Can You Exercise to Get a Pear-Shaped Body?

Whether your body is shaped like a pear, apple, hourglass or rectangle depends completely on your genetic make-up. A pear-shaped body features extra-wide hips, with any additional weight carried at the legs and thighs. The upper half of a pear body, however, is generally thin, with small, narrow shoulders. If you have an apple-shaped body, with any excess weight appearing at your waist; an hourglass-shaped body, with wide shoulders and hips and a thin waist; or a rectangle-shaped body, with weight evenly spread over your torso and hips, no amount of exercise and no diet will allow you to gain weight only around your hips to look like a pear. Exercise can make an impact on excess fat and help you build muscle tone in your hips and lower body, but it won’t completely change your shape and definitely won't change your body type.

Exercise for Other Body Shapes

If your body is apple, hourglass or rectangle shaped and you wish that it was pear shaped, it’s likely that you want less fat at your waist and shoulders and more bulk in your glutes and legs. While cardio and weight training won’t change your body type, you can tailor your workouts to lower your overall body fat and to build muscle in your lower body. Incorporate three to four cardio or high-intensity interval workouts into your weekly schedule to burn calories and help lower your body fat. In addition, fit in two days of lower-body weight training, utilizing squats, lunges and deadlifts to build mass in your hips and thighs. Refrain or limit upper-body weight training exercises so your shoulders and arms don't get bigger.