“Love handles” is actually a slang term that elaborates the fat deposits along the sides of your waist and hips. You can also call these deposits a “muffin top” or a “spare tire.” So, what are some best exercises for love handles?
While you are possibly most concerned about the way love handles look, studies predict that excess fat around the waist can increase your risk for health conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
There’s no way to “spot reduce” love handles away ,except for shortage of liposuction or another cosmetic procedure.But achieving and maintaining a weight that’s healthy for you and increasing your muscle mass with exercise can help you in getting rid of love handles while improving your overall health.
Your fitness schedule should consist of moves to strengthen your core muscles (the muscles in your abdomen). Not only those who can help your midsection look better, but a strong core also
- Helps you prevent back injuries and back pain
- Improves balance of the body
- Improves posture of your body
- Helps protecting your hips and knees
Abs exercises alone won’t help you to get rid of love handles. But exercises like deadlifts (left) and pull ups too can help you build a stronger core.
What Causes Love Handles?
Are You Interested To Know What Love Handles Are Caused By?
Love handles are basically caused by fatty tissue around your abdominal region.
Your body tends to store fat around the middle depends on
Genetics
Fat storage patterns tend to be inherited in families.
Hormones
Men (and those identified as male at birth) are more likely to store fat in their mid section area rather than the hips and thighs.
Age
The levels of belly fat tend to increase at midlife and later.
There is a possibility to have a body mass index (BMI) that is thought to be healthy and still have too much belly fat for their optimum health. Your waist measurement can be a general indicator of whether you have unhealthy levels of belly fat or not
- For men and those who were assigned male at their birth time, can have a waist over 40 inches.
- For women and those who were assigned female at birth, it’s over 35 inches.
If you have a larger body size, measuring your exact waist may seem to be less important than whether your waistline is getting larger over time.
You can’t alter the fat storage patterns of your body. But when you lose fat and build muscle through a healthy diet and physical activity, your belly will most likely shrink, and in this way you may lose your love handles. Some research has found that exercise is even more effective for reducing belly fat than for overall weight loss and is difficult too.
Exercises For Love Handles
Side Planks
Planks target the obliques that are the muscles that form the sides of your waist. Start on your side, prop up on your forearms, and stack your legs for some time. Lift your hips and be straight from head to toe. Hold for 30–60 seconds. You can do this exercise turn by turn i.e. not by both forearms.
Why Does It Work?
Planks are beneficial because they build oblique strength and endurance,which may lead to tone the side waistline.
Bicycle Crunches
This exercise is beneficial for your love handles ,just lie on your back, bend your knees, and do an alternate touch to your elbow to the opposite knee while straightening the other leg slowly.
Perform almost 15–30 reps per side.
Why Does It Work?
This exercise engages both the obliques and deeper core muscles with some added twist.
Russian Twists
Sit with your knees bent and feet off or on the ground. Hold a weight (if you want to) and rotate your belly side to side for almost 30–60 seconds.
Why Does It Work?
This exercise targets the rotational strength in your obliques.
Mountain Climbers
Begin this exercise with a plank, then move each knee towards your chest in a running motion. Continue this movement for 30–60 seconds or in intervals like “20 seconds on, 10 off.”
Why Does It Work?
This exercise combines both cardio with core stabilization that is proven to be great for fat burning and core control.
Kettlebell Swing
This exercise can be performed by standing with feet by being shoulder-width apart, hinge at the hips to swing a kettlebell back between your legs and then thrust the hips to the forward position to power the swing up to shoulder height. Perform 4 sets of 10–12 reps.
Why Does It Work?
This activity provides a dynamic and full-body move that ramps up calorie burn and your core engagement.
Other Exercises That May Fix Your Love Handles ,Include
- Burpees
- HIIT + Strength Combo (HCS Plan)
- Hanging Leg Raises
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bridge
- Seated Trunk Rotation
- Side Planks
Recommended targeted exercises consist of mountain climbers, Russian twists, sit-ups, speed skaters, and side planks.
Holistic Tips From Medical Sources
No Spot Reduction
You can’t burn fat from selected areas with targeted exercises alone.
Best Approach
Do cardio and full-body strength training with a calorie-maintained diet to lose overall fat, by also revealing toned obliques.
Medical Procedures
Plastic surgeries are sometimes used to reduce fat retention in specific areas of the body. One of these procedures is known as liposuction.
During liposuction, a patient is injected by a solution into the targeted region, such as your belly,thighs etc, to liquefy fat cells. Then they remove the fat cells from that region using a vacuum-like aspirator. Results may be observed after some days of treatment.
But keep it in mind that liposuction isn’t a whole-body solution. It only targets specific areas of the body. Moreover, without doing any changes in your lifestyle, the fat cells are most likely to return to its position.The health specialists recommend liposuction only for those people who are moderately overweight.
Other medical procedures, such as weight loss surgery, may also be done to support weight loss in adults who are obese.
Nutritional And Sleep Tips
It is pointless if you do endless crunches,because your abs will only be visible if you reduce excessive fat through healthy and nutritional eating. What you add into your body has much to do with how your body eliminates, processes, and stores excess calories and fat too.
Try Some Of The Following Tips For Healthy Eating To Lose Weight
- Choose those carbs that have a lot of fibers, for instance beans or sweet potatoes, which help you in controlling appetite by adding bulk to your meals and satisfying your hunger.
- Discuss your health condition with a registered dietitian or nutritionist about how many calories your body actually needs to achieve your weight goals or to maintain your weight by adopting a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. Those dietitians may help you in determining your calorie goals which are based on your activity level, age, health conditions, gender, and weight.
- Try to drink water instead of sugary beverages like soda
- Limit the intake of processed foods that are rich in calories, fat, and sugar too.
- Make some fresh fruit and vegetables salads or shakes,lean proteins (meat,eggs), low-fat dairy products ,and whole grains a part of each meal.
Exercises and healthy eating are good ways to lose love handles but, a good night’s rest helps you in controlling your weight. Deprivation of sleep can make you hungry and you crave for high-calorie and high-carb foods. Not getting enough sleep also causes a raise in your cortisol levels, which in return gain your weight.
Try to create a bedtime routine that promotes relaxation and good sleep.
For example, limit your screen time and do not consume sugary beverages or high-calorie meals before bedtime.
Keep your sleep environment dark and comfortable for better sleep.
Conclusion
Love handles are the excessive fat that gathers over your abdominal area. Some workout helps strengthen and tone your core and reduce love handles. Still, a balanced and nutritional diet and a combination of cardio and strength training exercises are essential for better health and can affect your weight management or loss.
Consult a dietician before starting a new exercise and diet plan. They can help you to determine how many calories and nutrients your body actually needs daily to lose weight and maintain health.
