Exercises for Losing Love Handles
So you’re working hard at the gym, eating right, but you still can’t get rid of those pesky love handles.
It’s a problem faced by men and women alike. And no matter your efforts, love handles can be the most challenging body part to get in shape.
But don’t fear – there are a number of exercises for losing love handles that can be added to your workout.
Before we get to it, you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can. This means a combination of aerobic exercise (at least 30 minutes per day 3-4 days a week) and a healthy, low-fat diet.
The tried and tested rule is that when it comes to burning fat in any one area, you must increase your metabolic rate overall.
Total-body weight training is an integral component of this. By building muscle, you’re increasing your metabolism and over the long-term increasing the amount of fat you burn everywhere – and of course this includes your love handles.
Your workout routine should also include exercises specifically focused on your love handle area. The muscles in this area are called your internal and external obliques. The more you build and tone these muscles, the more you will improve the overall appearance of this area.
Exercises for Losing Love Handles
1. Side Plank Oblique Crunch: Lying on your side, place one forearm on the mat and the other on your hip. Extend your legs and place one foot on top of the other, creating a straight line with your body. Slowly lower your hip to the floor, and return to the original position. Make sure you hold your abdominal and oblique muscles tightened. Repeat this crunch, doing 25-30 reps per side. (View exercise)
2. Bicycle Crunches: Lie on your back with your legs straight out and slightly off the floor. Cradle your head with your hands without pulling on your neck, and slowly lift your upper body off the floor, pulling in your abdominals. As you lift with your abdominals, twist your body to the left, connecting your right elbow to your left knee. Hold for a moment, then return to starting position. Repeat for 25-30 reps, alternating twisting to the left and to the right. (View exercise)
3. Oblique Dumbbell Side Dips: Standing with your feet hip-width apart, hold a dumbbell weight in one hand at your side. While holding your abdominal muscles tight, slowly lower the weight towards the floor as far as you can (without bending your knees or dropping forward). Make sure all movement is occurring in your abdominal and oblique muscles. Slowly return to starting position. Repeat this dip, doing 15-20 reps per side. (View exercise)
Do 2-3 sets of these exercises per workout, repeating twice a week. It’s best if you can incorporate these exercises into a total abdominal workout, maximizing your results. If you’re looking for a good way to track your progress, check out the Fitlosophy Fitbook for keeping everything organized. Your love handles will begin looking tighter and more toned in no time!
To polish off your obliques, try adding a whey protein supplement to support lean muscle growth to your diet, such as Combat Powder. Add to this a fat burner like Cellucor Super HD or Irwin Naturals Green Tea Fat Metabolizer, and you’ll be on your way to losing those love handles quite rapidly.
But wait, there’s one more thing! You will get even better results in toning your obliques by including High Intensity Interval Training program such as the Ultimate Treadmill Workout one or two times a week. Don’t worry about the maximum speeds posted in the article though, the key is that you are going as intense as possible so if it’s 7.0mph on the treadmill for the first couple weeks then that’s fine too.
Have any questions or feedback about exercises for losing love handles? Please leave a comment below…
The post Exercises for Losing Love Handles appeared first on Weight Loss & Training.
Exercises for Losing Love Handles
0 Comments