Since there is nothing to love about love handles, how they got their name is a mystery. The truth is, many of us spend time trying to eliminate, or at least reduce, these unwanted areas of fat around our hip area.
Love handles are also referred to as “muffin tops.” Although both have warm and fuzzy names, these terms refer to excess weight and fat around the sides of our waist. They create undesirable bulges and rolls that often spill over the top of our pants and skirts.
While targeting body fat reduction around the waistline is not possible, combining cardiovascular exercises and strength training may trim down this area as you lose weight.
Why Love Handles Appear
The underlying cause of love handles is the accumulation and retention of fat cells when you consume more calories than you burn. Fat storage is more common in specific areas of the body, such as the abdominal area, hips, and lower back.
Many factors can influence body fat distribution and may contribute to the development of love handles, such as:
- Hormones
- Poor sleep patterns and stress
- Decrease in muscle mass and a change in body composition as we age
- A lack of physical activity
- Poor nutrition and diet that contributes to fat accumulation
- Medical issues and medications
Our 5 Best Exercises to Lose Love Handles
Love handles are not dangerous in themselves. However, obesity and abdominal fat accumulation may lead to a higher risk of certain serious health complications.
The good news is that by combining cardiovascular exercises, ab workouts, and weight training, you may be able to reduce those undesirable midsection rolls.
Our recommended love handle workouts are:
Abdominal Twists
This seated exercise is a great place to start. Also referred to as Russian Twists, this is one of the most popular love handle workouts. It can strengthen your core and oblique and trim your midsection all at once.
If you’re new to this exercise, try doing it without a dumbbell at first. Then, as you get used to it, you can try holding a hand weight to increase the resistance.
Bicycle Crunches
Perhaps one of the most widely used oblique exercises and one of the best love handle exercises is bicycle crunches. This training move targets both superficial and deep core muscles, combining the benefits of cardio and strength movements.
Leg Windshield Wipers
The idea here is to keep your legs straight up while lying down, then move your legs from one side of your body to the other using only the twisting of your torso. It is one of the best core exercises to build muscle across your midsection.
V Ups
This side fat workout is ideal for stability, power, and reducing fat through the lower abs and hips. Perform V-ups by lying flat on your back, then simultaneously lifting your lower and upper body into the shape of a V.
As you advance, perform the V-up by holding a free weight like a dumbbell or medicine ball while performing the exercise. Start with just a few reps at first, as you will undoubtedly feel the impact of this ab exercise the next day.
Sides Planks
Not often on anyone’s list of favorites, planks can be challenging, but they work!
A basic side blank is an advanced core strengthening exercise that will help you build a strong abdominal wall and midline. Start slowly and build up your endurance so you won’t get discouraged with this effective move that can also test your mental stamina. Working with a fitness coach can keep you motivated not to quit!
Why Fit Body Boot Camp
Although you may be able to execute these workouts at home, we recommend joining a boot camp to help you perfect your form and provide motivation to lose those love handles. Plus, you will also want to include cardio to help lose the excess fat.
Boot camps offer a superior training format to help increase strength, burn calories, and lose weight. However, what makes boot camp workouts so unique is that they emphasize total-body functional training.
Additionally, when focusing on slimming your waistline and eliminating that muffin top, both strength training and cardio play a role.
Fit Body Boot Camp can help with our quick and effective 30-minute Afterburn workout. Our signature Afterburn Fit Body Boot Camp program is truly a life-changing workout. Based on science and technology, our Afterburn FBBC program combines specific exercises so your body will operate at an elevated metabolism in the hours following your training.
Let’s face it; when you’re at home, there are dozens of distractions and temptations to derail any type of workout. Instead, join us at your local Fit Body Boot Camp and experience all we have to offer:
- All fitness levels welcome
- Positive community
- Fun body toning workouts
- Certified fitness coaches
- Support and accountability
- Results you’ll be proud of
- No intimidating equipment
- No figuring it out alone
A Final Thought
If you eat a healthy diet, burn more calories than you take in, and enjoy a good mix of cardio and ab workouts under the direction of a skilled fitness coach, you’ll see your love handles start to melt away.
Join us at Fit Body Boot Camp today and begin your journey to a toned midsection, slim waist, firm abs, and optimum health.
