as weights. However, if you’re planning to work out only from home, it makes great sense to invest in a set of weights that can help you progress and achieve your fitness goals effectively. 

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Exercises you’ll do for this weighted hourglass body workout plan at home include:

• Squats to overhead press – Build glutes, shoulders, and legs for curves and upper-body balance.
• Deadlifts – Strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back to lift and shape your hips.
• Bent-over row – Tones your back and shoulders, widening your upper body for a more balanced look.
• Reverse fly – Top-notch move to develop shoulders and upper back.
• Burpees – Promotes full-body calorie burn to reveal muscle definition.
• Alternating chest press – Builds chest and shoulders to create upper-body proportion.
• Wood chop – Engages your core and obliques to define your waist.
• Halo – Strengthens your shoulders and back for better posture and shoulder width.
• Clam shells – Target the gluteus medius to widen and shape your outer hips.

Do 2 sets, 6 to 10 reps of each move, resting for 1 minute between sets. Feeling strong? Add a third set to push yourself further. 

Read more: A Non-Weighted Booty-Building Program to Blast Your Glutes

Start with an active warm-up routine by doing:

• Jumping jacks: Jump with your feet out and your arms overhead for 1 minute.
• Arm circles: Circle your arms forward and backward for 30 seconds.
• Hip circles: Hands on your hips, rotate your hips in circles for 30 seconds.
• Torso twists: Stand and twist your torso from side to side for 20 seconds.
• Bodyweight squats: 10-15 reps.
• Lunges with a twist: Step forward into a lunge and twist your torso toward the front leg. Do 5 reps on each side.
• Stomach vacuum exercise: Stand tall. Exhale and pull your belly button in toward your spine as far as possible. Hold for 10 seconds. Release and repeat.

Squats to Overhead Press

Directions: 

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, your toes gently turned out. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Keep your core engaged, your chest lifted, and your back flat. Shift your weight into your heels, push your hips back, and bend your knees to get into a squat position.
3. Press through your heels to stand up, and squeeze your glutes at the top. As you rise, press the dumbbells overhead, straightening your arms. Keep your core tight and hips tucked under to avoid arching your lower back.
4. Slowly lower the weights back to your shoulders. This counts as one rep.
5. Repeat for 5-7 controlled reps.

Deadlifts

Directions: 

1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart, your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, resting in front of your thighs.
2. Keep your core tight and hinge at your hips, sending your butt back as if closing a car door behind you. Maintain a flat back and proud chest as you glide down your weights toward your shins – your torso should be almost parallel to the floor.
3. Press through your heels to stand up straight. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs.
4. At the top, squeeze your glutes and reset. This is one rep.
5. Perform 9-11 reps.

Bent-Over Row

Directions: 

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and hinge forward at the hips about 45 degrees with your back flat and your core engaged.
2. Inhale, then exhale as you pull the dumbbells up toward your chest with your elbows hugged close to your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades for two seconds at the top.  Lift only as high as your natural range of motion allows.
3. Inhale as you slowly lower the weights back to the starting position, maintaining control throughout the movement.
4. Stay in the bent-over position until you complete all repetitions.
5. Do 6-9 controlled reps.

Reverse Flyes

Directions: 

1. Stand tall, holding both dumbbells in each hand.
2. Hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight and your core tight.
3. With a slight bend in your elbows, lift your arms to the sides until they’re nearly at shoulder height, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
4. Lower slowly and repeat.

Burpees

Burpees are a no-equipment exercise, but they stand out as the most efficient full-body combos of strength and power movements – a single exercise that works almost every muscle group. It must be in any hourglass body workout plan for females. 

Directions: 

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your back straight, your chest lifted, and your arms relaxed at your sides.
2. Hinge at your hips, bend your knees, and bring your butt down to lower into a squat. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands on the floor (palms down) in front of your feet.
3. In one quick motion, kick your legs back into a high plank position, forming a straight line from your shoulders to your toes. Keep your core tight and gaze slightly ahead.
4. Bend your elbows and bring your body toward the floor. Keep your body straight and your core tight.
5. Press back up to a high plank, then jump your feet forward to return to the squat.
6. From there, jump to the ceiling, reaching your arms overhead as you jump.
7. Land softly with knees slightly bent, returning to the starting position before repeating the sequence.
8. Do 5 to 8 burpees.

Note: if pushing up on your toes seems too challenging, skip this part and transition from the high plank to squat. 

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Alternating Chest Press

Directions: 

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and bend your elbows to 90 degrees so your weights hover just above the floor.
2. Exhale, pressing one arm toward the ceiling – maintain your core engaged the entire time.
3. Slowly bend your elbow to lower the weight back down with control.
4. Repeat on the opposite side. This is one rep.
5. Keep alternating arms for 6 to 8 reps on each side.

Wood Chop

Directions: 

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and your core engaged, holding a dumbbell near your left thigh.
2. Raise the weight diagonally across your body with both hands toward the upper right corner of your reach. Allow your torso and toes to rotate naturally to the right as you twist.
3. Now chop the weight down to the left as a wood chopper, bringing your dumbbell across your body toward your left ankle, allowing your torso and toes to rotate naturally.
4. Focus on keeping your lower body stable. This is one rep.
5. Do 6-9 reps on one side, then switch sides.

Halo

Directions: 

1. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell at your chest with both hands, gripping it on either end.
2. Lift the dumbbell to eye level and slowly circle it around your head in a counterclockwise motion. Return to the starting position, then repeat the movement in the opposite direction. This is one rep.
3. Continue alternating directions for 10-11 reps. As you circle your weight around your head, maintain a tight core, and keep your elbows close to your body to engage triceps.

Clam Shells

Directions: 

1. Lie on your side with your knees bent and your feet together.
2. Keep your hips stacked and your core tight.
3. Lift your top knee (like opening a clam), pause for a second, and lower slowly.

Add a resistance band above your knees for extra glute engagement.  

Progressive overload (increasing stress on your muscles so they keep adapting and grow stronger) increases your chances of attaining a desirable body shape. You can induce progressive overload by:

• Increasing the weight you lift
• Increasing the number of reps and sets
• Reducing rest time between sets
• Changing your exercise to a more challenging version

Do a short cool-down routine after the workout to stretch muscles and increase flexibility: 

• Standing forward fold: Hinge at the hips and reach toward your toes. Hold for 30 seconds.
• Cat-cow stretch: Get on all fours, arch and round your spine – 1 minute.
• Child’s pose: Sit back on your heels and stretch your arms forward for 60 seconds.
• Hip flexor stretch: Step one foot forward into a lunge and push your hips down. Do 30 seconds per side.
• Seated hamstring stretch: Sit, extend one leg, and reach toward your toes. Do 30 seconds per leg.
• Shoulder stretch: Pull one arm across your chest – hold for 15 seconds per side.
• Torso side stretch: Reach one arm overhead and lean to the opposite side. Do 20 seconds on each side.

If you’re curious about deep core exercises for a smaller waist, check out our earlier article.

How Long Does It Take to See Hourglass Body Workout Plan Results?

Seeing results from the hourglass body workout plan for beginners takes time, consistency, and patience. Your natural body shape is already determined by your genetics, so no workout will change your figure overnight. 

What you can do is tone your muscles, sculpt your glutes and shoulders, and strengthen your core to improve your natural curves. Beginners who stick to training 3-4 times weekly start noticing small changes in their endurance, strength, and muscle tone in 4-6 weeks. 

Your waist might get slightly tighter, and your posture might be better – this will add to a more balanced silhouette. For more noticeable muscle definition and fitness improvements, expect 8-13 weeks of consistent effort. 

Pair your workouts with a balanced diet, good sleep, and active movements during rest days, which will accelerate your results. 

Note two things: 

• If you’re aiming to build muscle, you’ll want a slight calorie surplus – consume more calories than you burn, so your body has extra energy to build new muscle. Protein is key. Aim for around 1.2-2.0 g of protein per kilogram of your body weight (3). Pair this protein-rich diet with strength training. Eating enough protein after resistance training helps you maintain muscle and promote muscle growth and repair.
• If you’re aiming to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit – consume fewer calories than you burn. This helps reduce overall fat to reveal muscle shapes. However, you still need enough protein and resistance training to retain muscle. On average, a person who is aiming to shed pounds needs to cut 500 calories from their daily calorie intake (4).

Make sure your diet includes:

• Healthy fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil)
• Lean protein (chicken, tofu, fish)
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Whole grains

Adding these foods to your diet will fuel your body, giving it more energy for your daily activities and workouts.

Remember, it’s not about chasing unrealistic shapes. The real victory is feeling stronger and confident in your body, taking on new challenges, and celebrating progress.

What Exercises Should You Avoid for an Hourglass Shape?

Some exercises can subtly work against your hourglass figure if you overdo them. 

• Heavy shoulder presses or wide bar pull-ups can make your upper body look slightly broader
• Shoulder shrugs can bulk up the traps, creating a boxier shoulder line instead of sculpted definition
• Weighted low-back extensions can also overdevelop the lower back muscles, which can make your torso look less curvy
• Weighted side bends, which directly target the obliques, can actually thicken your waist if done excessively

So, what should you do instead? Focus on balanced whole-body strength training that tones your glutes, core, and shoulders without adding unnecessary bulk in one area. Doing this will help you preserve your natural hourglass curves while increasing your strength, definition, and confidence. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do planks make your waist smaller or bigger?

Plank exercise will tone and strengthen your core, leading to changes in your body composition (5). Planks improve posture, stability, and make your midsection tighter, but this move won’t change your natural waist size as your bone structure ultimately determines your waist width. 

• Can you have an hourglass body, but not be curvy?

Yes, you can have an hourglass shape without being curvy. An hourglass figure refers to shoulders and hips of the same width, with a narrower waist in between, which is determined by your bone structure. You don’t need to have big curves to have this shape – it’s about proportions, not size. 

• Can an hourglass have a tummy?

Absolutely. Having an hourglass shape doesn’t mean that your tummy should necessarily be flat. An hourglass figure refers to the proportions of your waist, shoulders, and hips, not how toned your tummy is. It’s completely normal to have a soft or rounded midsection if you have an hourglass shape. 

• What's the best diet for an hourglass figure?

There’s no hourglass figure diet because your body shape is determined by genetics, not the food you eat. However, a nutritious diet will support muscle tone and overall health to bring out your curves. Fill your plate with healthy fats, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to stay energetic for your hourglass training. 

The Bottom Line

This guide has unlocked the at-home weighted hourglass body workout plan. These weighted exercises aim to strengthen your entire body, tone muscles, and improve your overall well-being. 

Remember, exercises cannot change your natural figure, as you were born with a certain body shape. The hourglass figure is just one of the other normal variations, and it’s okay if you don’t have it. 

What truly matters is your habits: consistent workouts, active rest days, proper sleep, and a nutrient-rich diet.