Fit Tip Thursday: Three Exercises to Tone Your Hips

When it comes to targeting specific body parts during exercise, the hips are one of the top problem areas for women. One of the primary reasons is that women genetically tend to store fat in this area, while men tend to favor fat storage in the abdominal region. Sorry to break it to you, that's just the way those extra cookies get stored when it comes to the sexes.

The hip muscles also tend to be weak in many people, which can lead to lower leg pain and compensatory issues. So, we not only want to tone this region, we also want to strengthen it as well. Good hip exercises will do both.

These three moves have all of the components that are found in my favorite exercises. They require little to no equipment, they can be done anytime and anywhere, they strengthen while they tone, they are functional, and they are extremely effective. Add them into your current routine to help tone that problem area while strengthening the hip musculature at the same time.

One important caveat is that we cannot simply "spot-reduce," meaning that we can't "tell" the body where to remove fat by simply performing exercises on this specific area. That's a myth that refuses to go away. This does not mean however, that we do not want to do these exercises; it simply means that we want to do them as part of a balanced full-body program.

Like what you see? Watch more Fit Tip Thursdays for great tips to help enhance your workouts.