Women possess unique traits that make them beautiful. Beauty comes in different colors, sizes, and even body shapes. You can still be beautiful whether you’re curvy, skinny, or athletic. It’s about appreciating and nurturing the body shape you are born with.
With proper exercise routines and nutrition, you can address your problem areas, even out your body proportions, and enhance your body shape. Here are practical and effective tips to get you started:
Straight or Rectangle
Rectangle or ruler-shaped women appear skinny with curves that is minimal to none. Like rulers, the majority of women under this body shape have straight torsos. Women in this body shape lack body definition because the bust, waist, and hips almost have the same widths.
Exercise: To give a straight body curves and definition, strength building exercises should be done at least three times per week, along with two days of 15 to 30 minutes of cardio on the other days. Perform three sets of these exercises thrice a week: deadlift overhead press, walking lunges, v-raise, fencer’s lunge extension, and plank push-ups.
Diet: Include high-quality proteins such as chicken, beef, turkey, tuna, beans, and shellfish in your meals. Along with that, add complex carbohydrates and omega-3-rich foods to help you burn more skinny fat.
Hourglass
Hourglass-shaped or curvy women have well-proportioned and curvaceous bodies other women have always wished to have. Women with this body shape are characterized by thin and tapered waists, full busts, with butts and hips equally proportional to each other.
Exercise: For hourglass body shapes which tend to gain weight all over the body, sculpting, and toning workouts at least three times a week are recommended. Make it your goal to lose fat while retaining your muscle. To do this, practice full body strength training to prevent fat storage around your arms and your thighs.
Diet: An isocaloric diet or moderate carb and fat diet are best for hourglass-shaped women. It has equally divided nutrients that ward off unhealthy food cravings. Also, increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids and low-glycemic-index carbohydrates.
Pear or Triangle
Pear-shaped or triangle-shaped women are characterized by slim and well-defined waists, small busts, slender arms and shoulders, with curvy and shapely hips, bottoms, and thighs. Women with this body shape have wider hips and butts as compared to their shoulders.
Exercise: To balance a pear-shaped body, you must not only focus on reducing your lower body weight, you also need to increase the muscles in your upper body, specifically the shoulders.60 minutes of cardio exercises done several days per week is also a must to tone a pear-shaped body.
Diet: To improve your body shape and avoid packing extra weight on your lower body, limit your consumption foods with high fat content. Increase your intake of complex carbohydrates such as beans, whole grains, chicken, and fruits and vegetables instead.
Cone or Inverted Triangle
Cone-shaped women are characterized by broad chests and shoulders, tight waists and torsos, and long and beautiful legs. They have busts and shoulders that are wider than their hips. Typically, women in this body shape are the ones that appear strong, athletic, and sporty.
Exercise: Unlike the pear-shaped women, you need to focus on building up your lower body instead, to make it more proportional to your upper body. Limit upper body exercises that add more volume to your already defined upper body. Medium to high lower body resistance exercises mixed with cardio is necessary to balance out your body.
Diet: The same with other body shapes, choose healthier food options such as whole grains, high-quality proteins, omega-3 rich foods, and complex carbohydrates. Along with that, replace your unhealthy cooking oils with healthy oils such as olive oil instead.
Apple or Round
Apple-shaped or round-shaped women can be identified by their small shoulders, hips, thighs, and butts, but with large waistlines and heavy middle sections. With this body type, fat tends to accumulate in the stomach in comparison to other parts of the body.
Exercise: To look more proportioned, you need to slim down your upper body, define your upper torsos, and build up your lower body. To do this, you need to combine cardio exercise and resistance training. To lose your muffin top while sculpting your entire body, include push up, shoulder press, planks, and core exercises.
Diet: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests whole grains, healthy proteins, and fruits and vegetables as staple food choices in an apple-shaped woman’s diet. Along with that, eliminate or limit intake of butter, added sugars, and refined grains.
Have you already figured out your body shape classification? Embrace it. Love the body you’re in by bringing out the best out of your female body shape with the tips above!
