Let’s be honest, they don’t fit into your skinny jeans, and they can be pretty challenging to get rid of. And that is because love handle fat sits on the side of the abdominal area.
Lots of people think that a typical ab workout will blast it away, but this isn’t the case. Love handles lie on top of the obliques, which are a very specific group of abdominal muscles, and you need а special group of exercises.
To get rid of love handles you need to target it accurately and precisely, and yes, you can target your obliques to maximize toning, but fat is lost through cardio and diet. And unless you get rid of your excess fat through healthy eating, your toned abs will never be seen.
The best strategy for kicking your love handles to the curb:
Step 1. You need to eat lean. You need to eat clean.
Step 2. You need to add in a 30-minute cardio session every other day and if you’re feeling really hardcore, beef it up to 6 days a week. Research at Duke University found that people who walked for about 30 minutes 6 days a week gained hardly any abdominal fat over an 8-month period.
Step 3. You need to try the following 10-minute love handle workout, that hits the obliques hard, while also working the rest of your core. Trust me, it’ll give those love handles good shape.
A 10-MINUTE LOVE HANDLE WORKOUT
All you need is to repeat the following circuit 3 times. You need to move as quickly as possible from exercise to exercise and do this routine 3 times a week.
50 RUSSIAN TWISTS
First, sit on your butt with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, your torso should be leaning back at a 45 angle to the floor.
Then hold a dumbbell with both hands and next lift your feet from the ground, crossing them at the ankles and balancing on your butt.
From this position, you need to twist your torso to the right and touch your dumbbell to the ground next to your body and then twist back over to the left touching the weight to the left side of your body.
You need to repeat back and forth, all while balancing with your legs and torso raised off of the ground.
30 SIDE PLANK HIP LIFTS
You need to get into a side plank position with your elbow on the ground and your legs and hips resting on the ground. Then engaging your abs and keeping your body in a straight line, raise the lower half of your body up off the ground into a straight plank position.
Next, lower again and repeat. You need to do 15 on your right side, and then 15 on your left side.
30 BICYCLE CRUNCHES
First, you need to lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands behind your head. Then do not clasp your hands together and engage your abs, lifting your shoulders and upper back off of the ground.
You need at the same time to move your right elbow toward your left knee so that they meet in the middle of your body. Then you need to switch your position by bringing your left elbow to your right knee.
Next, continue as quickly as possible while still keeping your torso raised up off the ground.
40 WOODCHOPPERS
Do 20 on each side using one hand weight, stand with your feet hip-width apart with your weight on your left leg.
First, start by holding the weight in both hands up by your left shoulder and next, twist to make a chopping motion down towards your right hip.
Then allow your feet and knees to pivot with the twist and raise the weight back up to your left shoulder and repeat for 20 reps. And then work your right side.
FOOT TO FOOT CRUNCH
3 sets each 10 repetitions. Make sure to breathe in and out each rep, and focus on tightening your core, not your neck, through each repetition. Make sure to focus on your form for each lift as well.
Extend your hands, but do so in a comfortable motion. Stop the exercise if you feel any pain, especially in your lower back.
