With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we all want to be in tip-top shape, and for some of us that may mean addressing areas of concern like ‘love tires’. Love handles occur due to fat retention around the hips and abdominal area. Unfortunately, there is no way to reduce fat in a particular area and it is a long process to burn fat, especially love handles. You can only target fat in a general sense and your body might start taking fat from your back or legs instead of your stomach.
To get your body into a fat-burning zone, you need to break a sweat by walking, jogging, running, or biking. For someone who has been sitting on their couch for years, walking to the end of the street and back can put their body in the fat-burning zone, while an athlete may need a quick run to accomplish the same goal. A quick tip is that if you’re sweating, you’re burning.
To get your heart rate up, you’ll need to start with at least 10 minutes of cardio. That could be a run or a 10 minute cycle – find an exercise you enjoy that makes you sweat and breathe harder than normal. Your heart rate needs to rise to between 120 and 150 beats per minute for this. To encourage your body to start burning fat instead of carbohydrates, your next step should be some high-intensity exercises.
For the circuit below, try to complete five rounds, spending 30 seconds on each exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest. Take a minute to rest between rounds.
Distance between feet and shoulders
Feet pointing out or slightly open
Squat like you’re sitting on a chair, don’t go below knee height
Keep your chest up facing the wall in front of you, option to extend your arms out from your body as a counterweight
Explode out of the squat and jump off the ground slightly (ie 2 inches)
In the air, turn 90 degrees until your body is facing to the left.
Jump back to starting position (middle)
Repeat and jump until you are facing to the right.
Jump back to starting position (middle)
That’s a full repeat
For an easier option, just do a regular air squat without jumping or twisting.
Start in the middle of your mat
Side shift to the left, lower your height to touch the edge of your mat with your left hand
Make sure to keep your upper body as upright as possible and use your legs to lower your height
Move laterally to the right side and repeat by touching the edge of the mat with your right hand
To repeat
Get into a high plank position (i.e. the same way as if you were about to do a full pushup)
Reach back with your right hand and touch your left foot, and return to high plank position
Reach back with your left hand and touch your right foot, and return to high plank position
To repeat
Start in high plank position (i.e. arms extended)
Touch your left hand to the outside of your right shoulder and return to high plank position
Touch your right hand outside your left shoulder and return to high plank position
To repeat
Make sure to keep your hips in line with your head, indicate yourself by imagining that you have a tray of water on your back and you can’t spill it.
Lie on your back, knees bent, heels one hand’s length from your butt (i.e. sitting position)
Curl up your thighs until your shoulder blades are off the ground.
Extend your arms along the sides of your body
Touch your right heel with your right hand, return to the middle
Touch your left heel with your left hand, return to the middle
To repeat
There is no ideal body type. People come in all shapes and sizes that are equally amazing in their own way. Beauty is subjective and as long as you are happy in your own skin then you are winning.
However, if your goal is to lose fat for whatever reason, here are some simple tips. It all comes down to CALORIES IN versus CALORIES OUT, or what you eat versus what you physically expend in a day.
An easy way to keep track of calories consumed throughout the day is to use a tracking app like My Fitness Pal and enter what you eat for the day. You can track calories burned using a WHOOP bracelet, FitBit, or smartwatch. Keep an eye on what your numbers are, and after a few days you’ll start to see where you could improve.
Try to complete three high-intensity 20-30 minute workouts a week where your heart rate is above 120-150 bpm (ie you’re sweating and breathing heavily, but I could say a prayer if I really had to). do it for some reason). Plus, you can make your life easier by making healthier food choices and preparing your meals at home instead of high-calorie food options, like takeout, where you’re not sure how the meals were cooked and what ingredients were used. .
Location: Our thanks to The Dartry Health Club, Dublin 6
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