Thick bodies are on the rise and have become a very sought after body shape and lucky for you it is easier to get thick than you might think. Using the word thick to describe a body means full thighs, round hips and a bubble booty while keeping a slim waist and upper body. In this guide we will give you workout routines and dietary recommendations you can combine with the use of a waist trainer, and if you act on the information in this guide you will get your dream body with ease.
Thick celebrities
Before giving you the routines we will let you know some celebrities that have thick bodies to give you some inspiration!
*Kim Kardashian
*Kylie Jenner
*Iggy Azalea
*Nicki Minaj
*Cardi B
*Demi Lovato
How to use a waist trainer to get thick
As we wrote above the key to get thick is to add size to your thighs, round out your hips and get a bubble booty while still keeping your waist small. The thing that makes getting thick a bit more easy to achieve than some other body types is that the size you put on doesn’t all have to be muscle, some fat is totally okay. The trick is to keep the waist small which can be the tricky part, but with the use of a waist trainer you actually can achieve a bigger lower body while still keeping your waist at the same size or even get it smaller if you work hard!
How to use your waist trainer for best results!
Where most people go wrong with waist trainers is that they start wearing them for whole days from the start. Instead you should start slow and only use it for 1 hour the first few days until your body gets used to it. Then start to increase weartime every 3 days by an hour until you get to your sweet spot of wear time. We recommend working up to about 8 hours for great results but it varies a bit from person to person where the perfect amount of daily time is.
In the beginning when you limit your weartime, prioritize wearing it during workouts as that is where your waist trainer will give you the best results in burning fat around your midsection. But make sure to have a model that is designed to be used during workouts. To find the best models you can read our article on the best waist trainers here.
When you have used it for a while and increased the hours you wear it every day you can wear it during your normal daily activities too for best results in keeping your waist small as you add size to your lower body.
Now you have the small waist part of the program which is the hardest part! Now it’s time to take a look at what you should do in the gym and what to eat to get the best results.
Get thick with gym workouts
To get thick you need to build muscle in your lower body and here we have designed 3 different workouts with different sets and reps to target all muscles in your lower body, from every angle and give it stimulus to grow in multiple ways from the different workouts. When focusing on the lower body and working it multiple times per week it is also important to mix things up and do different exercises, sets and reps to not burn your body out. If possible doing each workout one time per week on non consecutive days is perfect, but if you feel you don’t recover you can do one of each over 8 or 9 days instead. As everyone is a bit different you might have to try for yourself to find the optimal frequency for you.
Heavy day is focused on working your type-2 muscle fibers which are best stimulated by lifting heavy as their main job is strength and explosiveness. This is very important as your type-2 fibers have the ability to grow the most.
Medium day is focused on stimulating all muscle fibers in your lower body by staying in the 8 to 12 rep range which is optimal for muscle growth and the range most bodybuilders stay in.
Isolation day is focused on getting the best contact with your muscles you can to really stimulate growth by achieving a maximal pump in your lower body. This is also an important workout to have in your schedule as it will help target muscles you might otherwise have a hard time getting to with just the big lifts. On isolation days very slow reps speeds are very important.
Workout 1 – Heavy day
This day is about lifting heavy weights and getting stronger every week with linear progression. Do all 5 sets with the same weight and when you manage to get all 5 sets of 5 at a weight, increase the weight the next session. When starting the program start at weights that are 20% lower than what you could do for 5×5 as this will help you in the long run and not stall out. While just 3 exercises don’t seem like much, stay to just doing them as you have to take into account that you will do three lower body sessions per week.
Squats 5 sets of 5 reps
We go for conventional squats so keep your stance at about shoulder width or just inside. Squat down as far as possible, if you can’t get below 90 degrees read our flexibility article and work on that before starting to add more weight. As we are looking to lift as much weight as possible here rep speed is not very important in this session just control the weight down and explode up as fast and powerful as you can!
Deadlifts 5 sets of 5 reps
For your deadlifts keep your stance at just inside shoulder width and use an overhand grip with both hands. Make sure that your lower back is slightly arched during the whole lift and doesnt round over. If it starts to round over either take a little weight off or work on flexibility.
Hip Thrusts 5 sets of 5 reps
For a thick lower body hip thrusts are the most important lift and will be used every session. In this session you will do them heavily. Keep rep speed controlled both on the way up and down and always squeeze your booty as hard as possible at the top and hold the position for at least 2 seconds on each rep.
Workout 2 – Medium Day
On medium day the reps are not exactly set, but try to keep all reps above 8 and if you get 12 on all sets with good form, increase the weight on that lift the next session.
Sumo Squats 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Medium day starts off with Sumo squats. Sumo squats still target your legs a lot but a little more emphasis is put on your butt with this lift. Take a stance that is wider than your normal squat stance, around an inch outside your shoulders is a good place to start, but play around a little to find where you think is most comfortable. Shoot to go lower than 90 degrees and squeeze your butt as hard as possible at the top of every rep.
Hip Thrusts 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Hip Thrusts again the only thing that changes from heavy day is the amount of reps, perform in the same way.
Lunges 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
You can choose yourself if you want to do your lunges one leg at a time or one on each leg every rep, if you want to do them stationary or walking. Do the one you like the best. If you feel like it is too easy, add weight by holding dumbbells in your hands.
Stiff leg deadlift 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
For optimal development of your backside and a thick lower body stiff leg deadlifts should be included. Perform these reps quite slowly focusing on feeling the stretch in your hamstrings at the bottom of the lift and your booty contracting at the top.
Workout 3 – Isolation Day
On isolation day the weight lifted is not important. The focus here is to slow down your rep speed and focus on maximum contact with the muscle you are working to get the biggest pump you can! Keep reps above 12 and do as many as you can take doing them slowly. When you feel it is starting to burn you are doing it right!
Hip Thrusts 3 sets
On hip thrusts it might not work to just slow down for maximum contact and pump, if that is the case increase the time you squeeze at the top.
Hip abductor machine 3 sets
Perform these with your booty hovering just above the seat to get better contact with your glutes.
Leg extensions 3 sets
Slow is the name of the game here and try to really feel the front side of your legs working during each rep. The burn will be immense!
Leg curls 3 sets
If you have choices available choose the lying leg curl, but the other leg curl machines work as well.
Fire hydrants 3 sets on each leg
If you want you can add resistance to your fire hydrants but keep reps high here as this is a great burnout exercise.
Donkey kicks 3 sets on each leg
The same goes for donkey kicks as long as you can still do high reps you can add resistance.
Ab circuit
Working your abs is crucial to keep your waist tight and small so here we will show you a ab circuit you can fit in anytime you want. You can do it at the end of your workouts or at home on other days it is up to you but we recommend 2 ab sessions per week. Perform 3 to 5 rounds with a minute rest in between rounds. Perform as many reps as you can and try to improve each session you do the ab workout. During the ab work is the only time you should take off your waist trainer during workouts. The reason is that it sometimes is hard to get the abs to work properly if you wear your waist trainer and you don’t get the desired results.
- Leg raises
Perform leg raises on the floor lying on your back with your lower back planted to the floor during the whole movement. Try to keep your legs straight at all times to make it as hard as possible and if that is too easy for you get a pair of ankle weights to increase resistance.
- Knee to elbow crunches
Do the lift by bringing your right elbow to your left knee and the same for the opposite sides. Focus on feeling your abs working.
- Crunches
The exercise is done by rolling your chest towards your belly button. Gow really slow, breathe out as you crunch and breathe in on the way down and hold the top position for a second before going back down.
- Plank
Focus on perfect posture with a straight back, tense abs and squeeze your glutes. As soon as you feel you lose your perfect posture it is time to end the exercise, but hold for as long as you can!
Get thick with booty bands
If you want to work out at home or dont have the time to go to the gym, booty bands are your answer! They are cheap to buy and easy to bring with you on the go so you always have the opportunity to work towards your goal to get thick. Go hard and do as many reps as possible on each exercise!
- Sumo drop squats
Put the booty bands around your legs just above your knees and take a stance that is slightly wider than your shoulders. Squat down until your thighs are just below parallel to the floor and squat back up. Focus on keeping the booty band stretched by keeping your knees far apart at all times.
- Lunges
Skip the band on this one and just perform the lunge of your choice whether it is walking, side, or stationary lunges.
- Glute bridges or hip thrusts
Choose one of the exercises as they are very similar. The difference is that the bridges are done on the floor and thip thrusts are done with your upper back resting against a bench, chair or why not your couch. Put the booty bands just above your knees and focus on keeping it tense during the whole movement. Squeeze your glutes hard at the top of every rep.
- Standing glute kickbacks
Stand with the booty band around your legs, the further down you have it the more resistance it will be. Kick one leg back as high as you can, for best results pause for a second at the top of each rep. Do all reps on one side before going to the next and if one side is weaker always start with that.
- Banded seated abductions
Sit on the floor with your elbows resting on a bench, chair or sofa that is behind you, put the booty band around the bottom of your thighs just above the knee. Keep a good posture with a straight back and your knees bent at around 90 degrees and start pushing your knees as far as away from each other as possible. As always try to hold the top position for a second before going back slowly to the start.
- Squat jumps
Skip the booty bands on this one and use gravity as resistance instead. Keep a normal squat stance at about shoulder width, squat down as deep as possible and jump straight up with as much force as possible. The goal is to use maximum explosiveness and jump as high as you can on every rep. Keep your legs slightly bent when you land again so you don’t put strain on your knees.
Perform 3 sets of each exercise, if you want you can do them in a circuit or mix it up and do 3 sets of each exercise one session and a circuit the next, it is your choice! Perform the workout 2 to 3 days per week on non consecutive days for best results!
Diet to get thick
When it comes to getting thick, diet is of importance for recovery and building muscle in the right places, but what is even more important is how to eat depending on where you start, some might want to gain weight and some lose it. It might also be a question of where you store fat as that varies from person to person, so below we have some guidelines to follow and adjust so you can get the results you want with ease!
- Protein
For building muscle protein is essential as the amino acids in protein is the building blocks of muscle. Make sure to get at least 1,5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight you carry. If you have trouble getting it through your diet consider adding a protein shake or bar as a snack during the day.
- Carbohydrates
A Lot of people are afraid of carbohydrates but in most cases you should not be as they help recovery and fuel your workouts for optimal performance. But the source carbs come from is of more importance and rice, pasta and potatoes are good sources, avoid sugar as much as possible as that is a bad source.
- Adjust after your needs
Some people are lucky and add fat in their legs and hip which is great if your goal is to get thick, but some are unlucky and get more fat tissue in their upper bodies. If you are lucky you can eat more carbs and fat as mostly the area we want will get bigger. If you are on the other side of this you need to be more careful, as we wrote above you should not skip out on carbs but just bring the amount down a notch by starting to take away some of the carbs in your big meals and replace it with a protein source or veggies instead.
- Allow yourself treats
Life is not meant to be boring and allowing yourself a cheat once in a while is absolutely okay as long as it is in moderation. Try to keep your diet on point for 90% of the time and eat whatever you want the remaining 10% of your meals. This is a sure way to get results and not be bored by what you eat.
- Stay hydrated
Most people drink way too little every day so drink water during the day both for mental and physical performance. Health authorities recommend at least half a gallon of water per day.
6. Using a waist trainer when eating
When you start using your waist trainer for long periods of time you will have to eat during the time you wear it. The key here is that if you are trying to lose weight that might be a good thing as the pressure from the waist trainer often makes users feel full faster which makes you eat less hence lose weight. But if you are trying to gain weight and you get the feeling of not being able to eat enough this is a problem. If that is you, take the waist trainer off during your biggest and most important meals of the day and add in a few smaller snacks in between meals and you are good to go!
Now you know everything you need to get thick and your dream body is there for the taking so take action to take both your looks and health to the next level!