Those Nasty Love Handles


by Charles Boisvert - Date: 2007-02-23 - Word Count: 606 Share This!

I had been working out for about four years. I was not fat but I did carry a few extra pounds of fat around the waist. This is how I got rid of those nasty love handles bulging over my pants.

I found aerobics to be a good way to burn off fat. But it doesn't target any particular region of the body. So how can we target those love handles. The answer: ab-aerobics. Let me explain. To get an aerobic effect on the abs, meaning that the muscles switch over to a fat burning system, the ab muscles must be worked non-stop long enough for the aerobic mechanism to occur. When we begin to work a muscle, the main fuel used for the first minute is sugar. After a few minutes of steady work the fuel the body uses will change mostly to fat. Thus one must workout the abs continuously for a period of at least two to three minutes.

For maximum fat lost around the waist area only a fairly low level of targeted ab-aerobics would be needed. There is a way to combine your ab workout with aerobics. When the goal is fat loss and tightening up of the midsection, the ab-aerobics approach is the best. High repetition, high intensity ab exercises do not directly burn fat off your love handles. Rather, like any aerobics routine, they burn fat from the entire body. Nor will this method build muscle size in the abs. A small, tight hard waistline will be the results.

Now for the abs workout itself. The exercises must be of sufficiently low intensity to allow steady work of at least ten minutes. The total workout should not be more than half an hour. And since it is not strenuous, it can be repeated daily if desired. It could be done as a warm-up or a cool-down of your regular workout or be done as a separate session during the day. First thing in the morning is good as the body is especially ready to burn fat at that time.

Here are some of the best exercises.

1. Side bends. This is perhaps the single best movement for the entire ab section. It mainly targets the oblique's AKA love handles. The oblique's also play a role in holding the tummy, so tight oblique's are a must. Stand with the feet together and gently bend to one side, hold for a second or two, come up, stop, then bend to the other side. Do this with your hands on your waist.

2. Twist. Also targets the love handles. You can perform them standing or seated. Done with a broom stick held behind the neck then just twist gently from side to side. I recommend doing them standing.

3. Cat crunches. Unlike the normal crunch, the cat crunch is executed on hand and knees. To perform the cat crunches, one breathes in and allows the stomach to sag downward. Then, breathing out, you arch the back up as high as possible and suck the abs in, completing a crunching movement. One should not try to do them too quickly, because of the breathing element, one could end up hyperventilating.

These three exercises will do a good job of working your love handles. Use two exercises per workout, varying them each time. Try moving at a steady moderate pace as speed is not desirable here.

Give this workout a try in conjunction with a good healthy diet and you'll be on your way to a smaller, tighter waist and finally be rid of those nasty love handles. A good example of a complete ab, diet and workout can be found at www.ask-med.com/losestomachfat.html


Related Tags: lose weight, stomach fat, ab exercises, get rid of love handles, six pack abs, love handles

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