A workout to reduce love handles fast must be intense, and it must include both cardiovascular and weight-training exercises. You do not, though, want to make your sides more bulky, with weighted side bends, for example --- these could make your oblique muscles bigger, making your love handles look more pronounced. The idea is to lose overall body weight and create lean sides. Increase the effects of your workout by reducing your caloric intake and eating healthy foods.
Step 1
Choose a form of cardio you enjoy and do it interval-style. Take running, for example. Start with a light warm-up jog, then sprint for 20 seconds. Reduce your speed to a light jog for 40 seconds, then sprint again. Alternate back and forth for 30 minutes and finish with a light jog. Perform interval training three days a week, on nonconsecutive days.
Step 2
Execute a set of knee-to-elbow mountain climbers. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor and your feet in a staggered position under your body, with your right leg forward. Shift your foot position quickly and move your left knee toward your right elbow. Move your leg back as you simultaneously move your right knee toward your left elbow. Shift your legs back and forth in a fast but controlled motion for 20 to 30 repetitions. Keep your hips as low as possible when doing these.
Step 3
Grab a barbell to do jammers. Attach a weight plate on one end of the bar and place the other end on the floor at an inside corner of a room. Face the bar, pick it up from the floor and overlap your hands on the end of it. Hold it right in front of your chest with your elbows bent. Keep your lower body still as you twist your torso to your right side. Bring the bar back to center, then twist to your left side. Move back and forth in a steady motion for 12 to 15 repetitions.
Step 4
Lie on your back and elevate your legs to do bicycle maneuvers. Bend your knees so your shins are parallel to the floor and place your hands on the sides of your head. Lift your shoulders forward and move your right elbow and left knee toward each other while extending your right leg. Quickly reverse directions and continue alternating back and forth for 15 to 20 repetitions.
Step 5
Sit on the floor and extend your arms out to your sides to do spinal rotations. Keep your legs straight and together and your arms level with the floor. Twist your torso back and forth to your right and left side in a steady motion for 15 to 20 repetitions. Keep your eyes in line with the direction you are twisting.
Step 6
Move your legs on an arcing motion to do windshield wipers. Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides, legs lifted and feet parallel to the ceiling. Keep your upper body still as you lower your legs back and forth to your right and left side in a steady motion. Do 15 to 20 repetitions.
Step 7
Perform side bridges with your body at an angle to the floor. Lie on your left side with your legs stacked, forearm flat on the floor and perpendicular to your body, and right hand on your hip. Lift your hips in the air laterally as high as possible and slowly lower yourself back down. Perform 15 to 20 reps and switch sides.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform all of the oblique exercises back to back with 30-second rests in between. Repeat the whole series four times total and do it three days a week on non-cardio days.
Things You'll Need
- Barbell
- Weight plate
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