So you've put on a little extra weight. The problem is, that extra weight seems to have migrated directly to your love handles. Those paunchy bags of extra weight are never attractive, but getting rid of them may seem harder than learning a new language. If you want to get rid of love handles once and for all, you'll need a few tips to make sure they go away and never come back.
Burn Fat
Just as only doing crunches won't automatically get you that six-pack you've always wanted, focusing on building the muscles around your love handles won't make them go away. Love handles are caused by storage of excess fat, and you have to burn that fat away as well as tone your muscles. To burn fat, focus on cardiovascular exercises like jogging, running on a treadmill, biking or swimming. Anything that gets your heart racing is a cardiovascular exercise. Burning that fat away is just the first step.
Tone Muscle
While getting in a cardio workout is key to burning the fat in your love handles, making sure you are at the same time building muscle is also essential. According to the Mayo Clinic, lean muscle tissue burns fat more efficiently, so if your love handle area is full of lean muscle tissue, your body will be more effective at burning the fat away.
Exercise Routine
To target that pesky love handle area, you'll need several muscle-toning exercises that target the obliques. Lie on your back on a fitness ball and hold your hands together, pointing to the ceiling. Twist your torso so that your hands are now pointed to the right. Hold this position for several seconds, then twist your body the opposite way so that you are now pointing to the left. Repeat 10 to 12 times. Another exercise is the modified crunch. In this exercise, you do a regular crunch, but twist your torso one way on one crunch and the other way on the next. This targets the obliques with each motion. Do 30 crunches, alternating sides with each crunch.
Avoid Certain Activities
While you want a firm, toned love handle area, you don't want bulky muscle there, so there are some exercises you'll want to avoid. For instance, side bends can actually bulk up your love handle area, giving you the opposite effect you're looking for. Also, avoid adding resistance to your exercises. Resistance builds muscle. With your love handle area, you're just looking to tone the muscle you already have, unless you have an unusually small waist.
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