How To Lose Love Handles: 10 Exercises And Other Methods

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 15-20 per side
• Variation: Slow bicycle crunches for more control

Bicycles are abdominal exercises that are performed on the back and involve cycling motion. In the supine position, you keep your shoulders off the base by 2-3 inches. At the same time, scoop up the knees toward the chest and twist from the side to touch the elbow with the knee of the opposite side.

This movement focuses not only on your abdominal muscles but also on some of the muscles that are part of your oblique muscles. Since this contact mainly involves the rectus abdominis muscles (six-pack muscles) and the oblique muscles, it is among the best exercises to rid of love handles.

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 10-12 per side
• Variation: Perform with a medicine ball or resistance band

Wood chopper is one of the exercises that particularly focuses on a rotational movement so closely resembling the chopping wood. You can do this workout with a dumbbell, kettlebell, or even a medicine ball. This involves moving a weight from the bottom part of a person's body towards the other side of the body. This works every muscle in the abs, particularly the obliques.

It is great for toning the out-of-site oblique muscles that are found on the sides of your abdomen. Furthermore, it raises your heart rate, which is useful in shedding fat from the body, hence suitable for people who want to lose inches around the belly.

• Duration: 30-60 seconds per side
• Reps: 3
• Variation: Side plank with leg lift

A side plank is a modification of the normal plank exercise. Instead of resting the body on the two forearms and the toes, you rest on the forearm, and the body from the head to the feet is parallel to the floor. After becoming familiar with the primary side plank exercise, there are numerous methods wherein you can amplify the level of the workout.

You can straighten your top arm up to above your head, lift your top leg, and twist a little by moving your top arm up to the ceiling. Also, one should not bend at the hips or twist the torso during the exercise, and the knees should not come near the body.

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 15-20 per side
• Variation: Weighted Russian twists

This exercise targets most of the muscles in the core, making it useful for overall strength and support. It also increases the rate of your heartbeats, meaning that you will be able to burn more calories during the exercise. During this workout, be patient with your twists so that you can master the movement of your core muscles.

Make sure that you do not slouch. The Russian twist is another intensity workout for love handles that involves the sit-up position, but without lifting the body. You lean back slightly and gently twist your body side by side from the central axis. It can also be done with dumbbells or without any weights, hence allowing people of all fitness level to perform it.

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 20-30 per side
• Variation: Cross-body mountain climbers

Mountain climbers is an overall body exercise that engages your abs, shoulder, arm, and leg muscles. It looks like a plank, but it involves rotation of the body or a part of the body along the horizontal plane. You are placed in a high plank posture by bending the right knee towards the chest and the same with the left knee.

It is like moving around in one spot, only it is done on the floor. This is one of the most common exercise to lose love handles because it activates core muscles, especially the oblique muscles. When you bend at the hip and draw your legs closer, you are not only engaging your lower body but also those core muscles that provide support to your upper body.

• Sets: 3-4
• Duration: 1-2 minutes
• Variation: Alternating arm waves or power slams

Although the primary functionality of the battle ropes is focused on the upper body, they also work the core muscles, including the muscles that shape the sides of the abdomen. As you work through the motions during the battle rope waves, your core has to maintain the body posture while moving the ropes in waves. This engagement is useful in the development of core muscles such as the obliques.

Also, battle rope exercises are considered intensive forms of training, and they will increase your heart rate and facilitate fat loss in your abdomen as well as other parts of the body. Waves should preferably be performed for one arm at a time, especially to get a stronger core workout.

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 15-20 per side
• Variation: Go hard for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds

An air bike, also known as the fan bike or the assault bike, is a special type of exercise that targets all the muscles of the body. It is equipped with a front-mounted fan that provides the desired resistance whenever you start pedaling.

The faster you go, the more difficult it becomes. In terms of efficiency to get rid of love handles, the AirBike is a real gem.

This makes it easier for your muscles to be exercised not just for calorie shedding but also for building muscles. Stay as close to being bent forward at the waist as possible while you cycle and push forward on the handlebars. This assists in the stabilization of the body and enhances the workout. When you are done exercising, take a while and slowly bring your heart rate back to normal.

• Duration: 10 to 60 seconds 
• Reps: 10-15
• Variation: V-ups with a medicine ball

V-Ups directly address your rectus abdominis, or the six-pack muscles, and obliques. When these muscles are strengthened, you are closer to preventing love handles. You can do V-Ups anywhere, which makes it even more effective to incorporate into your exercise regimen. Your lower back should remain on the floor during the entire workout.

In this case, curving your back can cause stress and lower the benefit of the exercise. Breathe out as you lift and breathe in while lowering. This keeps your core engagement intact. By adding more variations such as bent knee V-Up and one-leg V-Up, you get the answer on how to get rid of love handles.

• Sets: 3
• Reps: 10-15 per side
• Variation: Elevated crab kicks (feet on a bench)

Crab kicks are one of the most effective love handles workouts, where you will be building your abs, obliques, as well as your hip flexors. It is carried out in a crab-like position where you are resting on your hands and feet with your pelvis placed off the ground. From there, you progress into moving your legs in a circular motion, kicking in the air on the sides.

To enhance the effectiveness of your crab kicks, try to incorporate some diversity. For instance, instead of holding weights at your sides, place the weights between your legs, or you can perform a twist for the obliques while performing each kick.

While doing the crab kick, maintain a plank-like posture with your stomach muscles hard, your hips high, and your motion smooth.

• Sets: 3
• Duration: 30 seconds
• Variation: Add a pulse at the top of each kick

If you are still worried about how to get rid of side fat, this exercise can go a long way in helping you get rid of it. To do this exercise, one is required to lie on your back and raise your legs off the floor, then flap them up and down steadily.

It is one of the most basic yet smart exercises that helps to tone the abdominal muscles and build stability of the core.

Do not lift your lower back off the floor so as not to cause strain to your muscles. Do not concentrate on the rate at which you are going but on the form. This is because when doing the exercise, you are supposed to stretch the muscles to ensure that all the targeted muscles are being pulled.

Love handle is the name given to those fatty deposits, which are located above the hips and tend to increase with age, improper diet, and physical inactivity. They are mainly due to the accumulation of excess body fat, likely to be due to taking more calories, hormonal problems, and inheritance.

Stress, lack of sleep, and lack of physical activity may also result in their formation, and therefore, they are rather widespread among the population. Here are other ways on how to lose love handles:

1. Dietary Changes

The first area that needs to be addressed is the diet. Incorporate highly nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, good proteins, and whole grain products. Minimizing the consumption of processed meals, sugars, and other unhealthy sources of fat can enable one to create the much-needed calorie deficit that is an important basis for fat loss.

2. Food Portion Control

It is essential to control the portions to avoid consuming too much of the food in question. Even if a person takes photographs of their meals and records them, they can use the food diary to assess their intake and recognize areas for improvement.

3. Stay Hydrated

One should take a lot of water to curb hunger and boost the metabolic process. Our bodies may sometimes give confusing signals about thirst and hunger.

4. Stress Management

Stress leads to a rise in cortisol, which is a ratio that promotes fat accumulation in the abdominal area. Practices such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing should be included where they influence the reduction of stress.

5. Quality Sleep

It is also recommended to have between 7 and 9 hours of good sleep a day. Lack of sleep has a deleterious impact on hormones that control metabolism for appetite as well as storage of fats, further stressing the fat loss effort for love handles.

6. Cardiovascular Exercise

Performing aerobic exercises, including jogging, biking, or swimming, often also contributes to shedding calories and hence the general body fat, including the love handle area.

7. Strength Training

Muscle gained from weight training helps in increasing your metabolic rate and thus increases the number of calories burnt even while sleeping. There is a need to target those workouts that involve more than one muscle group.

The main goal that must be observed in the exercise process aimed at losing love handles is safety. Here are a few safety considerations to follow for a successful love handle workout:

• Warm-Up Properly: Warm-up exercises should done to prepare the body for further exercises. There are many warm-up stretches, such as jumping jacks, skipping, burpees, and more.
• Focus on Form: Again, some techniques should be followed to avoid some mishaps happening. No matter the type of exercise you are doing, whether it is the bicycle crunches or side planks, see to it that the body is rightly placed.
• Listen to Your Body: If you develop discomfort during the exercise, not including muscle soreness, then the exercise must be stopped. Endurance activities can result in severe pain, and hence one should not endure the pain to the extreme.
• Start Slow: If you are a beginner or exercising after some break, begin with lower intensity and amounts of repetitions. Once your body gets used to the training, the intensity automatically improves.
• Stay Hydrated: If the body gets dehydrated, your performance level slows down, leading to cramps and fatigue. It is crucial to drink plenty of water before and after a workout.
• Rest Days: Make sure that your muscles can rest, so incorporate rest days into your workouts. Training extensively might benefit the athletes negatively and increase the chances of an athlete sustaining an injury.
• Avoid Tight Clothing: This is because tight clothes restrict the movements of the muscles and also limit the circulation of blood to the muscles, thus hampering effective exercise. Wear free and airy clothes.
• Consult a doctor: You should consult your physician before undertaking any exercise if you have some medical condition or health problem. This is true in the case of hypertension or diabetes because the blood sugar and pressure have to be controlled.
• Cool Down and Stretch: Make sure to cool down with some stretches post-workout. This enhances flexibility and also improves the recovery process, hence decreasing muscle soreness and stiffness.