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How to Shed Those Love Handles

Why do people still call them love handles? Nobody loves them!

I think it is because many people are afraid to hurt the feelings of loved ones and its apparently better to make a lewd sexual joke about love handles than to admit they're unattractive.

Many people, especially men in search of firm six-pack abs, want to ditch their love handles... The problem is HOW!

Love handles are a bit trickier but they basically go hand and hand with ab workouts and cardio - and to be fair cardio is the most important part of this equation because doing ab workouts isn't going to shed the fat, it will only firm up the muscles under the fat.

"Love Handles" is the fat that can hang down from off the sides of the stomach, below the oblique muscles. You can try firming up the region by doing oblique exercises to tone the muscles, but that isn't going to shed the fat on top of those muscles.

If you're looking for a quick solution to get rid of a particular spot of fat on your body the bad news is that you just can't get rid of the love handles or any other particular area of fat that way. Spot Reducing as it is known by impossible. The only solution really is to burn lots of calories, burning fat all over your body and the good news is that your fitness journey will result in you losing fat in every part of your body and toning every part of the body - not just the love handles, but other problem spots too. So if you want to pull a Houdini on those unloved handles and make them go poof like magic you're going to have make lots of other things go poof at the same time - including belly fat, fatty thighs, arm fat and so forth.

If you're trying to "spot reduce" by doing targeted exercises you're only going to increase the muscles in that region. You aren't going to shed the fat unless you're willing to go the extra mile and do lots of cardio.

That means swimming, cycling, jogging, running, jumping jacks, anything that requires full body movement and burns lots of calories. 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So set yourself a goal to lose 10 lbs of fat in 10 weeks and then start doing a combination of cardio (to lose weight) and weight training (to maintain muscle definition). Losing 1 lb of fat per week is a relatively easy goal. Over the longer term when you see the results of the first 10 lbs then you can keep going and set more goals until eventually you've shed those love handles (and all your other trouble spots).

When you are lifting weights (with your personal trainer, me perhaps. Hint hint.) there are a number of exercises you can do to increase definition in the obliques (side muscles), and help firm and tighten that troublesome area:
 
-Alternating Side Crunches
-Bicycle Crunches
-Side Crunches
-Side Crunches on a Ball
-Side Planks
-Weighted Side Bends
 
These exercises alone aren't going to shed the fat. They will however firm up the muscles under the area so that when you eventually lose the love handles you will have some attractive obliques you can admire in the mirror.
 
Don't forget to maintain a healthy balanced diet along the way. Nutrition is half the journey! 
 


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