Love handles are an accumulation of excess fat around the sides of your midsection. Love handles are problematic for both men and women, young and old. These stores of fat are often a sign of a high body fat percentage. To lose your love handles, you need to also decrease your body fat. This can be done by engaging in regular aerobic exercise, consuming healthy, nutrient-dense foods, and performing sit-ups that target your oblique muscles, which lie beneath your love handles.
Twisting Sit-Ups
Step 1
Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet anchored under a sturdy object, and arms crossed over your chest.
Step 2
Pull your belly button into your spine, contract your abdominal muscles, and straighten your back.
Step 3
Twist your torso to the left and then to the right. Continue to twist from side to side as you simultaneously lower your back toward the floor.
Step 4
Sit up slowly, once your back touches the floor, in the same twisting fashion in which you descended.
Stability Ball Sit-Ups
Step 1
Sit on a stability ball with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Step 2
Lean back slowly while walking your feet away from the ball until your shoulders, back, and tailbone are in contact with the ball.
Step 3
Position your knees to 90 degrees and clasp your hands behind your head with your shoulder blades squeezed together and your elbows back.
Step 4
Contract your abdominal muscles, tuck your chin slightly, and curl your torso toward your thighs until your upper back is off the ball. Pause here.
Step 5
Uncurl your body slowly, back towards the ball.
Oblique Sit-Ups
Step 1
Lie on your left side with your legs bent and stacked, left arm beside your body on the floor, and your right hand behind your head.
Step 2
Pull your belly button in, contract your core, and lift your torso as high as you can, crunching your right side.
Step 3
Lower back slowly to the floor.
Step 4
Complete the desired repetitions, and then repeat the exercise with your left side.
Elbow-to-Knee Sit-Ups
Step 1
Lie face up on the floor with your knees bent, feet anchored beneath a sturdy object, and hands clasped behind your head.
Step 2
Contract your abdominal muscles and sit-up while twisting your torso so that your right elbow touches your left knee.
Step 3
Lower back slowly to the floor and then sit-up again, twisting to the right so that your left elbow touches your right knee.
Step 4
Continue to alternate sides with each sit-up until you have completed the desired number of repetitions.
Tips and Warnings
- Complete three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions of each exercise on three nonconsecutive days a week.
- Get clearance from your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.
Things You'll Need
- Stability ball
- Exercise mat
- Sturdy object
References
- "Strength Training Anatomy, Second Edition"; Frederic Delavier; 2006
- American Council on Exercise: Stability Ball Sit-Ups
- Shape Fit: Lying Side Oblique Crunches
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