It’s a simple fact: You don’t get to decide where or how your body stores excess fat. If that were true, then you definitely wouldn’t have love handles, aka excess fat around your upper hips.
Love handles on a guy can be especially embarrassing because excess fat storage in the hip area is more common in women than it is men. Being hefty around the hips can also make shopping for well-fitting pants an absolute nightmare.
All this is to say that we understand how much of a nuisance love handles can be for some guys. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and rounded up a few exercises that are guaranteed to blast fat, burn calories and whittle your love handles down to nothing.
Before we dive in, here are three things you need to know about how to get rid of love handles:
- Spot training is a fitness myth that has been disproven by science
- The best way to eliminate love handles is by doing full body workouts that blast fat
- Burpees, jumping lunges, planks and other full body exercises can help you build muscle while losing body fat in the hip area
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Love Handle Exercises: Why Spot Training Won’t Work
Before we discuss exercises to reduce love handles, there is one important thing we need to mention: Spot training alone isn’t going to help you lose excess weight around your hips. The idea that you can use exercise to lose weight or build muscle in a specific area of your body without affecting other areas is a myth, and we have the research to back it up.
In a 2011 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, scientists set out to determine whether abdominal exercises could target abdominal fat. Their findings showed that, while abdominal exercises alone were not effective at eliminating abdominal fat, the ab exercises did manage to improve muscle endurance compared to the control group (see claim: “Six weeks of abdominal exercise training alone was not sufficient to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat.”)
In another study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers had subjects participate in a 12-week exercise program that involved supervised resistance training in their nondominated arm. After analyzing the results of their study, researchers concluded that subcutaneous fat was unchanged in the total sample of men and women (see claim: “In conclusion, spot reduction did not occur in the total sample, in men or women as determined by MRI.”)
Bottom line? Focus on doing full body exercises that will help you torch fat all over. Not only will you lose weight quicker, you’ll finally say goodbye to those stubborn love handles.
Ready to sculpt your body and ditch the extra heft around your hips? Below, we’ll show you some of the best full body exercises for torching love handles.
- Burpees
Burpees are a killer, total-body workout that require only your bodyweight to do them. In other words, there’s no excuse to avoid doing them. Burpees will work your chest, arms, back, core, glutes, calves and muscles you didn’t even know you had.
How to Do: Start in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart. Drop into a squat and place your hands on the ground in front of you. Kick your feet out until you’re in a plank position. Do a single pushup, jump your feet back towards your hands and jump into the air with your arms raised.
- Planks
Forget about pushups. If you want to really work your abdominal muscles (which stabilize the hip muscles), drop down and get into plank position. Plank exercises work a range of muscles, including your core, legs and arms. They also build muscle which will help boost your metabolism.
How to Do: Get into the start of a pushup position. Modify this position by keeping your elbows bent at 90 degrees and resting both forearms on the ground. Keep your body in a perfectly straight line–from head to toe.
- Russian Twists
While spot training alone may not be enough to get rid of love handles, that doesn’t mean they’re entirely useless. Doing core exercises such as Russian Twists as part of a full body routine can help speed things along by tightening up your midsection and building muscle, which ultimately helps you burn more calories.
How to Do: Sit on the ground and lean back with your torso at a 45-degree angle. Lift your feet off the ground by a few inches and keep your knees bent. Hold a medicine ball or a weight plate and twist your torso slowly from side to side.
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- Jump Lunges
You probably know how to do a lunge. Now, ramp up the intensity by turning a basic lunge into a jump lunge. Not only will it make your thigh muscles burn, you’ll be working a variety of muscle groups that help you torch fat (and your love handles along with it).
How to Do: Do a regular lunge. While you’re coming back up from a kneel, jump in the air and quickly switch the position of your feet before landing.
- Kettlebell Swings
If you want to build strength, power and endurance all while torching calories, just reach for a kettlebell. This heavy ball of cast iron can be incorporated into your workout in a variety of ways to combine cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training.
How to Do: Start by mastering the kettlebell swing. Stand with your feet being just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Grasp the kettlebell in both hands and hold it straight in front of you. Bend your knees, keep your back straight and swing the kettlebell between your legs by hinging at the hips.
Final Thoughts
If you want to shed love handles, you’ll need to focus on optimizing fat-burning with a variety of full body exercises. While the exercises above will help you blast fat and lose your love handles, just remember that you need to eat healthy to maximize your fat-burning potential.
Finally, don’t forget to take good care of your skin after your sweaty workout. Although sweat may not cause acne directly, it can increase your potential for breakouts. Give Tiege Hanley’s uncomplicated skin care system a try and let it do all the heavy lifting with your skin care routine.
References
Vispute, Sachin S., et al. “The Effect of Abdominal Exercise on Abdominal Fat.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, vol. 25, no. 9, Sept. 2011, p. 2559.
Subcutaneous Fat Alterations Resulting from an Upper-Body Re... : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Accessed 23 Dec. 2019.