9 Best Resistance Band Exercises for Love Handles
Love handles, the excess fat around the hips and abdominal area, can be challenging to lose. However, with the right exercises and consistency, you can tone your obliques and get rid of love handles. Resistance bands are excellent tools for targeting these stubborn areas due to their ability to add extra resistance, thereby increasing muscle engagement. Here we present nine effective resistance band exercises designed to help you hone in on your love handles.
1. Standing Oblique Twists – Secure the band at a mid-level height and stand perpendicular to it. Hold the band with both hands and extend your arms. Rotate your torso away from the anchor point, feeling the twist in your obliques. Repeat on both sides.
2. Woodchoppers – Attach the band to a high anchor point. Stand with your side to the anchor, grabbing the band with both hands. In a smooth motion, pull the band diagonally across your body towards your opposite knee as if you were swinging an axe. Do this for both sides.
3. Side Bends – Stand on the band with feet shoulder-width apart. Hold one end of the band with one hand and put your other hand behind your head or on your hip. Lean towards the side holding the band while feeling a stretch on the opposite side.
4. Russian Twists – Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet flat, wrap the band around your feet, and hold it with both hands in front of you. Lean back slightly and twist from side to side.
5. Side Plank Pulls – In a side plank position and with a looped resistance band around your wrists, pull up on the top end of the band while keeping tension in both arms.
6. Hip Abduction Lifts – Attach the resistance band to a low anchor point and wrap it around one ankle. Lie on your opposite side and lift your banded leg away from your body.
7. Bicycle Crunches – Loop a resistance band around both feet while in a supine position (on your back). Perform bicycle crunches as you normally would, ensuring that you’re pulling against the resistance as you switch legs.
8. Standing Crunches – Step on the middle of a resistance band holding each end in your hands. Raise one knee at a time towards your chest while bringing down corresponding hands outside of raised knee imitating a crunching movement while standing up.
9. High Plank Leg Lifts – Begin in a high plank position with a looped resistance band around both ankles. Alternate lifting each leg up towards the ceiling against the resistance of the band.
Incorporate these resistance band exercises into your workout routine several times per week for optimal results in combating love handles.
Remember that consistency is key along with maintaining proper form throughout each exercise! Additionally, combining these exercises with regular cardiovascular activity and a balanced diet will further help reduce fat around the midsection for more defined obliques and less prominent love handles.