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How to improve physique so clothes fit better? (wide hips)

1up

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Gents,

What can I do to improve my physique, my waist is smaller compared to my hips and this throws off a lot of my outfits (suiting especially).

Do I need to...

1) Continue to lean out, hopes that hips/butt will reduce (or is it unlikely they'll change much as my body is shaped that way?)

2) Increase the size/thickness of my lowerback/obliques/abs to make the discrepancy look less apparent?

Thanks - much appreciated.

902597

902593


With pants on:

902594

902595


As you can see, most pants get tight in the hips/butt before they do in my waist.
 
Last edited:

karanimal

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widen your lats and your shoulders, it'll make your waist appear smaller. Drop some bodyfat, id say drop down to about 8-9% and stay there. Also, dont train your obliques directly.

Source: i have wide hips of peace and compete as bodybuilder & physique athlete
 

1up

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Thx. What BF am I right now? 14-15% ? Pics are unflexed.

Repped.

Wait wut,,,
 

karanimal

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Aware you cheeky kunt

Yeah 14-15% + 5-10lbs of water, mirin traps, you'll be aesthetic around 10%

Would **** if given the chance....
 

JLibourel

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Your physique looks pretty proportionate to me. In fact, I think many men would envy it. Since hip width is largely determined by skeletal structure, probably you are a candidate for MTM or bespoke suits.
 

1up

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Your physique looks pretty proportionate to me. In fact, I think many men would envy it. Since hip width is largely determined by skeletal structure, probably you are a candidate for MTM or bespoke suits.


Not sure it's something worth envying...makes finding pants a real pain. Everything gets tight in the thighs/butt/hips before the waist.

Makes the overall aesthetic look off, almost hourglass-ish
 

JLibourel

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^Correcting problems like yours is precisely what good tailors do!
 

SplasH

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I second the working on shoulders idea. Working lats and delts will give you a V shape that takes attention from the hips. Don't forget to also work out the lower body to avoid the "chicken legs" syndrom.
 
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Svenn

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OP, you have a common 'athletic build' problem shared by guys with strong legs. It's unlikely you can increase or decrease the size of the body parts you mention, those dimensions are set by your bones and you already work out it seems. Unless you ONLY swim without kicking your legs or something, there's no way you build up your top and get decent cardio without building up your quads/ gluet.

The key is to wear the right clothes. It will take a lot of experimentation but my hunch is you'd do best to wear very dark denim pants, slim but not tight, to make your hips and quads visually recede. You don't necessarily want to pair that with a light shirt, since the eye will be drawn to the highest contrast which will be your waist (where the shirt meets the dark pants). I'd go for a medium dark shirt (i.e. denim shirt or military shirt) that has breast pockets, rolled up sleeves, a collar, and then some light fading in the shoulder area. That 'action' in the shoulder area will draw the eye to your best asset, and make the wide lower torso and hips/legs recede, giving you the V. If we're talking about unbuttoned blazers/sport coats, their flowiness in the hip area is your friend, and will draw the eye up to the structured shoulders.
 

Wirr

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I don't think there is anything off with your hip/waist ratio.
It's only clothing manufacturers that make clothes for people without butt and legs.
Buy the pants you like and sew them smaller in the waist? Problem solved.

You can't do much about the width of your hip anyway.
 

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