Lose your love handles and melt your muffin top right at home with five of the best exercises for love handles! This follow-along love handle workout will tone and shape your sides and obliques to enhance your curves and accentuate your hourglass. Best part is all these exercises are diastasis recti friendly so they are perfect for post-pregnancy moms to trim and tone their stomachs.
Why are they even called “LOVE HANDLES”, anyway?? I mean – who really “loves” “love handles”??
If you’re tired of the excess weight you carry just above your belt line then it’s time to do something about it!
This is an amazing workout you can do right at home that’s going to target and tone your lateral trunk muscles to eliminate love handles forever.
HOW TO LOSE YOUR LOVE HANDLES
Love handles are the extra skin and fat that typically sit right above our hips above our belt line.
Now the absolute best way to lose your love handles is actually through a healthy diet and plenty of healthy activity.
You see – it is actually impossible to “spot treat“ fat. I can’t simply perform hundreds of oblique crunches and expect to lose weight in my sides and obliques.
That’s simply not how the body works.
In order to lose weight from your stomach, you need to focus on losing weight everywhere.
The absolute best thing you can do is to start by eating a healthy diet with eliminating sweets and eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
That said, however, strengthening and toning the muscles in a given area will add muscle definition to that spot.
If you want a toned, tight stomach you need to lose body fat AND tighten the underlying muscle. This workout will certainly help to get you there.
WHAT IS DIASTASIS RECTI?
Diastasis recti is a condition where increased tension on your rectus abdominis (foremost ab muscle or the one that gives you your “six-pack”) causes it to separate vertically down the middle.
The most common condition that I see it in is pregnancy and post pregnancy.
HOW TO CHECK FOR DIASTASIS RECTI
An estimated 2/3 of all pregnancies result in some degree of abdominal separation.
Whether you are recently delivered or your baby is 10+ years old, it’s a good idea to check for this condition if you have not already done so.
You can perform this simple test at home by following along with my video here on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/LpsvIeGBKuk
BEST EXERCISES TO HEAL DIASTASIS RECTI
When you are performing core training with a diastasis recti there are certain exercises you want to absolutely avoid and other muscle contractions you should perform to help the separated halves come back closer together.
Here are three exercises to help heal your diastasis recti here are three of the worst core exercises for diastasis recti and what you should be doing instead: https://youtu.be/lpp21kgbWJM
21-DAY DIASTASES WORKOUT PLAN
Are you interested in a free “21-Day Diastasis Recti Workout Plan”? Simply click on this link and I’ll send one over to you today! https://toneandtighten.activehosted.com/f/14
POST-PREGNANCY LOVE HANDLE WORKOUT
While this is a great workout for anyone looking to tone their midsection and eliminate their love handles, I designed it with you moms in mind and especially you moms with this diastasis condition.
The key is going to be attacking the obliques from all angles while holding your transverse abdominis (your natural “corset” muscle) nice and tight.
Simply follow along with the video to perform this workout in real time, or here is a list of all the exercises in the video:
1. Standing Weighted Side Bends (10 reps on each side, 3 sets)
- Hold a heavier weight in one hand only
- Make sure you take your side bends through as full a range of motion as possible
2. Side Plank Hip Dips (10 reps on each side, 3 sets)
- Keep your stomach sucked in and focus on the “down” side (the side your propped on)
- Don’t let your hip touch the ground and raise it as high as possible
3. Double Leg Lateral Raise (10 reps on each side, 3 sets)
- Keep your stomach sucked in
- Focus on the contraction; should feel this one on the “up” side
4. Thread The Needle Side Plank (10 reps on each side, 3 sets)
- Adds a little rotation to the mix
- Of course – focus on keeping your belly button sucked in to your spine
5. Sumo Squat Side Bends (10 reps on each side, 3 sets)
- Kick on the hips and glutes to stabilize; emphasis is still lateral oblique muscles
Be sure to LIKE the video if you find it useful; also make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Tone and Tighten while you’re there. Thanks so much for watching!
THE MOMMY TUMMY FIX WORKOUT PLAN: https://www.toneandtightenstore.com/mommytummyfix
TONE AND TIGHTEN’S POSTPARTUM FITNESS PLAYLIST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT4Yite3Tx5nV9K2geZIg5oKRuL_X9Ph8
Make it happen,
Jared