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The abdomen, especially in men, is a place of preferential accumulation of fat. Excess fat also often concentrates in the hips, giving rise to the so-called "love handles", an unsightly and difficult to fight for many.
To combat love handles in a concrete way, a multilateral approach based on a correct diet and a regular program of physical activity is fundamental.
Given the seriousness of the problem, it is important to associate apparently less effective solutions with these classic remedies, but which, joined together, help to combat love handles from many points of view.
Exercises
Targeted training and localized weight loss
If in the middle of a series of abdominals your personal trainer interrupts you by telling you that localized weight loss does not exist and that training this muscle often is of little use, do not listen to them. Although his statement is dictated by the results of some prestigious research published in all textbooks in the sector, it is ALSO necessary to work hard on the abs to defeat the love handles.
Anyone who has tried to train the abdomen intensely can confirm the effectiveness of this theory.
Obviously, if taken individually, abdominal exercises cannot do much to solve the problem.
Combining aerobic exercises with others aimed at muscle hypertrophy is the best way to raise your metabolism and burn more calories throughout the day.
A training program designed to say goodbye to love handles must be planned in the long run. To get ready for the swimsuit test it is therefore necessary to work constantly for at least 3-6 months (depending on the severity of the problem).
After a short period of adaptation, necessary to become familiar with the tools, you can finally get to the heart of the "anti love handles" program. In this first phase we will perform five workouts a week . Three sessions will be dedicated to aerobic work (50-60 ') and two to strength work (train the whole body: 6 sets for the chest 6 for the back, 4 for the arms and 3 for the legs).
The abdominals should be trained three times a week (perform 3 sets each time for the upper part of the abdomen, 3 for the lower part, 3 for the obliques and 3 for the lumbar ones).
After eight weeks, weight training and cardiovascular training will be associated with the same training session. At first you will go from five to four weekly training sessions, opening each session with toning exercises followed by 30 'of aerobic activities. In the last period we will follow a program consisting of 4 weekly sessions: two of training circuits, one exclusively dedicated to weights and another to aerobic work.
As you get closer to the swimsuit test, the abdominals will have to be trained with greater intensity and frequency (even every day, maybe as soon as you wake up before having breakfast). In this way the blood circulation is increased indirectly favoring the localized weight loss and giving to the abdomen the sought after chiseled aspect. The best abdominal exercises are the classic crunches (traditional and inverse), the Swiss Ball exercises and the "bicycle" exercise for the obliques.
Eliminate the Handles of Love - Training
X Problems with video playback? Reload from YouTube Go to Video Page Watch the video on youtubeDiet
Love handles are often the direct result of bad eating habits. An incorrect diet can in fact frustrate the great sacrifices made in the gym.
The ideal diet to fight love handles must first of all be varied and balanced.
- It is important to consume a wide variety of healthy foods every day (whole grains, vegetables, fish, lean meat, legumes, low-fat dairy products, vegetable oils, fresh and dried fruit).
- Do not be seduced by dietary fads or diets that extremes some concept, such as hyper-protein or carbohydrate restriction (Atkins diet, scarsdale, metabolic, ketogenic etc.).
- Adopt the typical dietary patterns of the Mediterranean diet, slightly reducing the carbohydrate percentage (from 65 to 55-50%) and slightly raising the protein and lipid content (25-30% for fats and 20% for proteins).
- Take advantage of the "fat burning" products and foods. Caffeine, guarana, herbal preparations containing ephedrine, bitter orange (synephrine), chilli, cocoa, dark tea, Mate herb, fucus and garcinia, have marked thermogenic characteristics (they raise the basal metabolism forcing the body to burn more calories). The important thing is not to abuse these products, to avoid side effects such as restlessness, tremors, nervousness and tachycardia.
- Eat small, frequent and well-balanced meals. Insulin peaks (favored by meals that are too abundant and unbalanced in favor of carbohydrates), together with prolonged fasting, are in fact the main culprits for the accumulation of fat at belly level.
Other approaches
Additional solutions with modest efficacy
Cosmetics against localized fat deposits
Creams containing capsicin (chilli pepper extract) or other active ingredients capable of stimulating circulation, can contribute to the definitive defeat of love rolls and handles. The application of these products must be followed by a good massage in order to amplify the stimulatory effect on the microcirculation.
Even the abdominal bands, locally raising the body temperature, favor localized weight loss.
USEFUL SUPPLEMENTS
In addition to burning fats containing thermogenic extracts (able to accelerate the metabolism), we also report lipoic acid (a powerful antioxidant and insulin stabilizer) and carnitine (an amino acid that promotes fat metabolism). The first is taken in doses of 200 mg after the main meals. An hour before cardiovascular training you can instead take 400-1000 mg of carnitine.
A low-dose multivitamin can be taken regularly at breakfast, especially by those who do not consume enough fruit and vegetables.
Abdominoplasty
Abdominoplasty is the operation of cosmetic surgery, aimed at removing adipose tissue and excess skin from the abdominal area; the intervention is purely aesthetic and is indicated in cases where the love handles persist, despite the scrupulous adoption of a lifestyle suitable for weight loss.
For more information, read the dedicated article.
One last tip
Consistency, commitment and determination are needed to achieve a particularly dear goal. The handles of love are a sneaky enemy, but not invincible.
If you have tried a thousand solutions and a chiseled abdomen now seems to be only a chimera, don't give up! Consult the best specialists, follow the advice on this site and keep yourself well informed. Love handles can be defeated, but a great achievement always requires great commitment.
