Exercise - Love handles
“Love handles” is a slang term that describes fat deposits along the sides of your waist and hips. Also called “muffin top” or a “spare tire”.
Why are they bad?
- They don’t look good.
- Research has shown that excess fat around the waist can increase your risk for conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
Causes
Love handles are caused by fatty tissue around your midsection. Whether your body tends to store fat around the middle depends on:
- Genetics. Fat storage patterns tend to run in families.
- Hormones. Men (and those identified as male at birth) are more likely to store fat in the belly area rather than the hips and thighs.
- Your age. Levels of belly fat tend to increase at midlife and later.
How to get rid of them?
There’s no way to “spot reduce” love handles away. But reaching and maintaining a weight that’s healthy for you and increasing your muscle mass with exercise can help get rid of love handles while improving your overall health.
You can’t change your body’s fat storage patterns. But when you lose fat and build muscle through diet and exercise, your belly will most likely shrink - and you may lose your love handles. Some research has found that exercise is even more effective for reducing belly fat than for overall weight loss.
Exercises
While a strong core is important, exercises that target your abs aren’t enough to get rid of love handles. You need full-body exercises for best results - both for your love handles and the rest of your body.
These exercises combine ab-strengthening moves with those that benefit your back, hips, and legs. Try to do one set of 12-15 repetitions of each exercise.