Hip Dips: What They Are and What You Can (and Can't) Do About Them

Hip dips—the inward curves between your hip bones and thighs—have become a social media fixation. Search "hip dip exercises" and you'll find countless promises to "fix" or "fill in" these curves.

But here's the truth: hip dips are normal anatomy, not a problem to solve. Let's talk about what they actually are, why you have them, and what exercise can realistically do.

What Are Hip Dips?

Hip dips (also called "violin hips" or technically, trochanteric depressions) are the inward curves that can occur between your hip bone and the top of your thigh.

They appear as an indentation on the side of your body, below the hip bone and above the thigh.

Where they occur: The space between your iliac crest (top of hip bone) and your greater trochanter (top of thigh bone).

What Causes Hip Dips?

1. Bone Structure (The Main Factor)

The shape and position of your pelvis determines whether you have visible hip dips.

Key factors:

• Width of your hip bones (iliac crest)
• Position of your greater trochanter (femur)
• Distance between these two bony landmarks
• Angle of your femur

If these bones are positioned so there's a gap between them, you'll have hip dips. No amount of exercise changes bone structure.

2. Muscle Distribution

The gluteus medius muscle sits in this area. How much muscle you have here affects the appearance—but even significant muscle development may not eliminate hip dips if bone structure creates them.

3. Fat Distribution

Where your body stores fat is genetic. Some people store fat over the hip dip area; others don't. This affects visibility but isn't something you can target with diet or exercise.

4. Genetics

Hip dips run in families because bone structure and fat distribution patterns are inherited.

The Honest Truth About "Fixing" Hip Dips

What exercise CAN do:

• Build the gluteus medius muscle (may reduce appearance)
• Build the gluteus maximus (can create more rounded look overall)
• Improve overall muscle tone in the area

What exercise CANNOT do:

• Change your bone structure
• Spot-reduce fat in that specific area
• Guarantee elimination of hip dips

The reality: If your hip dips are primarily due to bone structure (most are), exercise will make minimal visual difference. If they're partly due to underdeveloped muscles, targeted exercise can help—but may not eliminate them entirely.

Exercises That Target the Hip Dip Area

These exercises build the gluteus medius and surrounding muscles. They won't "fix" hip dips, but they'll strengthen important muscles.

1. Side-Lying Hip Abduction

How to:

• Lie on your side, legs stacked
• Keep hips perpendicular to floor (don't roll back)
• Lift top leg toward ceiling, keeping it straight
• Lower with control

Sets/Reps: 3×15-20 each side

2. Clamshells

How to:

• Lie on side, knees bent 90°, feet together
• Keep feet touching, open top knee toward ceiling
• Don't let hips roll backward
• Lower with control

Sets/Reps: 3×15-20 each side

Progression: Add a resistance band above knees

3. Fire Hydrants

How to:

• On hands and knees
• Keeping knee bent, lift one leg out to the side
• Keep hips level (don't lean away)
• Lower with control

Sets/Reps: 3×15 each side

4. Curtsy Lunges

How to:

• Stand tall
• Step one leg behind and across the other (like a curtsy)
• Lower into lunge
• Push through front foot to return

Sets/Reps: 3×12 each side

5. Side Lunges

How to:

• Stand with feet together
• Step wide to one side
• Bend stepping leg while keeping other leg straight
• Push back to start

Sets/Reps: 3×12 each side

6. Banded Lateral Walks

How to:

• Place resistance band above knees or around ankles
• Quarter squat position
• Step sideways, maintaining tension in band
• Don't let knees cave inward

Sets/Reps: 10-15 steps each direction, 3 sets

7. Hip Thrusts (Builds Overall Glute Size)

How to:

• Upper back on bench, feet flat on floor
• Drive through heels to lift hips
• Squeeze glutes hard at top
• Lower with control

Sets/Reps: 3×12

8. Romanian Deadlifts (Hip Hinge for Glute Development)

How to:

• Hold weight in front of thighs
• Hinge at hips, pushing butt back
• Lower weight along legs until stretch in hamstrings
• Drive hips forward to return

Sets/Reps: 3×10-12

Sample "Hip Dip" Workout

This routine targets the gluteus medius while building overall glute strength.

Frequency: 2-3x per week

Warm-up:

• Glute bridges: 2×15
• Hip circles: 10 each direction, each leg

Workout:

1. Hip Thrusts: 3×12
2. Romanian Deadlifts: 3×10
3. Curtsy Lunges: 3×12 each side
4. Banded Lateral Walks: 3×15 steps each way
5. Side-Lying Hip Abduction: 3×15 each side
6. Fire Hydrants: 3×15 each side

Total time: ~25-30 minutes

What Results to Realistically Expect

If your hip dips are primarily bone structure:

• Muscles will get stronger
• Glutes will become more developed overall
• Hip dips will likely remain visible
• The area may look slightly more filled, but the indentation won't disappear

If your hip dips are partly underdeveloped muscle:

• May see modest improvement in 2-3 months
• More filled appearance possible
• Complete elimination unlikely

Timeline:

• Strength gains: 2-4 weeks
• Visible muscle changes: 8-12 weeks
• Maximum results: 4-6 months of consistent training

Body Neutrality: A Different Perspective

Consider this: Hip dips are a completely normal variation in human anatomy. They're neither good nor bad—they're just how some bodies are shaped.

Who has hip dips:

• Athletes
• Fitness models (many use angles/lighting to hide them)
• People of all body types and fitness levels

What hip dips say about you:

• Absolutely nothing about your fitness level
• Nothing about your health
• Nothing about your worth

The fitness industry often creates problems so it can sell solutions. Hip dips weren't a "problem" until social media decided they were.

You can do the exercises above to build strength and muscle—those are legitimate fitness goals. But if you're doing them specifically because you feel your body is flawed, consider whether that belief is serving you.

When the "Problem" Isn't the Problem

Many people fixating on hip dips would benefit more from:

• Building overall strength and fitness
• Focusing on what their body can do, not just how it looks
• Working with a therapist if body image concerns are significant
• Unfollowing accounts that make them feel bad about their bodies

Strong glutes are valuable for performance, injury prevention, and daily function—regardless of whether they change how hip dips look.

The Bottom Line

Hip dips are:

• Normal anatomy
• Determined primarily by bone structure
• Not a flaw, defect, or problem

Exercise can:

• Strengthen gluteus medius and surrounding muscles
• Build overall glute size
• Potentially create a slightly more filled appearance

Exercise cannot:

• Change your bone structure
• Guarantee elimination of hip dips
• Spot-reduce fat in that area

If you want to build strong glutes for function and performance, the exercises above are excellent. But if you're chasing the elimination of hip dips, you may be pursuing an impossible (and unnecessary) goal.

Your body's shape is influenced by genetics and bone structure—things no workout can change. That's not a failure; it's just reality.

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• Best Glute Exercises
• Exercises for Hourglass Figure
• How to Grow Your Glutes