Exercises for love handles  

Getting rid of love handles is very important and is considered to be the first step, in attaining a fit and firm body. Women around the globe have always been worried about how they look, and test newer methods (which may seem easy) to reduce their love handles. 

However, exercise including cardio and targeted muscle exercise, are the most important factors that help you in bringing your body into shape. Of course, keeping an eye on your diet is important too. Some important diet plans include 

·         Eating five small servings per day, rather than the usual three meals. 

·         Keeping control on the oil intake. Avoiding food that is fried, processed, red meat, cheese and food rich in saturated fatty acid. 

·         Drinking at least three liters of water per day. 

Some of the exercise that help in getting rid of love handles are given below. 

Resistance training 

Increasing the metabolism of the body is very important when your target is to reduce love handles. The fat, which is stored in the mid section, that is the stomach tummy area, belongs to a group of adamant fats, and hence is the last group to be burnt.  

To burn this fat you have to be consistent with your workout, and choose exercise that is specific for the region. Men have this fat stored in their belly region; whereas for women this fat is distributed along the lower abdomen, thighs and buttocks. 

However, following a strict regime of 30 to 45 minutes of cardio exercise, combined with targeted exercise, would give you best results in terms of love handles reduction. 

Here is an outline for a single day’s regime 

To begin with, warm up your body doing slow hand swings, leg twist etc. Warm up for at least five to ten minutes. Three or four of the following exercise can be included, in any combination. 

·         Sit ups                                 - 15 to 20 times 

·         Crunches                             - 20 times 

·         Reverse crunches               - 20 times 

·         Pull-ups                               - 10 times 

·         Squats                                  -20 times 

·         Lunges                                -10 times per leg 

·         Hip raises                            -20 times 

Follow this with 20 to 30 minutes of cardio routine. This can include exercise like running, cycling and walking for 20 to 30 minutes 

Finish the routine by stretching for at least five minutes, so that your muscles are ready for the next day’s routine. 

The abs exercise 

Here is an explanation on how to do the abs exercise 

Hanging knee raise 

Place your hands comfortably, on a firm support above your head. Now, place your total body weight on your hands and slowly curl your knees towards the chest. 

Ensure that the exercise is carried out very slowly. Repeat the exercise 15 to 20 times. 

Crunches 

Crunches are by far considered to be the best abs exercise, showing best results on love handles. Lie on the floor, facing the ceiling. Keep your legs straight and place your hands behind the head, supporting it. 

Slowly raise your head and torso, bending forward, so that your head touches the knees. Ensure that the knees are not bent, and the chin is kept straight. 

There are different advanced forms of this simple crunch exercise, such as  

·         Holding your legs up in the air, at right angles to the body and doing the crunches. 

·         Crossing the arms across your chest while doing crunches. 

·         Reverse crunch, involves lifting of your legs towards the chest. 

·         Bending the knees, and doing scissor cut exercise, is a variation of the same exercise. 

Hip Rollers 

Reducing fat alone is not enough, you have to strengthen the muscles that have lost fat. The hip roller exercise is best for strengthening the muscles. 

This is the most easy and effective exercise to do. It is especially for women and targets love handles, 

Lie on the floor with your hands above the head, holding a strong support such the leg of a table or stairs. Now, slowly rotate your hip to the left and to the right. The hip roller exercise is equal to swimming, and gives a lot of benefit to the lower back, along with the abs.  

Free style swimming exercise 

Lie flat on the floor facing down, with hands on either side. Make, a swimming like movement with your arms and legs, i.e. while bringing the left arm forward bring the right leg forward, and vice versa. 

This exercise works simultaneously, on the abs, lower back, thighs and buttocks. It is considered amongst the best exercise to reduce love handles. 

Side bends with Barbell 

This exercise hastens the process of reducing love handles by stretching the waistline. If you do not have a barbell, you can use a weight that is equal to it; like a bottle filled with water or a plastic pipe etc. 

Stand erect holding the barbell, on your shoulders. Bend slowly, making a 90⁰ angle to the ground. Remember, not to bend hips, only your waist must be bent. 

Now move to your right, with your hands supporting the barbell. Come back to the original position. Repeat the exercise, but this time move towards the left side. Do not hasten your bending forward or stretching motion, since it may lead to cramps. 

Take breaks in between each set, and take care not to overdo the exercise. 

The above mentioned exercises are just a few samples. You can include as many variations to these. However, you have to take care that with each exercise, you feel a pressure in the abdominal region. 

Twists, leg raises, side bends, and forward bends with weight etc are also good exercises that reduce love handles. 

You can also use the Ab circle pro, which gives best results when used regularly for doing crunches. The Ab circle pro provides support to the back and neck giving a cushioning effect, so that you do not have any side effects from doing crunches on the floor. 

These exercises when done regularly, help in reducing love handles and in keeping the body in good shape.