Hip Dips vs Saddlebags

The conversation around hip dips vs saddlebags is full of myths and bad advice. You've probably seen countless videos promising to "fix" them in 10 minutes a day, only to end up frustrated when nothing changes. Let's cut through the noise with a direct answer.

Key Takeaways

• The difference between hip dips vs saddlebags is simple: hip dips are related to your bone structure, while saddlebags are localized body fat.
• You cannot change your bone structure, so you can never truly "get rid of" hip dips. They are a normal anatomical feature.
• You can minimize the appearance of hip dips by building the gluteus medius muscle, which sits above the indentation, creating a rounder look.
• Saddlebags can be reduced through overall fat loss, which requires a consistent calorie deficit of 300-500 calories per day.
• Spot-reduction exercises like side leg raises and clamshells are ineffective for both hip dips and saddlebags because they don't burn significant fat or build enough muscle.
• The real strategy is a combination of heavy, progressive strength training for the glutes and a disciplined nutrition plan for fat loss.

What Is the Difference Between Hip Dips and Saddlebags?

Understanding the difference between hip dips vs saddlebags is the first step to stop wasting your time on things that don't work. One is bone, the other is fat. You can't change your bones, but you can lose fat and build muscle. This distinction is everything.

Hip Dips Explained: It's Your Skeleton

Hip dips, sometimes called "violin hips," are the inward curve just below your hip bone. They are not a sign that you're out of shape. They are a direct result of your anatomy.

Specifically, they are caused by the shape of your pelvis. If you have a high and wide iliac crest (the top of your hip bone) and a larger distance to your greater trochanter (the top of your femur/thigh bone), you will have an indentation. There is no muscle that exists in that specific spot to "fill in."

Some people have a pelvic structure that creates a straight line from hip to thigh. Others have a structure that creates a dip. It is 100% genetic. No amount of exercise or dieting will change the shape of your skeleton.

Saddlebags Explained: It's Stored Fat

Saddlebags are an accumulation of subcutaneous fat on the outer part of your upper thighs. They sit lower than hip dips and feel soft to the touch, unlike the bony prominence of your hip joint.

Where your body decides to store fat is largely determined by genetics and hormones. For many women, the thighs, hips, and glutes are primary storage sites. Saddlebags are simply a result of this genetic predisposition combined with being at a certain body fat percentage.

Unlike hip dips, saddlebags are composed of adipose tissue (fat). This means you *can* reduce them. However, you cannot spot-reduce them. You must lower your overall body fat percentage, and your body will decide when to pull fat from that area.

The Quick Visual Test

Stand in front of a mirror. Place your hands on the bony part of your hips.

• If the indentation is high up, right below that bone, it's a hip dip. It's a structural feature.
• If you see a wider bulge of soft tissue lower down on your outer thigh, below the hip joint itself, that's a saddlebag.

It's also very common to have both. You can have a natural hip dip from your bone structure and also have saddlebags from fat storage.

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Why Your "Hip Dip Workouts" Aren't Working

You've likely spent hours doing side-lying leg raises, clamshells, and fire hydrants, hoping to fill in your hip dips or melt away saddlebags. The reason you're not seeing results is that these workouts are based on two fundamental fitness myths.

The Myth of Spot Reduction

Let's be perfectly clear: you cannot burn fat from a specific part of your body by exercising that part. Your body stores fat globally and loses it globally. When you are in a calorie deficit, your body pulls energy from fat stores all over, based on a genetic blueprint.

Doing 100 side leg raises will strengthen the small muscles in your outer thigh, but it will burn a negligible number of calories. It will not magically melt the fat sitting on top of those muscles. The only way to reduce saddlebag fat is to create a sustained energy deficit so your body is forced to use that stored fat for fuel.

Low-Impact Exercises Don't Build Muscle

To change your body shape, you need to build muscle, a process called hypertrophy. Muscle growth only happens when you challenge your muscles with enough resistance to cause microscopic tears, which then repair and grow back stronger and bigger. This is called progressive overload.

Bodyweight exercises like clamshells and fire hydrants do not provide enough resistance to trigger significant muscle growth in your glutes. After a week or two, your body adapts, and the exercise becomes too easy to stimulate change. You might feel a "burn," but that burn is metabolic fatigue, not the mechanical tension required to build muscle.

To make the gluteus medius (the muscle that helps create a rounder hip shape) grow, you need to lift heavy weights and consistently increase the challenge over time.

You're Targeting a Muscle That Isn't There

Many people believe they can "fill in" the hip dip itself. But as we covered, the dip is a space created by bone. There is no muscle tissue *in* the dip to grow. The strategy isn't to fill the dip; it's to build the muscle *above* the dip-the gluteus medius-to create a "shelf" that makes the indentation less noticeable.

Targeting the wrong area with the wrong exercises is a recipe for frustration. You need to focus on the right muscles with the right intensity.

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The Real Plan: A Two-Part Strategy

Forget the quick-fix workouts. The real solution is a two-part approach that addresses fat loss and muscle growth separately but simultaneously. This is the only method that creates lasting, visible change.

Part 1: How to Reduce Saddlebags (Fat Loss)

This part is simple math. To lose fat, you must consume fewer calories than your body burns. This is a non-negotiable principle of thermodynamics.

1. Establish a Calorie Deficit: A sustainable deficit is 300-500 calories below your daily maintenance level. This will lead to about 0.5-1 pound of fat loss per week without causing excessive muscle loss or fatigue. To estimate your maintenance, a simple formula is your target bodyweight in pounds multiplied by 14. For example, if your goal is 140 lbs, your starting point for a deficit would be around 1,600-1,800 calories (140 x 14 = 1960, then subtract 300-500).
2. Prioritize Protein: While in a deficit, your body can burn muscle for energy. To prevent this, you must eat enough protein. Aim for 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of your body weight daily. For a 150-pound person, this is 120-150 grams of protein. This keeps you full and preserves the muscle you're working hard to build.
3. Be Patient: You cannot choose where you lose fat from first. Your body might pull from your arms, back, or stomach before it touches your thighs. Stick with the deficit for at least 8-12 weeks to see meaningful changes in stubborn areas like saddlebags.

Part 2: How to Minimize the Appearance of Hip Dips (Muscle Growth)

This is where the gym comes in. Your goal is to build the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus to create a rounder, fuller shape that diminishes the look of the dip.

1. Focus on Progressive Overload: Choose a weight that is challenging for 8-12 reps. The last 2 reps of each set should be a struggle. Once you can do 12 reps with good form, increase the weight by 5-10 pounds at your next session. This is the only way to force your muscles to grow.
2. Use the Right Exercises: Ditch the bodyweight circuits. Focus on these movements 2-3 times per week:

• Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets of 8-12 reps per leg. This is a powerhouse for overall glute and quad development, and the single-leg nature heavily recruits the gluteus medius for stability.
• Weighted Hip Abduction Machine: 3 sets of 10-15 reps. This directly isolates the gluteus medius. Lean forward slightly to increase glute activation. Control the movement and pause at the peak contraction.
• Cable Kickbacks (45-Degree Angle): 3 sets of 12-15 reps per leg. Instead of kicking straight back (for the glute max), kick back and out at a 45-degree angle to specifically target the glute medius.
• Single-Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 sets of 10-12 reps per leg. This builds the glute max while forcing the glute medius to work overtime as a stabilizer.

This two-part plan is the only one grounded in exercise science. It requires effort and consistency, but it delivers real results.

What to Expect (A Realistic Timeline)

Social media has destroyed our perception of how long it takes to change our bodies. You will not see a difference in one week. Here is a realistic timeline for what to expect when you follow the plan correctly.

First 4 Weeks:

You will feel stronger in the gym. You might be able to add 5-10 pounds to your key lifts. If you are in a calorie deficit, the scale may have dropped by 2-4 pounds. You will likely not see a major visual difference in your hips or thighs yet. This is the phase where most people quit. Don't.

Weeks 4-12:

This is where the magic starts to happen. With consistent training, you'll notice your glutes feeling firmer. If you've maintained your calorie deficit, your clothes will start to fit looser. You might look in the mirror and see the beginnings of a change in your shape-the saddlebag area may appear slightly smaller, and the curve of your glutes may be more pronounced. This is the payoff for your initial consistency.

Months 3-6+:

Significant, undeniable changes occur in this timeframe. The muscle you've been building in your glutes will now be visible, creating that "shelf" that minimizes the look of hip dips. Your overall body fat will be noticeably lower, significantly reducing or even eliminating the appearance of saddlebags.

This is a long game. A 6-month transformation requires over 50 workouts and hundreds of disciplined meals. There are no shortcuts. Embrace the process and trust that your consistent effort will compound over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have both hip dips and saddlebags?

Yes, absolutely. Hip dips are a feature of your bone structure, while saddlebags are an accumulation of body fat. Since they are two different things, it's very common for someone to have the skeletal indentation of hip dips and also store fat on their outer thighs.

Will squats and deadlifts help my hip dips?

They will help build your gluteus maximus, which is the largest muscle in your glutes. This contributes to a rounder butt overall and is an important part of the solution. However, to specifically target the area that minimizes hip dips, you need exercises that focus on the gluteus medius, like hip abductions and single-leg work.

How much weight should I use for the hip dip exercises?

You should use a weight that makes it very challenging to complete your target rep range (e.g., 8-12 reps). If you finish a set feeling like you could have easily done 5 more reps, the weight is too light to stimulate muscle growth. The last two reps should require significant effort.

If I lose weight, will my hip dips look worse?

This can happen temporarily. As you lose the layer of fat covering your hips, your underlying bone structure becomes more prominent. This can make the indentation of a hip dip appear more pronounced at first. This is precisely why building the gluteus medius muscle is so critical to do *while* you are losing fat.

Is cardio necessary to lose saddlebags?

No, a calorie deficit is what's necessary. Cardio is simply a tool to help you burn more calories and make creating that deficit easier. You can lose fat through diet alone, but adding 2-3 sessions of 20-30 minutes of low-intensity cardio per week can accelerate your progress without causing burnout.

Conclusion

Stop fighting your anatomy and start working with it. You can't change your bone structure, but you have complete control over how much muscle you build and how much body fat you carry.

Focus on getting stronger with heavy, compound lifts and targeted glute work. Maintain a consistent, moderate calorie deficit. Do this for 6 months, and you will fundamentally change your body composition in a way that no 10-minute hip dip workout ever could.