Why are love handles called love handles? It’s not like you actually love them, do you? No – thought not! These unsightly deposits of fat on the sides of your body often cling stubbornly to you, even when you lose other areas of fat. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to help you remove these love handles. All you have to do is include these in your normal workout to help you tone up the sides of your body.
If you don’t know what exactly love handles are, they are the chubby, flabby areas that many people have on top of their obliques. You can tone up your whole stomach with abdominal exercises but unfortunately this little area always escapes attention, as it doesn’t respond to normal ab exercises.
This is why you needa whole separate routine for your obliques. When you start to give them specific, individual attention, you will start to see the results that you have been looking for all along.
To tone up your abdominal exercises, you need an Olympic bar, a BOSU ball, an exercise ball, a yoga mat and a dumbbell. You can make do without any of these pieces of equipment but they would all come in useful for your home gym setup anyway, and can be used for a variety of pieces of equipment.
A modified straddle forward bend is one great way of targeting those abs. You take a block in your left hand to start with and then you turn to the right and take a step to move your feet apart.
Take a block in your left hand. Turn to the right and step your feet apart. Fold downwards at the waist and then place the block onto the floor, just between your feet under your left shoulder. Inhale and move your right arm up, turning your chest towards the right, whilst keeping your hips on the level. Look towards your right hand and breathe, then rotate your spine while opening your hamstrings and hips. Then repeat on the other side.