Workouts For Love Handles

A ubiquitous question I get when training clients and designing meal plans is, ” What are the best Workouts For Love Handles.” You may also know them by other names like “Muffin top” or even a “spare tire.”  I think the proper name should be called hate handles if you ask me! If you are a man with love handles or a woman with love handles, it can be quite frustrating to make them disappear.

When writing this, I’m seeing many more friends and family with these dreaded love handles because of Covid and all the gyms shut down. Now that things are mostly back open, there is no excuse!

WHAT ARE LOVE HANDLES AND WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED

They are located right around the hips and basically areas of skin that can sag outwards or hang over if they get too big.   If someone is wearing very tight clothing, they are easier to see, especially workout clothes. The cause of them is too much fat built up around the abdominal and hip area. Love handles to get rid of a lot of your confidence. So let’s get rid of them to get your confidence back!

I have a few clients with love handles back in the day, and now no sign of them. So this is possible with a good game plan to get rid of excess abdominal fat.

 

WHAT CAUSES LOVE HANDLES

The reason people get love handles is basically from gaining too much fat.  If you are consuming too many calories or not burning as many as your body is taking in, this will absolutely happen.  You can either be a man with love handles or a woman with love handles. You can start to accumulate fat basically anywhere in the body, but there are certain reasons why you may start to see more fat in the hip and lower back areas.

Here are some prevalent reasons that contribute to love handles.

1. Diet: Too many fats, sugars, or high calories foods.
2. Age: The older you get, it becomes more common and harder to get rid of love handles.
3. Sleep: If you are not getting enough sleep, this can make you tired and lazy to work out and eat healthily.
4. Not working out: No physical activity will increase the chances dramatically for love handles.

ARE LOVE HANDLES DANGEROUS

In general, they cannot do anything to kill you directly or put you in extreme harm. The main concern is they may indicate other issues going on in the body. Having love handles definitely can be a sign of these five things and many others.

1. Heart Disease
2. High cholesterol
3. High blood pressure
4. Stroke
5. Liver disease

You really need to be careful and try to avoid these issues. If you let yourself go and your diet gets horrible, you may also get love handles stretch marks. These can be a little embarrassing and are very available with a consistently healthy diet and exercise.

LOVE HANDLES EXERCISES

Many great exercises will 100% help get rid of them. Many workouts at home can be done or at the gym.  There are so many easy workouts, but you have to realize that love handles reduction exercises are based on a few things and not just “spot reduction.”  You can’t just pick one lift and expect it to directly only work the love handles and make them disappear.

You have to look at the big picture.  The big picture is how you are eating overall and working out. It would help if you had a great diet and some cardio included. Let’s say you find a pretty good workout that directly works your love handles, but your diet is crap.  Then you will still not see the results you want and potentially never get rid of these muffin tops!

The Secret: Combine weight training with cardio. Target the weight training with upper body workouts based on hitting the love handles as much as possible. The goal is to lose overall body fat. Aim for 5-10 hours of exercise per week.

Here are some great Love Handles Exercises to get rid of that excess fat.

1. SPIDERMAN PLANK CRUNCH

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How To Do it

• First, start in a plank position with the forearms. (Or as in video with arms extended if you prefer) If you are not familiar with the plank position, you can check it out Plank Position, next, with your feet about the width of your hips apart. Then squeeze your glutes while engaging your core and elbows underneath your shoulders. I would also recommend making sure your neck is in line with your spine to a straight line from your heels to your head.
• Next, I want you to bend your right leg to bring your left knee as close as possible to your left elbow. Keeps your hips as level as possible while doing this.
• Now pause, and then step back to your original starting plank position. Do the same thing now with your right knee to your right elbow and bend your left leg.
• However many reps you decide on, keep doing this until you finish!

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2. CRUNCHES WITH A TWIST AT THE END

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How To Do It

• Starting position:  lay on your back on a mat or a towel. Bring your hands up by your ears and take your elbows out wide. Then elevate your left leg off the floor with a 90-degree bend at your hips and your knees. Your shins should be parallel to the flood and your thighs vertical.
• Next, keep your lower back against the flood and tuck your chin to your chest. Keep your belly button down and contract your abs to roll the upper part of your spine off the floor. While doing this, you should twist your upper body to the right while using your obliques.  Your left shoulder and elbow rotate across to your right knee.
• Finally, you can now lower yourself back to the floor by rolling your spine back down to the floor and returning your left shoulder to the floor and left elbow back out to your starting position.
• Repeat the same thing but with your other arm now.  1 rep is equal to doing both arms, not just 1. these are great for your abdominal muscles.

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3. SPORTS BALL CRUNCHES

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How To Do It

• Starting position: Place your belly on the stability ball, and then with your hands, walk forward on the floor until the stability ball is underneath your ankles and shins. Your hands should be directly beneath your shoulders for the best alignment, with your feet pressing down on the ball to become more stable.
  
• Now is where you really have to focus on engaging your core because this is what keeps you in place. If your abs are not tight, you may roll off the ball.
• Exhale as you bring your knees towards your chest while flexing and engaging your abs as they approach your chest.
• Inhale and bring your legs back to the starting position. This means your legs should be straightened behind you and your body is basically in a straight line. .
• Repeat as many times as you feel comfortable.

In this video, you can see she has added in a push-up as well. This is a great idea to maximize your workout!

HOW LOW DOES YOUR BODY FAT HAVE TO BE FOR ABDOMINAL MUSCLES TO SHOW

It’s no secret that sculpting a set of washboard abs takes more than just a few abdominal exercises. In order to see your abs, you’ll need to lower your body fat to an optimal level. According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), women should aim for a body fat percentage of 14 to 20 percent, while men should try to achieve 6 to 13 percent.

There are a few ways to go about lowering your body fat percentage. First, ensure you’re eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. Second, try adding some targeted exercises like crunches or Pilates to your routine. And third, make sure you’re getting enough exercise overall — aim for at least 30 minutes per day.

There are many ways to lose fat, but the best place to start is by reducing your overall calorie intake and increasing your activity level. Try incorporating cardiovascular exercise and strength training into your routine. And be sure to focus on reducing belly fat-causing foods like saturated and trans fats, processed foods, sugary drinks, and alcohol.

Even if you’re not quite at your goal body fat percentage yet, don’t give up! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t expect to lose all your stubborn belly fat overnight. Just keep working at it, and eventually, you’ll see those amazing abs you’ve always wanted.

If you’re really serious about toning up your abs, you may want to consider hiring a personal trainer who can help create a workout program tailored just for you. By following these tips and working hard, you’ll be able to achieve that elusive six-pack!

HOW TO GET RID OF LOVE HANDLES

Are you frustrated with your love handles? Do you feel like they just won’t go away, no matter how much you diet or exercise? You’re not alone. Love handles are a common problem for many people. Abdominal fat can be extremely tough to get rid of. With the right strategy, you will soon be seeing those abdominal muscles that have been hiding.

But don’t worry. There are ways to get rid of them. Here are a few tips:

1. Diet: It’s important to eat a healthy diet if you want to lose weight. Avoid processed foods and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

2. Exercise: Regular exercise is essential for weight loss. Try cardio exercises like running or cycling or strength training exercises like squats and lunges.

3. Reduce stress: Stress can lead to weight gain, so it’s important to find ways to reduce stress in your life. Meditation, yoga, and relaxation techniques can help.

4. Drink plenty of water: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to help flush out toxins and keep your metabolism going. If you are not sure how much water you should be drinking, I recommend you check out an article on wrote called how much water should you drink

Following these tips will help you lose weight and get rid of those love handles for good!

WHAT IS A BODY MASS INDEX AND HOW LOW SHOULD IT BE

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both men and women. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness.

BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it is not diagnostic of the presence or absence of a health condition. This will determine if you have too much excess fat.

For adults, a BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 or greater is obese. A BMI below 18.5 may indicate that a person is underweight.

How Low Does Your BMI Have to Be to See Your Abdominal Muscles?

A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9, so if your BMI falls below this, then you may have too little body fat and might see your abdominal muscles more clearly than someone with a healthy BMI.

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LOVE HANDLES SURGERY

This can be otherwise known as love handles lipo or liposuction. You would have to go to a surgeon for this, and the results can vary. The surgeon will basically inject a solution into the area where your love handles are located by the hips.  In doing this, the goal is to liquefy fat cells.  After you are injected, then your fat cells will be removed with a vacuum-like machine.

I know someone who has done this, and they could see results within a few days. They only had lipo done around their hip area because liposuction is not a whole-body process.  If you are interested in getting lipo, know it is for targeted areas. More importantly, you need to keep in mind what will happen if you don’t change your habits after the surgery.

They will come back!

The fat cells most likely will return, and you are back to square one.

FINAL WORD

If you notice you have love handles, then you are most likely overweight with too much body fat. The solution is a better diet and more exercise. This is the solution and the only one I recommend, although if you want to try liposuctions, then  TALK TO A DOCTOR FIRST!

Please do not get frustrated if they do not disappear the first week or even in a few months. This process can take time and will take time if you are not very disciplined in your approach. I want to recommend a few articles I have written on weight loss you can read that may help you speed up the process.

1. Not sure what to eat? Best Food For Weight Loss.
2. Fastest ways to lose weight Best Way To Lose Weight.
3. Top 5 muscle-building supplements Gain Muscle.

 

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” ~ Thomas Jefferson