Let's be honest-there's not a whole lot to love about them! Love handles are one of the hardest areas for most people to lose fat, mainly being the location and how they seem to just "stick" on the sides of your hips. The thought that by simply doing ab exercises will banish them is a common misconception.
The key to breaking up with your love handles is decreasing your overall body fat percentage. Specifically, eating a clean overall diet will not only slim your love handles, but it will also expose those ab muscles that have been hiding during the winter months. Other things that will help decrease the look of your handles are doing at least 30 minutes of cardio daily and a select few exercises to target the oblique muscles. Personally, decreasing my overall body fat percentage through cardio & clean eating is what helped me to banish mine!
Though it is a common myth that you can spot reduce a particular area on your body, here are 3 specific exercises that you can do to target this fatty area by working your obliques to maximize toning:
Side Jackknife
- Lie on your left side on an exercise mat with your legs extended straight downward and the right leg on top of the left. Place your left hand on your abdominals. Place your right hand behind your head. This is your starting position.
- Raise your right let straight in the air while simultaneously raising your torso, bringing your right elbow toward your right leg.
- Hold for a moment and then return to the starting position.
- Repeat for a complete set and then switch sides.
Saxon Side Bend
- Grasp a set of dumbbells. Stand straight up with one dumbbell in each hand, palms facing in.
- Keep your feet firmly on the floor with a shoulder width stance.
- Keeping your back straight and your eyes facing forwards, bend down to the right as far as you can, then back up again.
- Without pausing at the top, bend down to the left.
- Repeat for desired reps.
Oblique V-Up
- Lie on your left side, legs angled 30 degrees from your hips.
- Rest your left arm on the floor and put your right hand behind your head
- Lift your straight legs off the floor, bringing your torso toward your legs
- Slowly return to start. That's one rep.
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