How to Workout Love Handles and Lose Back Fat | GGP

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How to Workout Love Handles and Lose Back Fat

I gave this question some thought.

I asked a few friends.

I even made my partner take his shirt off for me, in the name of research.

The truth hurt!

Honestly, I researched the answer to this question quite a bit, and I am sorry to say, but my answer is not going to be popular.

girl with abs

Lose Body Fat!

Love handles are like built in external body fat meters that are kindly installed on the exterior of your body for everyone to see.

The are conveniently located just where your pants tighten around your waist, accentuating the soft gooey bulges on each side.

If you like to see things from the positive perspective, think of them as special energy storage packs in the event of a prolonged Zombie Apocalypse. In the case of such an event, you will likely need to do a lot of running, or at least really fast walking, depending on the Zombie chasing you.

If you would rather not be preparing your body for a food shortage, you must watch what you eat and exercise.

How to eat to lose back fat aka “love handles”

Diet Plan for 6 Pack Abs

OK, so this video is for abs, but the truth is, losing fat for abs is the same as losing fat for love handles. You can not lose fat in only one area without liposuction or cosmetic procedures.

Since Garage Gym Power is a site dedicated to fitness, we will pretend the plastic surgery route does not exist.

Besides: The body you earn looks so much better than one that is paid for, and you will have pride in it.

In this diet plan video, I love that Jeff tells the truth and tells it like it is. He is not one to baby others, that is for sure. If you want serious change, you have to take a serious look at your habits and diet. Pure and simple.

How I eat & train to lose fat!

This video from the lean machine has solid advice on how to lose fat. He advises the use of a fitness tracker, a calorie deficit, and preparing all food at home. He prepares one meal and splits it into two or even three meals to same time. Smart!

What I really like about the video is the detail. At about 4 minutes into the video he shows you how he starts his week preparing food. Its like a fat loss cooking show on fast forward.

He shows breakfast, lunch and dinner PLUS what supplements he uses. I like that the video goes very quick, but is packed with info.

A lot of good stuff here in this video. If you want to get a sneak peak of someone else’s weekly routine, watch this video.

What Exercises NOT to do if you want to minimize love handles

You may have heard that some exercises actually make love handles appear bigger.

That is because if you work out the muscle beneath the fat pad without losing the fat, the love handle will protrude farther and look bigger.

At 1:50 in this video Jeff talks about the weighted side bend or dumbbell side bend. The weighted side bend increases the size of the Quadratis Lumborum. This muscle sits below the love handle and can make it stick out farther.

Warning for women

The weighted side bend has a more pronounced affect on those with short torsos, and can thicken the waist of women, lessening the hourglass shape, which is why I avoid them like the plague.

What Exercises DO work to get rid of love handles?

While fat loss is by far the number one thing you can do for love handles, there are some exercises that help minimize the appearance.

In this video Jeff explains why performing exercises that increase the width of your lats cause your waist to get narrower, which plays down the appearance of love handles.

He uses a very easy one arm row to do this. All you need is one dumbbell, and NOT a heavy one. Simple!

BLAST Your Love Handles Away With This 5 Minute Gym Workout

Toby with SenorityHealth has a small army of videos for love handle workouts. The video is simple and uses 3 compound movements.

He uses bench squats, a cable pulley and a wall sit. This video is for those who are easing into fitness, but don’t expect Toby to take it easy on you. He sounds like an old army drill sergeant. I love that!

How To Get Rid Of Love Handles

Mike with six pack Abs gives us a passionate talk about the pain of love handles. He says what most everyone says, love handles are fat, so you must lose fat to get rid of them.

He also supports what Jeff says, NO dumbbell side bends!

Do you want to hear some good news?

Mike says that you will see your six pack way before you will completely lose your love handles, so you can start right away working the abs and see results there sooner.

Mike recommends some cardio, but not a huge amount. He says it should be done AFTER your weight training, so you do not deplete your muscles, and only needs to be done for about 10 minutes.

Mike demonstrates the cardio workout, starting at 5:50 in the video. I am not going to lie, the workout looks HARD, but I believe him, do this for 5 days a week, and eat right, and those love handles will be gone in no time.

The bottom line?

Your muscles are made, and fat loss occurs in the kitchen. Take it from Mike Diamond who advises that fat loss is 70 percent what you eat and 30 percent workout, so don’t expect 100% results if either are neglected.

We would like to hear about your fat loss routine and how you plan to get rid of those stubborn love handles.

See you at the Gym!