Love handles or muffin top are delicious names but is acommon problem area in both men and women’s bodies.Although you tried endlessly to lose them, do you stillfeel that you are chasing the roadrunner? So, let’s dosome correct killer exercises to get rid of love handlespermanently this time and be informed about what are wedoing wrong!
Why do we have Love Handles?
They strip down your confidence to wear your favoritebody-hugging outfit. I have been there, done that. Believeme, I’ve tried to do it all. I was constantly askingmyself, why can’t I lose weight or get rid of my lovehandles?
Sometimes, I even started thinking that I have a medicalcondition and even had many body checkups to see if i wereokay.
Before making time to do exercises to get rid of lovehandles, we should admit that we are the wrongdoers whenit comes to our bodies.
I used to eat a lot of candy, cake and different types ofhigh calorie foods and those damn love handles appearedright before my eyes. Even then I was thinking, what am Idoing wrong?
Despite the fact that love handles do pronounce a lot morefat around the hip area when we wear tight clothing, it isnot all about your appearance. It can also be anindication of bad health. Love handles, or the fataccumulated around the abdominal and hip area can alsogive the illusion ofhip dipswhich are not actually there.
There were literally days and nights that all I couldthink about was my love handles and how they made my bootylook disproportionate.
There might be several factors to support love handles tobe hung around your body.
First main factor is not moving your body enough. If yousit on a chair all day and eat, you might wanna rethinkthat.
The other factor is the diet. If you are a sweet tooth ora junk food junkie, the chances are you’ve got more fataround hip area than the others.
But, in some cases, lack of sleep, stress or rarely someunderlying health problems can also cause love handles.
First Things First
But first of all, DO NOT PANIC! You know about Cortisol,the stress hormone, right? If you stress too much youwon’t get any of the benefits from any exercise or food.Don’t ever think that this love handle, that double chinor that arm fat is making you less beautiful.
THEY DON’T! But, it is crucial to take care of your bodyand maintain a good health. Why waste your hard earnedmoney for health issues that you can address byyourselves?
It is important to limit your workout to a maximum of 1hour, because the longer your exercise will be, morestressed you’d be about all the things you need to getdone after.
Before jumping into the exercises to get rid of lovehandles, let’s prep you up good!
Preparing for a Workout
Hold on there, tiger! Don’t just walk outta the bathroomand start crunching on the floor. You need to follow somesimple rules in order to get the best out of your workout.Please skip this part and go straight down to the killerexercises to get rid of love handles if you are alreadyfamiliar with the drill.
- Have a good night sleep before you start your workoutwhether you have a morning or evening workout session.Have at least 7 hours of sleep to save your energy toworkout. If you didn’t get enough sleep your moves willbe sloppy and the whole time you will be light- headed.Not to mention, you need a better slumber to repair yourmicro-tears caused from the workout you had the otherday. If you don’t sleep, no results. Period!
- Get something to eat 1 to 2 hours prior to have theenergy to perform the exercises. Especially, if you havegastritis or a tender stomach, don’t work out on anempty stomach.
- Stay hydrated before and throughout the workout.
- Use correct footwear and undergarments such as sportsbras and supporter underwear to support your movementsand prevent injury.
- Always remember to warm up 5 to 10 minutes beforestarting the workout.
No matter the cause is, these correct exercises can helpyou reach your weight goals, kick them troublesome fatoutta your life and keep a good physical and mentalhealth. Let’s go!
Best exercises to get rid of love handles
7. Bicycle Crunch
A lot of us are familiar with this exercise, although itis really difficult to do 40 Bicycles crunches in a row.But, if you manage to do it then the results would begreat.
- You should first lay on your back, keeping your head andhips straight. Then take your hands off the ground andkeep your fingers lightly on the sides of your head
- Don’t pull your head upwards with your hands keepingthem under your head. Just keep them very lightly withelbows out just to allow the head elevation.
- Then lift up your legs with bending knees in a 90degrees angle.
- Now start touching your right knee with your left elbowand left knee with your right elbow. You might not beable to touch your knees with your elbows, but tryingso, you can have the full range of motion.
- Keep your head and shoulders off the ground the wholetime. Try to stretch your legs as far as you can whenyou elongate them parallel to the ground.
- Don’t forget to keep a steady pace.
A lot of people try to hold their breath during obliqueexercises. But this is wrong. Be sure to breathe properly,especially when doing a workout like this you need tooxygenate those core muscles the entire time. Inhalethrough your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Bicycle crunches are not only among the best exercises toget rid of love handles, it is a great exercise tostrengthen your core muscles as well.
Try to do 30 reps in a row and add in a couple of sets ofthese to your workout and you’ll start to notice thedifference in no time!
6. Windshield Wipers
NO: I am not kidding! Seriously! You are going to wipethose windshields with your legs.
YES. That’s right!
You are going to mimic the movement of windshield wipersin your vehicle, but this time you are laying down on yourmat.
- Keep your hands spread apart wide on your sides and liftup your legs 90 degrees and move them from side to sideslowly.
- Take your legs down to the side as far as you arecomfortable and start moving them to the other side.
- Support your movement by lightly gripping the groundwith your hands. But don’t try to completely rely on itas you need to give the full focus to your oblique andleg muscles.
This exercise can be a bit tricky. Therefore, try to avoidit if your back starts to hurt.If it is caused bythe solid floor then try keeping a layer of towel or clothunder your hip.Do 30 reps of this movement andyou’ll feel the burn. Oh yeah!
5. Side Leg lift with a Crunch
This exercise is so good for the side oblique muscles. Itcan strengthen and support you to lose excess fat aroundthat hip area.
- You simply need to lay on your side keeping your bodystraight in a line.
- Then support your head with the hand on the ground.
- Lift your leg upwards as far as you can and crunch tothe side simultaneously.
Don’t make wobbly movements. Take control of your legs andkeep them steady as long as you can. Try to stretch yourlegs without bending your knees. This small change willfeel totally different on your side body.
You can modify this exercise to a simple leg lift if yourneck hurts while crunching.
If not, balance each side with 30 reps of these and makethose hips sexier!
4. Plank Hip Twist
One of my personal favorite exercises to get rid of lovehandles are Plank Twists. They are great and fun at thesame time. Bonus, they are a challenge!
- You have to come to a half plank position with keepingyour elbows on the ground.
- Keep your body straight and parallel to the ground. Giveall of your attention to your oblique muscles andposition your body properly with the support of yourfeet.
- Now, with your hip, twist from one side to another asdown as you can.
With time you’ll be able to reach the ground and touch itwith your hips.
For a better support, try clasping your fingerstogether.
Plank Twists have two advantages. They work as a regularPlank exercise, strengthening your oblique muscles and thetwist gives you that hourglass waist you’ve always dreamtof.
Do 30 reps of these and you’ll see a real twist at theend!
3. Side Plank Dip
As far as I experienced, this is another killer exerciseto get rid of that pesky side abdominal fat.
- Lie down on your side and stretch your legs keeping yourbody in a straight line.
- With your elbow’s support try to elevate your body fromthe ground and reach up as much as you can, and thencome back down.
This move directly targets your side abdominal muscles andtake your heart rate up like crazy if donecorrectly.
If you feel it’s too difficult for you, try to keep onefoot in front of the other.
If you need to modify this exercise, you can bend yourknees and lift your hips upwards keeping your hand on yourside.
Believe me, modifying this exercise won’t make it a walkin a park.
Doing these 25 or 30 reps each side can also take you onestep closer to that hourglass figure.
2. Russian Twists
This is another top exercise to strengthen the obliquesand according to my research it is among the greatestexercises to get rid of love handles.
- Sit down on your mat on your back and place your legs infront of you with a bit of an angle.
- Then tilt your body back and balance yourself with thehelp of your back, while keeping your legs above theground.
- Then imagine trying to touch the sides of the groundwith your arms twisting your body.
- Breathe properly and maintain a steady pace. Keep yourlegs and neck steady.
If this is too hard for you, keep your legs on the groundand move your hands side to side twisting yourtorso.
But, if you are one of them who seek a challenge likemyself, then hold a weight which is suitable for you andperform the exercise.
30 reps of these will make you say, “Oh, thoserussians..”
1. Cardio
Yes yes I know. Old school cardio. But, listen to this, Iguarantee you if you do at least 30 minutes of cardioeveryday, your love handles will be gone just like that. Iclearly understand that with the current life-style takinga walk or a jog is kind of tricky.
But, it ain’t without a prize.
My best suggestion is to hop onto the elliptical machineor a treadmill for 30 minutes if you cannot do eitheraforesaid exercises.
If you get bored easily, there are tons of cardio workoutsfor men and women from easy to intense levels available onyoutube that you can follow along.
Choose fun cardio rather than generic stuff. My bestsolution is dance cardio or tabata.
If you are into sports do whatever you prefer such asBadminton, Tennis, Swimming, etc.
I had a massive difference adding cardio 3 times a week tomy workout schedule.
Conclusion
Like everyone else, I am going to say it too.
You won’t be able to lose weight if you constantlyeat high calorie, processed or sugaryfoods.
I won’t tell you to cut out sugar completely out of yourdiet, but I can guarantee you that, otherwise you won’tsee the results you expect.
Not only, it makes you gain more weightbut can make you a diabetic faster thanyou think.
There might be thousands of exercises to get rid of lovehandles, but without a healthy diet,those love handles gonna hold on to you a littlelonger.
Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to satisfy yourfood cravings and take more protein rich food such aseggs.
Drink 3 liters of water a day to help you lose moreweight.
Be mindful of what you consume, but don’t stress out toomuch and make your life unpleasant.
By now you might know that you cannot spot reduce fat. Youhave to burn fat from all over your body. That’s why Ihave included cardio exercises along with the bestexercises to get rid of love handles.
I can reassure you that acombination of cardio and these exercises to get rid of love handles canget you in great shape in less than a month.
I keep myworkouts limited to 4 to 5 days a week. It’s amoderate, consistent and a stress freeschedule.
Try these workouts consistently and let me know yourresults. What is your favorite exercise from these? Isthere any other exercises which are far more effective?Let me know your experiences.
Until then good luck!
