Love handles are areas of fat storage on the sides of the mid-section near the oblique muscles. Just like the abdominal muscles, the obliques can be problem areas where people have trouble getting rid of fat. According to fitness trainer Stew Smith, with any abdominal fat-loss goal you need to focus on diet, plus a mix of cardio and weight lifting. This means that just bodybuilding can leave you short of your fat-loss goal.
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding over time can burn significant amounts of fat because you build muscle, and muscle burns more calories than fat. However, trying to eliminate fat stores can be done more efficiently by other means. According to MayoClinic.com, a 200 lb. man who lifts weights for one hour burns about 273 calories, but he could burn 1,229 calories during that time by running. Building muscle can help you burn fat and calories over time, but it is a longer process, and muscle building needs help to burn fat.
Diet
Smith says that a healthy diet is the most important factor in getting rid of abdominal fat. If you are taking in too many calories or eating unhealthy foods, your cardiovascular and strength-training work will be hampered and you will have to put in more work. Smith advises drinking 100 oz. of water per day, eating five servings of fruits and vegetables, limiting fried and processed foods and focusing on eating lean meats. By changing your eating habits, you can make sure that your bodybuilding work benefits you as much as possible.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise is the best way to burn fat on the body, and simply performing weight-training moves will not have the fat-burning benefits of cardio. According to Smith, the fat stores around the abdomen are the hardest to get rid of and cardio can help you do the trick. Smith recommends 30 minutes of aerobic exercise four to five times per week, focusing on activities like running, biking and swimming. The idea is to use cardio to burn more fat and to use bodybuilding to build muscle to raise your metabolism and keep fat off.
Other Tools
Typical bodybuilding focuses on simply gaining strength, power and size. This often means performing weightlifting routines to try to lift as much as you can. There are weight routines that can help you burn more fat, and the most effective of those is circuit training. Circuit training involves performing high repetition sets of one exercise before moving on to another exercise with little or no rest between sets. Because of the lack of rest, the heart rate rises and you burn more calories but still get the benefits of strength training. Some circuits even throw in cardio stations with ellipticals, jump rope or other drills to raise the heart rate.
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