How to Shed Those Love Handles

Why do people still call them love handles? Nobody loves them!

I think it is because many people are afraid to hurt the feelings of loved ones and its apparently better to make a lewd sexual joke about love handles than to admit they're unattractive.

Many people, especially men in search of firm six-pack abs, want to ditch their love handles... The problem is HOW!

Love handles are a bit trickier but they basically go hand and hand with ab workouts and cardio - and to be fair cardio is the most important part of this equation because doing ab workouts isn't going to shed the fat, it will only firm up the muscles under the fat.

"Love Handles" is the fat that can hang down from off the sides of the stomach, below the oblique muscles. You can try firming up the region by doing oblique exercises to tone the muscles, but that isn't going to shed the fat on top of those muscles.

If you're looking for a quick solution to get rid of a particular spot of fat on your body the bad news is that you just can't get rid of the love handles or any other particular area of fat that way. Spot Reducing as it is known by impossible. The only solution really is to burn lots of calories, burning fat all over your body and the good news is that your fitness journey will result in you losing fat in every part of your body and toning every part of the body - not just the love handles, but other problem spots too. So if you want to pull a Houdini on those unloved handles and make them go poof like magic you're going to have make lots of other things go poof at the same time - including belly fat, fatty thighs, arm fat and so forth.

If you're trying to "spot reduce" by doing targeted exercises you're only going to increase the muscles in that region. You aren't going to shed the fat unless you're willing to go the extra mile and do lots of cardio.

That means swimming, cycling, jogging, running, jumping jacks, anything that requires full body movement and burns lots of calories. 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So set yourself a goal to lose 10 lbs of fat in 10 weeks and then start doing a combination of cardio (to lose weight) and weight training (to maintain muscle definition). Losing 1 lb of fat per week is a relatively easy goal. Over the longer term when you see the results of the first 10 lbs then you can keep going and set more goals until eventually you've shed those love handles (and all your other trouble spots).

When you are lifting weights (with your personal trainer, me perhaps. Hint hint.) there are a number of exercises you can do to increase definition in the obliques (side muscles), and help firm and tighten that troublesome area:

 

-Alternating Side Crunches

-Bicycle Crunches

-Side Crunches

-Side Crunches on a Ball

-Side Planks

-Weighted Side Bends

 

These exercises alone aren't going to shed the fat. They will however firm up the muscles under the area so that when you eventually lose the love handles you will have some attractive obliques you can admire in the mirror.

 

Don't forget to maintain a healthy balanced diet along the way. Nutrition is half the journey! 

 

10 Exercises to do at Home with Zero Equipment

Wouldn’t it be great if you could afford lots of fancy equipment used in the gyms and a personal trainer? Yes, of course it would. But for those of you out there on a budget and you already have lots of motivation (which is really the whole purpose of personal trainers), what are your options?

Well there are actually quite a few exercises that are effective and don’t require any equipment at all. And best of all you can do them at home, even while watching TV or listening to music.

#1. Walking / Jogging / Running.

You don't have to go outside to do these, but you can. Pull on some shorts or sweatpants, your best running shoes and go enjoy the scenery around you while you exercise. However, if the weather has other ideas, you can also do step exercises at home. If you have a flight of stairs, go up and down them 20 times. (You could even do a load of laundry as you’re going that way anyway!) This will help to tone up your legs, while getting some low impact aerobic exercise as well. If you don’t have any stairs available, just walk or skip around the house a few times – it may not be very exciting, but it will be some cardio.

#2. Jumping Jacks – I do 500 of these every day while listening to music... Starting with "Eye of the Tiger" and some other songs that get me in the exercising mood. Jumping jacks are always fun and are also great cardio exercises.

#3. Pushups – I do 100 of these every day, again to music. Pushups are not the most favourite exercise for some people, but while they can be hard to do, you can find easier ways to do them. Do them on your knees, instead of keeping your legs straight. Or, do them standing up against a wall. You will be building up arm strength in your triceps and working out muscles in your chest area (pecs).

#4. Leg Lifts – These are great for building up strength and muscles in your legs. If you find it hard to do the exercises with your legs straight, try bending them slightly.

#5. Crunches – The best exercise for building up and strengthening abdominal muscles. When you’re just getting started, don’t worry about getting your head all the way up. So long as you’re going up until you feel the stretching of the muscles, you will see some benefit.

#6. Jogging In Place – Jogging is a great exercise for your heart. You can jog in place at home while watching TV easily. The only equipment you will require is a good pair of shoes, to eliminate any stress to your legs.

#7. Squats – These are wonderful exercises for your legs and buttocks. You can even just try these by sitting and standing up again from a regular chair, if you’re finding them to be too difficult. As long as you’re able to do a few repetitions, you will be providing some benefit to your body.

#8. Light Weight Lifting – No, you don’t need to go out and buy expensive weights for this! Just use whatever you can find in your house. Start out with something lighter, such as a can of peas, and work yourself up to heavier items. You can use milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles or even water jugs.

#9. Dancing – Dancing is a wonderful exercise, which is great for your heart. Not only that, but it can lift your spirits as well, and give your overall feeling a boost. Again, music is a must!

#10. Step Exercises – Using the steps in your home, you can do repetitions which will tone your leg muscles. (Just remember to be careful and don't fall!)

New Domain Name!

If you've been here before you may notice that this website is now www.cardiotrek.ca.

Special thanks to Jim Garvin from local Toronto company SiteAction.com for helping to setup the domain name.

Maximum Results + Minimum Time

A lot of people in North America really only exercise for one reason: To Lose Weight.

But they don't want to work hard to do it. Exercise? That sounds too much like work. It is that kind of pessimistic and lazy attitude that causes people to become paralyzed by "I'll do it later."  It is therefore no surprise that America has an obesity epidemic when you considered a combined lifestyle of bad diet and lack of exercise. Also to blame is all the nutritional / exercise misinformation being pushed at them by the food industry and even people in the exercise industry who really just want to sell you something.

Well to be fair, I am selling something too. Personal Training. But I am also a strong believer in giving away free information so that people can go the Do-It-Yourself route.

One of the things people are always looking for is ways to maximize their weight loss... but they want to do it in the minimum amount of time required.

This to me is the typical male approach to getting a task done. If you give a guy three boxes and tell him to carry them upstairs one at a time he will look at you funny, stack all three boxes together and then try to carry them up the stairs all at once. Its not lazy, its male logic. "I can carry all three at once and therefore accomplish the task in one shot."

Part of it might be male ego and testosterone, that is for psychiatrists to decide, but the analogy is good.

So how do we apply this to exercise?

#1. You want to maximize calorie loss per minute.

This means you're going to have to compare exercises and pick one that burns a lot of calories in a hurry. The obvious choice is running because that burns the most calories more than any other exercise, but depending on your goals you might also choose weight lifting, a specific sport, skipping rope, jumping jacks or even yoga.

#2. At the same time you want to be able to keep up the activity for the stated length of time.

So for example if your plan is to only exercise for 15 to 30 minutes per day then you ideally want to be burning a lot of calories during that time period and not stopping to rest. So you want to pick an activity that you're certain you can do. eg. Jogging for 30 minutes.

#3. You want to push your limits in order to maximize results.

One way to do this is via Interval Training. So to take the example of running and jogging you could do the following:

Sprint 1 minute, jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 10 times. Total time 30 minutes.

And if you're still not tired after the 30 minutes, sprint for an additional amount of time until you're ready to quit.

The same method can also be used for weight lifting and mixed cardio.

30 lb bicep curls 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
Pushups 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
Chin-ups 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
25 lb bicep curls 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
Pushups 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
Chin-ups 2 minutes, jumping jacks for 2 minutes.
 20 lb bicep curls 3 minutes, jumping jacks for 3 minutes.

Total time 30 minutes.

#4. The Fun Factor.

Running and weightlifting can be pretty boring however. That is why it is important to mix it up with music and other things to make them more interesting. Try and pick music that makes you feel invigorated.  Eye of the Tiger, Super Trouper, Hungry like the Wolf, TV theme songs... whatever gets your heart and mind racing.

If that still isn't enough fun for you my recommendation is to take up a sport every day for 30 minutes (or longer). If its truly fun you will lose track of time and want to do it every day. (This is why I got into archery and boxing in the first place. They're sports I never get bored of.)

If you can find an activity you enjoy that you can do every day for 30 minutes and it doesn't feel like a chore or work, awesome. Then all you have to do is push yourself to your limits in an effort to maximize your results / calorie loss.

Eventually you will hopefully lose track of time and your worries over "minimizing time and effort" will disappear.

#5. Variety.

Always try new things.

If the only things you are doing is running or weightlifting, your body will stagnate. You will reach a plateau where you can't cross an endurance barrier. To get around that you need to try new things and use muscles you aren't used to using. Yoga is good for this, but you can find many other activities which can activate those rarely used muscles. Once you do so you will be able to push your "maximum" to new heights by awakening muscles you never knew you had.

Archery Testimonial

"I am new to archery, and Charles has given me a great start.  He was very patient, attentive to details, emphasized the importance of focusing on form and good technique.  I really enjoyed the training and learned a lot from it.  His teaching fee was very reasonable, and a good investment.  I would definitely recommend Charles to anyone who wants to learn archery."

- Larry T.

A Very Tight Vertical Line of Arrows