Exercises for Love Handles - Do They Work?

This is a simple question with a very simple answer...NO! That is if you are doing exercises that are strictly targeting your love handles. To understand why they don't work, you need to understand these points:

Love handles are simply a cute name for FAT. In order to reduce the fat in that region, you must lose fat throughout your entire body. It is not possible to target your fat loss simply to one area. Losing fat requires you to burn more calories than you are taking in. Exercises targeting your love handles are generally completed sitting/lying down or standing still, and require very little movement. Therefore, the amount of calories burned is not substantial enough to promote fat loss. Exercises targeting love handles are generally designed to tone/build the muscles in that region, and not do anything with the love handles themselves. This is because the love handles and the muscles in that region are two completely separate things. Even though you may develop the best looking abdominal and oblique muscles known to mankind, they will never be seen without removing the layer of fat that resides over top.

So, what type of exercise program will help you most effectively lose these love handles? There is no one right answer to this age old question. However, it has been proven that a well designed program involving cardiovascular activity to burn calories, and strength training exercises to increase muscle tissue and increase metabolism works the best. However, before starting any exercise program, it helps to know how many calories you are able to eat combined with how many calories you need to burn to reach your weight loss goals.

Let's look at an example. Let's say that you are a 45 year old female who weighs 155 lbs, you are 5 feet 5 inches tall, and you participate in very little exercise. Over the course of the last six months, you've gained 12 lbs or 2 lbs a month, and you would like to lose that amount to get back to your weight prior to you noticing your love handles.

Knowing that you must burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat, you must cut out or burn an extra 7,000 calories each month, or 233 (7,000 cal / 30 days) calories each day just to stop gaining weight. If you then want to lose 1 lb a week you must cut out/burn an additional 3,500 calories each week, or 500 calories (3,500 cal / 7 days) each day to meet this goal. This is a grand total of 733 calories each day in calorie reduction or calorie burning.

According to the website http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm, the amount of calories you need to consume per day to maintain your weight is 1,621 based on the example above. It is not feasible to cut out 733 calories each day, especially at the start of your program.

So, what should you do? The first suggestion is to see your physician to ensure that you are basically healthy. Then, start slow! Concentrate on stopping the 2 pounds a month of weight gain by reducing your caloric intake by 100-200 calories per day combined with a light exercise program consisting of walking, jogging, swimming, etc., and a very basic strength training program, preferably under the guidance of an experienced professional.

Once you have stopped the weight gain, then you can concentrate on losing the desired weight by adjusting your caloric intake further, and increasing the intensity of your strength training and cardiovascular routines.

There are a couple of very important notes to remember:

The above example is only a guideline, and none of the figures stated should be considered exact. There are many variables that can change these numbers such as body type, activity level, etc. Reducing your calories too much too soon can cause your body to think it is being starved, and force it to start to burn muscle for energy. As a result, your metabolic rate decreases, and the amount of fat that is burned will also decrease. Though weight can be lost without exercise, it makes the process much more difficult and potentially frustrating. Building lean muscle mass with a cardiovascular and strength training program will make the job much easier and satisfying.

As many people get older and their bodies and overall lifestyles begin to change, weight gain can be inevitable, especially around the waist. Exercises designed to target these "love handles" can be great for muscle toning, but will do very little for reducing fat. The key is a well balanced exercise program consisting of cardiovascular exercise and strength training designed to burn calories and build lean muscle mass. Though it may seem impossible, don't get frustrated. Start slow, be consistent and take it one step at a time. Very few things in life that are worthwhile come easily.

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