7 Most Effective Gym Workouts to Reduce Your Love Handles

Let’s be honest: love handles can be incredibly difficult to lose weight. That being said, performing the right workouts in and out of the gym can help shrink and tone this area of ​​the body in a productive way. We’re here to help and spoke with a fitness expert who shares the most effective gym workouts to shrink love handles and sculpt your waistline.

“Targeting the ‘love handles’ or oblique area requires a combination of strength training, cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet to reduce overall body fat,” explains Lauren Fortenerpersonal trainer and owner and founder of Turbo Zone Fitness, a women-owned fitness center in Dayton, Ohio.

Below, Fortener shares the most effective gym workouts to strengthen and tone your obliques.

In this article:

Side plank variations

Side plank:

1. Lie on one side of your body with your legs extended.
2. Support yourself on your forearm.
3. Hold the position while activating your obliques.

Side plank with hip dips:

1. Assume a side plank position.
2. Lower your hips toward the floor.
3. Raise your hips while keeping your core tight.

5 Best High-Intensity Cardio Workouts to Melt Visceral Fat

Russian twists and turns

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet raised.
2. Stand back a little.
3. Clasp your hands in front of you or hold a medicine ball.
4. Twist your torso from side to side while maintaining control.

Bike crunches

1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and raised and your hands on the back of your head.
2. Alternate bringing one elbow toward the opposite knee and extending the other leg, imitating a pedaling motion on a bicycle.
3. Focus on twisting your torso to stimulate your obliques.

6 Basic Sculpting Exercises for a Tighter Stomach

Lumberjacks

1. Stand up straight, holding a cable or dumbbell with both hands on one shoulder.
2. Bring the weight diagonally across your body toward your opposite hip, imitating a cutting motion.

5 Best Compound Workouts to Melt Your Love Handles

Mountain climbers with a twist

1. Assume a high board.
2. Quickly drive one knee toward the opposite elbow as if you were running in place.

Side bends with dumbbells

1. Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in one hand.
2. Lean sideways toward the dumbbell.
3. Come back to standing.
4. Repeat on the other side.

RELATED: 6 Best Rowing Workouts to Melt Belly Fat6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Cardio and HIIT

“Incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or activities like running, cycling, or swimming to burn fat and reveal toned muscles,” says Fortener. So, hop on the treadmill, stationary bike, or pool at your gym for a productive, fat-burning workout.

Alexa Mellardo