Do you have fat that looks like tires around your waistline? The fat deposits around the waist are also called love handles. Poor eating habits at inappropriate times, alcohol consumption, and junk food are some of the reasons that cause the accumulation of fat. Hormonal changes change the body of women starting puberty, pregnancy, and childbirth, causing love handles. Here is an article that discusses 15 simple and most effective exercises to reduce love handles.
What Are Love Handles?
Don’t get deceived by the name love handles; there is no love in it. Another name for the fat deposits around your hips and waist-line is Love handles. It shows more prominently when you wear body-hugging clothes or traditional wear like sarees or half-sarees. But clothes are not to be blamed. Let us learn more details about the exercises for love handles and how to treat them effectively.
What Causes Love Handles?
Fat retention is an underlying cause of love handles many reasons adding to it. When the food you eat has too many calories, or you don’t burn the calories you accumulate. If you don’t find a solution soon, the fat starts becoming noticeable around the waist and hips, like a tire. Several other factors that cause love handles include:
- Hormonal changes
- Fat deposit is typical as you get older.
- If you are not active physically.
- Foods that are high in fats, calories, and sugars.
- Lack of sleep.
Most Effective Exercises To Reduce Love Handles:
Here we enlisted 15 easy and best exercises to lose love handles at home. Let’s have a look into them.
1. Woodchoppers:
Woodchopper is a simple exercise that makes your abs and obliques work overtime. It also strengthens your core promoting good posture, which helps reduce love handles.
How To Do:
- Stand straight and keep your feet slightly pointed out with shoulder-width apart.
- Take a stretching device into your hand.
- Keeping your back straight, pull the stretching device with a twisting motion.
- Move your hands diagonally up and across your body above the left shoulder.
- During the whole process, try to keep your arms straight.
- Use your core muscles to control this movement.
- Return to the starting point and reverse the twisting, as if you are chopping wood.
- Do three sets with a repetition of 10 to 15 times on each side.
2. Russian Twists:
The Russian twist is a perfect exercise to burn fat in your love handles. It works all of your abdominal muscles, making it the ideal to strengthen your core.
How To Do:
- Sit on the floor with legs spread out straight.
- Put your hand together and slowly lean back until your legs and torso form V shape.
- This process stimulates your abs.
- Make sure that your feet do not touch the ground.
- Twist your torso and hands from side-side. It helps balance your glutes without moving your legs.
- Repeat 10 to 12 times and three sets.
3. Hanging Leg Raises:
It is a simple exercise that helps you lose fat in the waist area. Regularly doing this exercise has an astounding effect within 2 to 3 weeks.
How To Do:
- Arrange a bar or a rod from where you can hang and perform this exercise.
- Jump and hold onto the bar flexing your hips in the process.
- Lift your legs until they are perpendicular to your torso.
- Slowly lower your legs to the hanging posture.
- Repeat the same procedure for 10 to 12 times for three sets.
4. Kettlebell Swing:
Another explosive exercise that helps lose your love handles is the kettlebell swing. As the name suggests, this workout uses swinging motion raising a kettlebell. It is an excellent power generator.
How To Do:
- Stand erect with your feet slightly wide.
- Hold the kettlebell with your palms facing down.
- Let your arms hang loose in front of your body.
- Slowly bend your knees, forming a partial squat pushing your hips back.
- Try to squeeze your glutes.
- Push your hips forward and swing the kettlebell towards the ceiling.
- Try to at least reach your eye level.
- You can repeat 15 to 20 times for three sets to get the best results.
5. Crab Kick:
Crab kick is an exercise that has an effect on the lower body with the help of hamstrings and quads. The more you raise your hips, the harder your core will work.
How To Do:
- Sit on the mat and bend your knees, keeping your feet together.
- Keep your hands behind your back with fingers facing backwards.
- Slowly push your hips upward and kick your right leg up.
- Switch legs and repeat the same process.
- Alternate between legs until a set is complete.
6. Bicycle Crunch:
Bicycle crunches are an exercise that helps you reduce waistline and reduce love handles visibly in 3-4 weeks with continuous practice.
How To Do:
- Lie down flat on your back and slowly pull your leg inwards with folded knees and place hands above your head.
- Lift your right leg and try touching your knees with the left elbow and simultaneously lift your upper body.
- Ease back to resting position and repeat with the other leg.
- Do this exercise 25-30 times on both sides.
- Try not to thread fingers behind your head as it may cause your neck to jerk.
7. Plank Crunch – Sideways:
The difficulty level of this exercise is more than others. But with ample practice, it is an excellent work out to get rid of the love handles.
How To Do:
- Lie sideways on the floor.
- Lift your upper body, balancing it on the left palm and legs one over the other.
- Slowly raise your hips, having your head, hips, and legs forming a straight line.
- Put your right hand over your head, folding your elbow.
- Lift your right leg and bending the right elbow to touch them both.
- Hold up for 2 to 3 seconds and get back to the plank position.
- Perform ten sets for 20 times on both sides.
- You can see the results in 4-5 weeks.
8. One Hand Toe Touch:
It is a simple exercise that makes losing love handles quickly with exercise. One hand toe touch is a workout that helps you burn excess fat from the lower abdomen and waist. It is the best love handle workout.
How To Do:
- Sit on the floor with both legs spread straight in front of you.
- Spread your legs with the shoulder-width distance between them.
- Slowly pull your right leg in such a way that the sole of your leg should touch your left inner thigh.
- Now bend slowly to touch your left toe with your left hand.
- Bend till you can touch the left toe.
- Hold it in that position for 5 seconds and then repeat.
- For effective results stretching for ten times on both sides, at least twice is necessary.
9. Triangle Pose:
Triangle exercise that twists and turns the muscles in your abdomen, and they help reduce love handles. It also works excellently in stretching and maintenance of your overall body.
How To Do:
- Stand with a shoulder-width gap between your legs.
- Stretch your arms on your sides parallel to your shoulders.
- Inhale and slowly bend your body forward and touch your left toe with your right hand. Keep your neck towards the left side.
- Slowly get back into normal position and repeat it on the other side.
- You need to do this stretch at least ten times on each side, and three sets are mandatory.
10. Side Stretching:
Side stretching specifically targets love handles. It also provides excellent relief if you are suffering from shoulder or back pain. Start stretching sideways and lose those love handles.
How To Do:
- Stand erect with a shoulder-width gap between your legs.
- Slowly lift your right hand and touch your left shoulder with it from the back.
- Hold your right elbow firmly with your left hand and bend towards left.
- Stretch as far as your body allows, putting pressure on the elbow.
- Hold in that position for a few seconds and come back to resting place.
- Repeat the same process on the other side.
- Stretching tones your waist making you look slimmer.
11. Knee Drop:
Technically you need an exercise ball to perform knee drop. But you can also make a simple ball with a thick towel in your home.
How To Do:
- Lie back on the mat with folded knees and soles flat facing the wall in front.
- Keep the exercise ball or the ball made with a towel in between your knees.
- Now stretch your arms parallel to your shoulder.
- Keeping the ball in place, try to bend your knees sideways to touch the floor.
- Repeat the same on the other side.
- Do these stretches at least 25 times on both sides, and you will lose those love handles in a few weeks.
12. Donkey Kicks – Sideways:
Donkey kicks are an excellent workout for your lower body. Train your abdominal muscles, lower back, pelvic floor, and shoulders with this stretch. If you want to strengthen your body and lose those unwanted love handles, include them into your training regimen.
How To Do:
- Get down on all fours, your knees and elbows touching the ground and face looking at the wall.
- Slowly lift the right knee and kick to the side.
- Do it in such a way that the left thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Bing the leg back to resting position.
- Repeat the stretch ten times before changing legs.
- Do at least ten kicks per leg and three sets together.
- Increase the stretches gradually.
13. Side Squats:
Another simple way to lose love handles is side squats as it targets your lower body. This workout is unique because it includes lateral movements, which energizes the muscles. These squats diminish fat from your waist as squats give your core abdominal and oblique muscles a workout.
How To Do:
- Stand erect with legs wide apart and your hands in front.
- Putting all your weight on the left leg bend it at the knee.
- Sit on your left foot with folded knees and keep your right leg stretched.
- Slowly go into the initial position and repeat the same on the other side.
- You have to do 20 quats on each side.
- During the whole process, keep your upper body straight.
14. Side Kicks:
Side Kicks is an exercise that can be used to reduce love handles. It is also an excellent cardio exercise that acts as a warm-up for any other workout regime.
How To Do:
- Stand erect with feet wide apart and keep your toes pointing in front of the wall.
- Keeping your upper body straight, lift your right leg as high as possible on the side.
- Bring your leg to the initial position and repeat on the other side.
- Do this for 25 times on each side.
15. Side Plank – Hip Lifts:
This is the best way to lose love handles. Do a 30 Side Plank Hip Lifts with 15 on each side.
How To Do:
- Get into a side plank position with your elbows, legs, and hips resting on your ground.
- Keep your body in a straight line and engaging in your abs.
- Raise your lower body upward from the ground into a straight plank position.
- Lower yourself and repeat.
- Stretch 15 to your right side and 15 on your left side.
Tips To Reduce Love Handles:
Along with several exercises, you need to follow a diet and bring some changes in your lifestyle so that you can reduce the love handles.
- Cut down on added sugar and unnecessary calories.
- Add fibre, Healthy carbs and fats, and protein to your daily diet.
- We know how stressful life can be. But stressing can cause fat accumulation.
- You need to have the required amount of sleep for a healthy adult.
- Drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated.
There are many reasons due to which fat can be accumulated into the waistline resulting in love handles. It is neither good for your looks nor good for your health. Select an exercise that suits you best and start working out to get a leaner waist.
Let us know if you still have any doubts or concerns about the exercises to reduce love handles. We would love to assist you with the best solutions and answers.
