Last Updated on September 4, 2019 by Femniqe
At some point in all of our lives we will get love handles. But it doesn’t have to be forever if you take action and make some changes in your daily lifestyle.
The truth is that there isn’t one secret to losing love handles! It’s actually a combination of many factors.
In this short guide you’re going to learn three best love handle workouts that you can do to help you get rid of them, and some tips to help speed up your results.
What cause the love handles?
It’s because of the stress hormone called cortisol. It’s actually responsible for the excess belly fat, and that’s just a small part of the story.
Your body produces the hormone in response to emotional, mental and physical stress.
The surprising thing is that a lot of things can easily trigger this hormone. Let’s look at some of the culprits that can boost the production of cortisol.
- Relationship trouble
- Job pressure
- Lack of quality sleep
- Emotional trauma
- Excessive exercise
- Infection
- Fasting or starvation (low-calorie diets)
These are just for a few but common ones that cause the production of this hormone.
Don’t get it wrong, this stress hormone by itself will not make you fat. Research has linked high cortisol levels with storage of body fat mainly in the abdominal area, otherwise known as visceral belly fat.
This is one of the most dangerous forms of fat because it’s packed deep into the abdominal cavity and around your internal organs while “regular” fat is just stored below the skin.
Too much visceral fat can lead to heart disease and diabetes, that’s why it’s critical to avoid storage of excess fat in your belly and controlling your response to stress.
Having a positive outlook on life can surprisingly change your overall health. So no matter how stressful a situation, have control over the way you react.
The best love handle workouts
Now let’s dive into the three workouts that you will be doing to help you get rid of excess fat in your abdominal area. These moves are designed specifically to target your obliques and trim your waist fat.
“But I have read that spot reducing doesn’t work”
There’s a lot of debate about whether spot reducing works or not but fitness experts are complicating this and confusing a lot of people.
It’s general knowledge that you can’t just target an area and lose fat, but you have to have a more overall approach.
Spot reduction works as long as you combine targeted exercises with cardio.
It’s as simple as that! The workouts listed below are the targeted love handle workouts that you can do 3 to 4 times a week and you should include cardio at least 2 times a week.
There’s no need to overdo cardio, your routine is intense so it will burn a lot of calories.
OK, let’s get started!
1. Single bicycle lock
- Lie down on your back with your hands behind your head.
- Raise your right leg into the crunch position while your left leg is still extended.
- Keep your right leg locked into the position while your left leg moves in and out in the crunch position.
- Go back to the starting position and repeat.
- Do 3 sets of 30 reps.
2. Double reach crunch
- This move is similar to the first one. Lie down on your back with your right hand behind your head while your left hand is on the floor.
- Your right leg should be locked into the crunch position while your left leg is extended.
- Now raise your left leg in to touch your right elbow.
- Do three sets of 25 reps.
3. Side plank knee crunch
- Get into the side plank position with your right forearm holding up your body.
- Your left leg should be slightly suspended in the air.
- Move your left leg up into your chest as if you’re in a crunch position.
- Do 3 sets of 20 reps
The cardio workout routine FOR LOVE HANDLES
As mentioned earlier, you will need to add cardio to these targeted love workouts. In the video below is a very powerful cardio HIIT workout that you can do to maximize your calorie burn per session.
Do this routine two times a week to maximize your results.
Tips to help you lose love handles faster
- Eat more frequently – try your best not to miss meals as this will increase your cortisol levels so eat at least 3 to 5 meals spread out throughout the day. A good tactic is to set your alarm every three hours to remind you to eat something to avoid spiking insulin levels. Doing this will also help you to take more control over your cortisol production.
- Don’t ever skip breakfast – if you skip breakfast you’re only forcing your body to create more stress hormones which will only cause more benefit. So make it a habit to eat something in the morning before you leave out for work or school. Remember that when you’re sleeping you’re basically fasting for 6- 8 hours, so you need to put something healthy in your stomach.
- You need to get quality sleep – not sleeping properly at nights is one of the best ways to boost stress hormone productions which will lead to excess belly fat. So make it a point of duty to go to your bed at a specific time and get at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep.
- Go easy on the alcohol – this might be hard for some people as you don’t want to go to a party and not drink something. We’re not saying you should ban alcohol completely from your life but you have to reduce your intake if you want to reduce excess belly fat.
Drinking too much alcohol can cause blood sugar swings which is the reason why you might experience restless sleeping after drinking. Ideally you can drink 1 to 2 drinks once or twice a week when you’re on a fitness regime.
- Try to respond to every situation positively – it’s time for people to stop underestimating the massive effect that stress has on your body. The more you stress is the more you’re inviting all types of diseases into your body as a result of the excess hormones being released.
You might not have control over a particular situation but what do you have is 100% control over the way you react to it.
So try to stay positive, your body will thank you for it.
- Eat to fight love handles – Make it a habit to avoid eating refined grains and foods that are high in saturated fat and sugar. Doing this will help you to trim calories and fat fast! Countless studies have been done proving how deadly sugar sweetened beverages are and how it correlates with higher levels of belly fat.
In 2010 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition did some studies and found out that when you increase the consumption of refined grains it increases the levels of visceral fat, while increased consumption of whole grains lead to lower levels of fat.
In other words, try your best to cut pasta, white bread, snack mixes, candies, baked treats and syrup out of your diet to reduce your calorie intake.
This might seem hard for a lot of people but you have to do this if you want to get the body that you desire.
So what you should do instead?
Your calories should come from foods such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods.
For example, your breakfast should consist of eggs with whole-grain toast and an apple or a whole wheat English muffin pasted with low-fat peanut butter and a banana.
You can even add berries and almonds do a little low-fat Greek yogurt if you want something creamy in the morning.
For lunch and dinner you can alternate low-fat protein sources such as tuna, salmon, skinless chicken, tempeh and trimmed flank steak.
Of course, make sure to add some vegetables to your lunch and dinner. In the evening when you want to snack you can go for a piece of fresh fruit such as a couple berries or low-fat cheese with whole-grain crackers.
When making dressings use lemon juice or vinegar with olive oil as it will add flavor to your meat and vegetables.
The point is, you have to be proactive with your daily diet as that is winning more than half of the battle if you want to reach your fitness goals.
Try these best love handle workouts
This plan might seem simple but it’s very effective and as long as you’re consistent and dedicated your results are inevitable.
So give it a try and keep us updated as you go along!