Exercise to Lose Love Handles

There are the two types of love handle exercises: aerobic and anaerobic for all ages and both genders.

At a time when obesity is a major health issue in our nation it is important to use both exercise types for everyone.

The first one is aerobic exercises. The word "aerobic" stems from the Latin meaning oxygen and life. Any physical exercise that requires increased oxygen intake is by definition aerobic.

These exercises strengthen the heart, lungs, muscles and burn calories. Running, rollerblading, swimming are examples of aerobic exercises that will increase burn more oxygen, increase your heart rate and burn additional calories. That's exactly what you need to get rid of the excess fat that collects as love handles.

The second type of exercises is anaerobic. It literally means "without oxygen." This is generally a high intensity exercise like like lifting weights or other types of resistance training.

The heart and lungs are strengthened but the fat cells are not used as an energy source as they are in aerobic exercises. The good news is that after anaerobic exercising your bodies metabolism rate goes up which burns calories after you finished exercising. The better shape you are in the better your body burns fat cells during this type of exercising. Therefore, strengthening the whole body helps reduce love handles.

The first of three anaerobic exercises is the crunch which give all around muscle toning.

Lie on a flat surface. Have your knees flexed and put your feet firmly on the floor. Place your hands behind the neck. Keep your lower back on the floor at all times. Inhale, contract the abdominal muscles and curl your upper torso a few inches off the ground. Squeeze your abdominal muscles for a second at the top of the position. Exhale and return to the starting position by slowly lowering your torso. Don't return completely: you need to maintain the tension on the abdominal muscles. This is considered one repetition. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

The Side Bends is another effective anaerobic exercise for love handles that targets the obliques.

First, stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Try stretching your left arm over your head while leaving your right arm relaxed on your love handles. Curve your upper torso to the right without arching your back or leaning forward. Use your left arm to reach as far as possible to the right. Count to five then repeat the process for the right arm. To get more flexibility try doing this easy love handles exercise daily. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each.

The standing twist is another effective anaerobic exercise for love handles. This exercise focuses on the cross abdominal muscles.

Stand with your back straight and your feet positioned firmly on the floor. Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulder-width. Get a lighter bar (a broomstick, for example) and allow it to rest on your shoulders with your hands gripping the object overhand.

Remember to keep your head straight while performing this exercise. Start the actual motion by inhaling and tightening the central part of your abdominal muscles then slowly twist your upper body to your right. When you have twisted as far as possible hold the position while you contract the abdominal muscles for three seconds.

Exhale while you return slowly, in a controlled manner to the starting position. Repeat the above process for the left side. This is considered one repetition. Do 2 sets of 15 repetitions for each side.

Another anaerobic exercise you can do is tensing your stomach muscles and drawing your naval into your spine throughout the day. The simplicity of this exercise means you can perform it sitting or standing and in almost any situation. I do this throughout the day. I pull my stomach muscles back until it hurts and I keep them there as long as possible. This strengthens the gut muscles pulling them in.