Ridding yourself of unwanted body fat and toning in just the right places can be a rewarding accomplishment. Figuring out how to get there, however, can be a confusing task. With minimal exercise knowledge, a cardiovascular routine, proper nutrition and abdominal exercises, you can burn through body fat and blast off your love handles.
Step 1
Change your diet. A diet that's full of empty calories will drastically slow or reverse your fat-burning progress. Change the calorie content to reflect 55 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fats and 15 percent proteins, according to American Dietetics Association editor and registered licensed dietitian Joanne Larsen. Each of these foods should come from sources like whole-grains, vegetables, avocados, salmon, olive-oil and chicken or turkey breast.
Step 2
Jog. Jogging is an excellent way to burn large quantities of calories in a relatively short period of time. Jogging five times a week for an hour each time is appropriate to burn fat, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Begin your routine with a five-minute warm-up, jog for an hour and cool-down for five minutes.
Step 3
Sprint. Sprinting at high-intensity intervals followed by short rest periods will help you to burn calories during your workout and keep your burn rate up for hours afterward. Warm-up with a brisk walk for five minutes and then sprint as hard as you can for 20 seconds. Walk for 10 seconds and then repeat the 30-second cycle seven to eight times.
Step 4
Sleep more. Sleeping less than seven hours a night will independently increase your risk of storing too much body fat, according to a 2004 study published in the Journal of Public Medicine. Make sure you get regular shut-eye to reduce stress and control your eating.
Step 5
Strengthen your muscles. Lift weights or use resistance bands three times a week for three sets of 15 repetitions. Because muscle uses more calories than fat, increasing the amount of muscle on your body will increase the amount of calories you burn during the day without doing any extra work, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Start your workout with sit-ups then do sets of bench presses, seated rows, shoulder presses, biceps curls, squats and hamstring curls.
Step 6
Work your abs. Abdominal exercises will help tone your mid-section and reduce the appearance of love handles by pulling your core in. Do three sets of 25 sit-ups, folllowed by 25 rotational crunches and 25 back extensions. If you ever run out of ideas for core exercises, check out an exercise library like the one on the website for the American Council on Exercise.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity Guidelines
- Ask the Dietitian: Underweight
- PubMed Central: Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin and Increased Body Mass Index
- PubMed Central: Effects of Moderate-Intensity Endurance and High-Intensity Intermittent Training on Anaerobic Capacity and VO2max
- National Academy of Sports Medicine: Program Design Concepts
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