Love handles, like most types of abdominal fat, can be quite difficult to eliminate, and for many people, they can persist even if they have lost weight on other parts of the body. But, contrary to popular belief, working your abs with crunches or targeted exercises, even for your obliques (the muscles under your love handles), will not reduce the specific fat in your problem areas.
The key is a more holistic approach that involves both dietary changes and high intensity interval training (HIIT), which I will briefly describe.
However, once you have burned off excess fat, you can gain some significant benefits by performing more focused exercises, such as this 10 minute workout against love handles.
Give your love handles a workout of just 10 minutes a day
The following routine, proposed by Health magazine, should be repeated three times, and the exercises should be done immediately after each other. Try to incorporate them into a physical training routine three times a week for more tonic slants and a stronger trunk.
40 Woodchoppers (20 on each side)
“Using a dumbbell, while standing with your feet apart from the width of your hips, carry your weight on your left leg. Start by holding the weight with both hands raised over your left shoulder.
Then, turn to make a downward movement towards your right hip. Let your feet and knees rotate with the twist. Lift the weight back to your left shoulder and repeat the procedure 20 times. Then do the same work on the right side.
50 Russian rotations
“Sit on your buttocks with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Your torso should be tilted back at a 45 degree angle to the ground. Hold a dumbbell with both hands. Lift your feet off the ground, crossing them at the ankles and stay balanced on your buttocks. In this position, turn your torso to the right and touch the ground with your dumbbell on one side and then the other of your body.
Then turn back to the left by pressing the weight on the left side of your body. Repeat the exercise back and forth, while keeping your balance with your legs and the torso lifted off the ground.
30 Sideboards (15 on each side)
“Lie down in the sideboard position with your elbow on the floor, your legs and hips resting on the floor. By contracting your abdomen and keeping your body in a straight line, lift the lower half of your body from the ground into a straight board position. Go down and repeat the exercise. Do it 15 times on each side.
30 Abdominal Bicycle
“Lie on your back, knees bent and hands behind your head. Do not squeeze your hands together. Contract your abs, lift your shoulders and upper back from the ground.
At the same time, move your right elbow towards your left knee so that they touch each other in the middle of your body. Then change your position so that your left elbow and your right knee meet. Keep going as fast as you can while keeping your torso lifted off the ground. “
The real secret to get rid of your love handles? Give up sugar
24 adults who had done seven abdominal exercises five days a week for six weeks did not lose all of the belly fat or any other fat. This is because about 80 percent of your ability to reduce excess body fat is determined by what you eat, the other 20 percent is related to exercise to burn fat and other lifestyle habits healthy.
If your diet is based on sugar / fructose and processed junk, your chances of getting rid of your love handles in favor of a flat stomach and perfect abs are very low - even if you train religiously. Simply, you will not see your abs appear unless you reduce your overall body fat, and a poor diet could result in maintaining your excess fat, despite all your exercises and efforts. Two of the most important dietary factors are:
- Reducing or eliminating sugar from your diet. This includes ALL forms of sugar and fructose, even refined or "all natural", such as agave or honey, as well as all grains (including organic), as they break down quickly into sugar in your body
- Increasing healthy fats in your diet, such as coconut oil and omega-3s of animal origin
One of the most pernicious food components for your weight loss goals is fructose, which is hidden in many processed foods and beverages, it can be almost impossible to avoid it unless you change your habits when you do your shopping and when cooking. By avoiding processed foods in general, and concentrating on organic foods and cooking at home, you can get around one of the biggest food obstacles today.
The good news comes once you make the change, your craving for the foods you have removed will disappear. This is especially true with intermittent fasting, which is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat.
Practice High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) two or three times a week to burn fat optimally
If your goal is to get rid of your love handles, reserve 20 minutes two or three times a week for high intensity interval training (Do not do them for more than 20 minutes, it is easy to exaggerate). This high intensity short workout protocol is one of the best exercises to burn fat because it improves muscle energy utilization, has positive effects on muscle building and improves quality. muscle fiber
Muscle tissue burns three to five times more energy than fat tissue, so you gain muscle and increase your metabolic rate, which allows you to burn more calories, even when you sleep.
In addition, several studies have confirmed that exercise in shorter intervals with periods of rest between two, burns more fat than continuous exercise throughout an entire session. Another important benefit of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is its ability to naturally increase the production of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) by your body, it is also known as the "Fitness Hormone". ".
HGH is a fundamental biochemical and synergistic foundation that promotes muscle and effectively burns excess fat.
Try these modified pumps to work your abs
The pumps will not only strengthen the upper part of your body, they will also strengthen and tone your abdominals. Some even consider them a perfect exercise for the abs - as long as you do them right. I included a summary of the key points on how to do the pumps to specifically target your abs.
If you want to specifically target your abs while pushing, try:
-In plank position, contract your belly button. Your navel is attached to your transverse abdomen, the inner sheath that holds your gut and gives your spine and vertebrae great support for weight. So by contracting it you work the deep transverse muscle of the abdomen.
- Then do some kegel tightening. Women are more likely than men to know this term. Kegel's tightening is done by contracting your lower pelvic muscles and keeping them contracted. For men who do not know this term, it's like trying to stop urinating in the middle of the process. This tightening will allow you to feel your abdominal muscles and focus on them.
- Try the dumbbell pumps. Start with a dumbbell that weighs for your current level of strength and fitness, and replace it with more weight as you go. Place the dumbbells in a 45-degree angle; contract your navel; tighten your lower pelvic muscles (Kegel tightening), and breathe when descending to the ground from the upper part of your body.
Exhale while climbing, and once your arms are fully relaxed, perform a series - approaching the right dumbbell to your chest. During the next pump, repeat the movement with your left arm. This advanced technique will work your abs from left to right and target the deep muscles of the trunk.