Exercise to get rid of back fat and love handles

Jeff from Athlean X walks us through the lower back fat / love handles myth.

Lower Back Fat / Love Handles Myth

“The lower back and love handles is one of the biggest problem areas for guys when it comes to fat storage.  While women tend to store fat in their thighs and rear ends, men have the hardest time getting the stubborn fat to leave their waistline.  In this video however, I’m going to dispel the proper way to attack this problem once and for all.”

“As with any problem with body fat, your first, second and third lines of attack need to revolve around fixing your nutrition.  No body fat issue is going to be tackled with exercise alone.  Not only is spot reduction simply not possible or even an efficient way of going about this but it just won’t have the impact that changing your diet for the better can have.”

Source: Alona Griffiths on Unsplash

“A lot of people shy away from trying to make changes to their diet and nutrition however because they simply don’t want to give up the foods that they like to eat.  That’s fine, but then you better not complain when you turn around and see that layer of lower back fat accumulating around your waist. 

“If you want to get rid of lower back fat you want to start improving the foods that you eat.  Drinking too much alcohol can also be a quick place to make changes if you want to reduce your love handles and the fat that you accumulate around your waist.  It’s far too easy to ingest too many calories from drinks since the liquid calories go down virtually unnoticed.  Know what I mean?”

“That said, from an exercise stand point, many people will try to get rid of their love handles and lower back fat by hitting the low back directly with hyperextensions or the love handles with side bends.  Neither of these exercises will do much to decrease your body fat.  First of all, the concept of spot reduction as I said is not possible.  Second of all, the muscles involved in these moves (even if there were spot reduction) are not vast or large enough to cause a maximal metabolic increase by performing them.”

“Instead, opt for the big moves like a deadlift which requires that you develop tremendous lower back strength and stability.  Maintain the strong arch throughout your lower back throughout the movement and aim to increase the weight you lift on the exercise as often as possible.  Over time, you’ll notice not only your low back but your entire body becoming more muscular which will help you burn more fat at rest over the long term.”

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• Definition
  • What Are Love Handles?
• Exercises
  • What Is the Best Exercise to Get Rid of Love Handles?
• Diets
  • What Diets Work to Get Rid of Love Handles?
• Guide
  • What Is the Best Exercise to Get Rid of Love Handles? Topic Guide

What Are Love Handles?

Exercise cannot target fat in specific areas of the body. Love handles will shrink as you lose weight overall, mostly through cutting calories. Abdominal exercises may improve muscle tone and appearance, but it’s a myth that you can “sculpt” the fat away.

Love handles refer to excess fat on the sides of the waist. This fat often hangs over the sides of pants and due to its appearance is also called a “spare tire” or “muffin top.” This area is a common concern for people who want to slim down.

What Is the Best Exercise to Get Rid of Love Handles?

Unfortunately, exercise alone will not get rid of love handles. Studies have shown that abdominal resistance training does not reduce belly fat or slim the waistline more than diet alone. 

Diet plus exercise works best to reduce love handles. It is possible to tighten the core muscles in the lower abdomen, and when combined with diet, the mid-section can appear more toned. 

To lose your love handles, you need to lose fat all over the body. The best exercise regimen for fat loss includes both aerobic and strength exercises (resistance training). High-intensity interval training (HIIT), also called high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE), is a type of cardiovascular exercise that alternates between short bouts of high-intensity and low-intensity exercise. HIIT usually alternates between slower to moderate-intensity and high-intensity movements. The Obesity Reviews Journal reviewed 13 different studies on overweight adults and found that HIIT reduced weight and waist circumference.

Specific exercises that can help tone and tighten the mid-section include: 

• Abdominal scissors 
  • Lay on your back with hands at your sides or under your glutes for back support
  • Extend legs straight, then cross the legs over each other, alternating the leg that crosses on top; or alternate legs going straight up and down
  • Don’t let the legs drop to the floor 
  • Make sure your core is engaged and your lower back is pressed onto the floor
• Plank
  • Lay down on your belly and prop yourself forearms and toes, head facing the floor
  • Engage the abdominal muscles and keep the body in a straight line
  • Hold position for a few seconds and return to the floor
• Mountain climbers
  • Start in a plank position 
  • Bring the right knee up and across the body, past the stomach to the left elbow, keeping the back and arms straight and core engaged
  • Return to a plank position and repeat on the other side
• Side plank
  • Lie down on the right side and prop the body up using the right elbow and hand, with the left foot stacked on top of the right foot
  • Raise your hips and buttocks towards the ceiling 
  • Hold position for a few seconds and return to the floor
  • Repeat the on the other side
• Russian twists
  • Begin in a seated position with knees bent, feet hip-width apart
  • Lean the upper body backwards to a 45-degree angle, keeping the back straight
  • Engage the core and twist the upper body to the left and place hands on the floor, then twist to the right and place the hands on the floor
• Woodchoppers
  • Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and raise both arms above the head on the left-hand side
  • Bring hands down toward the floor on the right-hand side of the body as you perform a squat while twisting the mid-section and hips
  • Perform several times and repeat on the other side
• Consult a doctor or physical therapist before starting any new exercise program. Always follow proper form for all exercises, and stop if something hurts.

QUESTION

What Diets Work to Get Rid of Love Handles?

Just as there is no specific exercise to get rid of love handles, there is no way to quickly reduce love handles with diet. Fad diets may help you drop pounds quickly and maybe even inches off your waistline, but most of that will likely be water weight and it will be temporary. Losing love handles comes down to old fashioned diet and exercise, which are key factors in determining how much fat is in our bodies. 

Diet tips to help get rid of love handles include: 

• Reducing sugar intake
  • The body needs very little sugar and any excess is stored as fat
  • Cut down on sugars in empty carbohydrates such as cookies, cake, and white bread
• Consuming a plant-based diet
  • Beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas (called pulses) are high in fiber and plant protein and help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce overall body fat
  • People who consume whole grains lose more body fat than those who eat processed grains
• Intermittent fasting
  • Based on the concept that humans were designed to eat for short periods of time followed by hours (and sometimes days) of fasting
  • There are no food or caloric restrictions, but restrictions on WHEN to eat
  • Popular methods include 16/8 (8 hours of eating followed by 16 hours of fasting), the “Eat-Stop-Eat” method (two 24-hour fasts per week on non-consecutive days); and the 5/2 method (only 500 calories for 2 non-consecutive days, and 5 days of normal eating per week)
  • Intermittent fasting has been shown to help reduce body fat

How do you get rid of back fat and love handles?

What exercise gets rid of love handles fast?

How long does it take to get rid of back fat and love handles?

What causes back fat and love handles?