15 Best Exercises for Love Handles That Burn Belly and Back Fat
The best exercises for men’s love handles aren’t as cut and dry as the best leg exercises, best chest exercises, and best shoulder exercises. When looking to burn fat, some areas of the body are tougher to crack than others—namely belly and back fat, for men. Determining how to get rid of love handles takes a multi-pronged approach.
If you’ve tried to get rid of love handles using a combination of situps, cardio, and dumbbell side bends to no avail, it’s time to change up your workout routine—or start a new one—and take a holistic approach with a meal plan to lose belly fat.
To identify the best exercises for love handles, we reached out to Sadik Hadzovic, an I.F.B.B. men’s physique professional; Adam Rosante, a strength and nutrition coach; Rachel MacPherson, C.S.C.S., a writer and exercise nutritionist; and Alex Barber, C.P.T.
If you want to burn belly fat faster, consider this your blueprint.
15 Best Exercises for Love Handles
What follows is a range of exercise types. Some are compound movements (e.g. barbell front squats, farmers walk, single-arm dumbbell rows), meaning they target multiple body parts and muscle groups, which recruits more energy to perform, burning more calories. These are great exercises to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously.
Others are “fast-paced and/or designed to target both the rectus abdominals and the transverse abdominals,” Hadzovic says. “To burn fat, you must do more than just crunches; you need to recruit your entire body to enter a thermogenic state that leads to an accelerated rate of fat loss.” We call this the afterburn, meaning you continue to burn calories long after the workout.
In addition to a clean diet, weight training, and a mix of both high-intensity interval training and steady-state cardio, add these best exercises for love handles to help reveal your abs.
Barbell Front Squat
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Set a barbell on a power rack at about shoulder height, to start.
- Grasp the bar with hands shoulder-width apart and raise your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
- Take the bar out of the rack and let it rest on your fingertips. Step back and set your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes turned out slightly. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your low back.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 5 x 5 reps, working up to the heaviest weight you can handle with proper form.
Pro Tip
Throughout the entire movement keep your back straight and chest open to ensure you aren’t leaning too far forward.
Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand lunge length in front of a bench, to start.
- Rest the top of one foot on the bench behind you.
- Bend both knees and lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor, keeping your torso upright.
- Push through your leading foot to stand.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 3-4 x 8-12 reps each side.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows
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How to Do It
- Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, place your left knee and left hand on a flat bench, to start.
- Keeping your back flat, extend your right arm toward the floor.
- Exhale and slowly row the dumbbell up toward your ribs, keeping your arm close to the side of your body.
- Inhale and gently lower the dumbbell to the starting position.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 3-4 x 8-12 reps.
Heavy Farmer’s Walk
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Stand tall with a heavy dumbbell in each hand, to start.
- Maintain a tall chest, retract shoulder blades, and keep weights from resting on thighs.
- Walk forward, using choppy, heel-to-toe steps. Ensure that your head is facing forward and your posture is rigid.
- Perform 3-4 x 25 steps.
Heavy Sled Sprint and Backward Drag
Justin Steele
How to Do It:
- Start with hands on the high poles or the low crossbar of a sled, hips hinged forward slightly, to start.
- With back straight and core engaged, drive through balls of feet and push the sled with small, quick steps. It should feel like bracing to push a broken-down car along the street.
- As fast as you can, push the sled forward for 20 yards.
- Turn around and drag the sled back 20 yards to the starting position. Note: You can secure a TRX strap to the sled to hold onto as you sprint back.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 3-4 sets.
Pro Tip
If you’re new to sled drags, start with a small amount of weight and work your way up. They’re harder than they look.
Running Planks
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Assume a plank position with elbows directly under shoulders and feet together, to start.
- Support your body weight with your forearms and toes, maintaining a neutral spine and a tight core.
- Drive your right foot up toward your chest, then quickly bring it back as you drive your other leg toward your chest. Continue alternating as if you were doing high knees.
- Perform 4 x 30-sec. rounds
Battle Rope Waves
Marius Bugge
How to Do It
- Start with knees slightly bent with the ropes in either hand, to start.
- Get a continuous rope wave going, hands traveling between shoulder and hip heights.
- Keep your chest tall and maintain full foot contact with the ground.
- Perform 4 x 30-sec. rounds.
Deadlift
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and roll a barbell up to your shins, to start.
- Bend down to grasp it outside your knees.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, push through your heels and extend your hips until you’re standing with the bar in front of your thighs. Lower with control to the start position.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 10-15 reps.
Pro Tip
Perform several warmup sets, increasing the weight gradually until you reach the heaviest load you can handle for 10 reps.
Hanging Leg Raises
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How to Do It
- Grab a pullup bar and hang your body off the ground, to start.
- Flex your abs and lats, then, without rocking or swinging, raise your straight legs as high as you can.
- Lower with control to a dead hang.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 20 reps.
Pro Tip
If you lack hip or hamstring mobility, you can bend your knees to lessen the difficulty. Krajewski recommends raising your knees until they’re bent at 90 degrees. “Focus on strict, slow movement to avoid any swinging,” he says.
Russian Twist
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Sit on the floor with both of your legs bent and feet on the ground.
- Extend your arms out straight, holding a weight or medicine ball.
- Lower your upper body down until your back is at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
- Rotate your arms from left to right, twisting your upper body.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 15 reps.
Sledgehammer Strikes
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How to Do It
- Grab a sledgehammer with your left hand on the base and your right hand near the head, to start.
- Stand before a tractor tire. Swing the hammer behind you, then raise it above your head and over your right shoulder.
- Slide your right hand down the shaft of the sledgehammer to meet your left hand as you strike the hammer into the tire. Imagine you’re chopping wood.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 3 x 20 reps each side.
Box Jump
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Stand in an athletic position, with your feet shoulder-width apart, at a comfortable distance from the box.
- When you’re ready to jump, drop quickly into a quarter squat, pulling your arms back, then extend your hips, swing your arms forward, and push your feet through the floor to propel yourself onto the box.
- Step back down to the start position.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 20 reps.
Pro Tip
The higher the box, the greater the difficulty. If you’re new to box jumps, start small and work your way up.
Kettlebell Swing
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Stand with feet a bit wider than hip-width apart, to start.
- Grab a kettlebell by the handle with both hands, keeping your palms facedown and arms in front of your body.
- Hinge your hips back, tilt the kettlebell’s handle toward you, then in one fluid motion, explosively drive the kettlebell between your legs, then extend through your hips to swing the kettlebell up, keeping glutes and core engaged. Let momentum guide the kettlebell back down.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 20 reps.
Kneeling Ab Vacuum
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How to Do It
- Kneel on the floor and sit back with your butt on your heels and hands at your sides, to start.
- Pull your shoulder blades down your back, then pull your abs in as if trying to touch your belly button to your spine.
- Hold the “vacuum” for 20 or more seconds, then release for 1 to 2 seconds, alternating contractions and releases.
- Perform 1 x 60 sec. round.
Burpee
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Stand with feet together, to start.
- Bend at the knees and waist, then place the palms of your hands on the ground.
- Kick your feet back so you’re in a tall plank position.
- Jump your feet back in, stand up, and immediately jump in the air.
- That’s 1 rep. Perform 4 x 15 reps.
What Are Love Handles?
Love handles are stores of excess body fat, typically over the lower portion of the obliques and lower back muscles. Unlike visceral fat, a more insidious type that weaves throughout the internal organs, this is subcutaneous fat that sits just below the skin’s surface. Men tend to accumulate more visceral fat than women, so their fat stores can lead to an apple-shaped body, whereas women tend to accumulate more body fat in their thighs, rendering a pear-shaped body, according to scientific literature published in Frontiers in Physiology.
Colloquially, they’re also known as muffin tops. Despite the endearing names, love handles are less than desirable, especially when working hard to achieve optimal health and fitness goals. They’re often the last piece of the puzzle.
What Causes Love Handles?
Similar to any other obstinate area of fat on the body, love handles are caused by a bunch of different factors with no quick fixes.
“Those pesky areas around the hips people refer to as love handles or muffin tops are primarily about fat storage,” says MacPherson. “Your body stores extra energy when eating more calories than you burn. The hips are a common fat storage area for many people, especially men. There are several reasons for this, such as stress hormones cranking up, getting older, not moving enough, eating calorie-dense foods, not getting enough sleep, or even some health issues that make it challenging for your body to use up those calories.”
Why Are Love Handles So Hard to Get Rid Of?
There’s a common saying: “You can’t spot reduce fat,” but you might wonder why that is. When you drop a pant size, whether from diet or exercise, your body will reduce fat and water weight all over. What’s left over after months or even years of hard work comes down to a few different factors with genetics being one of the biggest.
“Where your body fat is stored is heavily influenced by genetics,” says Barber. “One individual at 15 percent body fat, could look drastically different than another with the exact same levels depending on their genetic predisposition.”
Most people will have love handles to varying degree at some stage of their lives, unless they’re naturally very lean and follow a protocol to to keep excess body fat off.
“Hormones, specifically cortisol, insulin, testosterone, and estrogen all affect body fat storage in one way or another, too,” adds Barber.
Of course, exercise is a huge part of any weight-loss regimen, but it should be combined with other options for shedding extra fat off the flanks. MacPherson emphasizes diet, sleep, and stress management are key for completing the picture.
“First off, what you put on your plate is huge,” says MacPherson. “You need to create a lifestyle where you’re using up more energy than you’re taking in, using a combination of movement to burn calories and nutrition strategies that mean you feel satisfied and energized while eating less than you burn.
Mike Krajewski, PT, CSCS, owner of MK Fitness in Nashville, TN agrees stating “Sure, a guy performing two million hanging leg raises will undoubtedly build great abdominal strength, but if that same guy eats pizza and drinks beer every weekend then those abs will continue to hide under a nice layer of fat.” What’s more, you need to train your entire body to get rid of stubborn fat—not just your mid-section.
How Long Does It Take to Lose Love Handles?
Walk into any healthcare store and you’ll be met with an array of pills and powders promising near-immediate weight loss. But ask any nutritionist or personal trainer about weight loss and they’ll tell you patience and persistence are the keys to true success.
When it comes to losing your love handles, specifically, “it depends on where you’re starting from and how consistently you’re moving towards your goal,” says MacPherson.
“Since love handles didn’t show up overnight, they won’t vanish overnight, either,” she says. “Aiming to shed about a half to a full pound a week, sometimes more depending on your starting weight, is a doable goal for most people. This means you’re looking at a few months of consistent effort in eating right, staying active, and taking care of your overall well-being.”