As a personal trainer, I get many female clients that are particularly interested in targeted body fat loss in the hips and abdominal area. And those love handles can be a problem for many men to deal with as well.
The problem is that doing just regular cardiovascular exercises won’t stop the belly fat retention effectively, as you also need to build up some underlying muscle tone.
Through many years of experience, I’ve come up with a few highly effective workouts that you can easily add to your exercise program.
Let me show you how.
Quick Summary
- Side planks, spiderman planks, and core twists are the simple exercises that will help you lose both belly fat, and love handles.
- You can't get rid of love handles without working out.
- The combination of workout, and exercises can get rid of stubborn belly fat, and love handles.
What Exercise Burns The Most Belly Fat And Love Handles?
A combination of high-intensity aerobic training along with a strict diet will burn the most belly fat and love handles.
It’s important to state right from the start that you can’t out-exercise a poor diet.
If you continue to eat junk food, soda, and candy bars all day, then no amount of training will help you to get rid of excess body fat [1].
The type of exercises you’ll need to focus on are predominantly upper body, and the more straining these exercises are, the better the results will be.
Here’s what I mean.
It’s not enough to spend 5-10 minutes doing crunches a few times a week.
You need to include things like an extended plank position with other high-intensity sets for a full workout routine to see results [2].
And it all comes down to belly fat taking longer than we all would like it to be.
Why Are Love Handles Difficult To Get Rid Of?
Love handles are difficult to get rid of because the belly and thigh area is where fat cells accumulate first. And many different lifestyle choices also influence this body fat buildup [3].
In addition to lifestyle choices, eating high-calorie foods and sugar, and not exercising enough, women can also find it difficult to deal with love handles because of hormonal issues [4].
When I encounter female clients who seem to be doing everything right when it comes to diet and exercise, but they still struggle with weight loss, it’s often due to hormonal issues.
These can be resolved with the help of a doctor and dietitian.
“Cardio activity may work to burn calories, however, it won't necessarily target the specific area you'd like to lose from.”
- Dana Leigh Smith, Writer & Journalist at Eatthis.com
Sample Exercise Routine for Getting Rid of Them
Here are a few abdominal exercises that you should add to your regular workout plans. It’s important, though, not to only do core workouts, as you need to get your whole body working to effectively burn fat.
Spiderman Plank
Get into the standard plank position with your body in a straight line and feet shoulder-width apart. Now bring your right knee to the left elbow while keeping your left leg. Then switch around and bring your left knee to the right elbow while keeping your right leg straight.
Core Twists
Start in a seated position on a yoga mat. Hold a weight or medicine ball in your hands and extend your arms straight in front of you.
Now move the weight from left to right and touch the floor with it on each side of your body.
Side Plank
As the love handles are on the sides of your torso, it’s important to start building up the muscles here as well. Get into the side plank position and find your balance. To add a bit more strain, you can also slowly lower your butt and lift it back to the starting point.
For all these exercises, speed things up and make sure your heart is pumping.
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FAQs
Can You Get Rid of Love Handles without Exercise?
No, you can’t get rid of love handles without exercise. While diet plays a very important role in making sure you metabolize fat reserves, it’s very important to work your muscles to achieve your goals.
Should You Only Do Ab Workouts for Love Handles?
No, you shouldn’t only do ab workouts for love handles. While they are great for building up muscle definition, you’ll need to burn a lot more calories through aerobic exercises to target abdominal fat.
Take A Targeted Approach To Love Handles
There is no one solution when it comes to dealing with excess fat. After getting your diet locked in, try getting into the habit of doing aerobic exercises at least three times a week and add in the above core workouts.
And if you want to speed things up a bit, then you should consider adding a women's fat burner to your diet. These are not magic bullets that give you an excuse to eat donuts and skip a trip to the gym.
But with the right lifestyle changes and a metabolic boost, you’ll be surprised how much sooner you can get into shape.
References:
- https://www.clinicalcorrelations.org/2018/11/09/diet-vs-exercise-which-is-superior-for-weight-loss
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.01307/full
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856431/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866448/
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