Most effective way to get rid of love handles?

[Dzike]

Howdy, I'm new here and I come bearing questions lol.
So I've been on a cut for the better part of 3 months now and have become quite lean.
However, even tho my abs are starting to show, I can't seem to get rid of my love handles..
Any tips? (posted a pic as well)

[sunsean]

You are indeed already pretty lean, but unfortunately the answer to losing love handles is to lose more fat. They (for men especially) are the last bit of fat to go away.

I'm in a similar place - finishing up a cut, abs are popping, but there's that little layer of fat around the lower back/love handles. It is what it is I'm afraid, can't spot reduce, just have to reduce overall body fat.

Training your obliques will develop the underlying muscle, but will not reduce the fat.

[Dzike]

You are indeed already pretty lean, but unfortunately the answer to losing love handles is to lose more fat. They (for men especially) are the last bit of fat to go away.

I'm in a similar place - finishing up a cut, abs are popping, but there's that little layer of fat around the lower back/love handles. It is what it is I'm afraid, can't spot reduce, just have to reduce overall body fat.

Training your obliques will develop the underlying muscle, but will not reduce the fat.

Well, crap. I have been training my obligues (mostly windshield wipers and ab wheel rollouts) yet the love handles and lower back fat aren't going anywhere..
Guess I'll just have to keep cutting then

[sunsean]

Well, crap. I have been training my obligues (mostly windshield wipers and ab wheel rollouts) yet the love handles and lower back fat aren't going anywhere..
Guess I'll just have to keep cutting then

If anything, training oblique can make that area look bigger because the underlying muscle is bigger, just like bicep curls will make your arms bigger...this is why a lot of lifters skip obliques entirely, to get the skinny waist/v taper look more pronounced.

Functionally, though, I think it's a good idea to train obliques, they're an important part of your core and are used in almost every movement.

If you want to lose the last little bit of fat (you really don't have much) then yeah keep cutting, you have enough of a base to pull it off IMO...but you're lean enough you could definitely switch to maintenance/lean bulk mode too if you want to bulk up more.

[Dzike]

If anything, training oblique can make that area look bigger because the underlying muscle is bigger, just like bicep curls will make your arms bigger...this is why a lot of lifters skip obliques entirely, to get the skinny waist/v taper look more pronounced.

Functionally, though, I think it's a good idea to train obliques, they're an important part of your core and are used in almost every movement.

If you want to lose the last little bit of fat (you really don't have much) then yeah keep cutting, you have enough of a base to pull it off IMO...but you're lean enough you could definitely switch to maintenance/lean bulk mode too if you want to bulk up more.

I really want to lean down for the summer; I'm aiming to be done with my cut by the end of june/beginning of july and maintain untill the end of august. Going on a lean bulk starting september.
As for the obligues; I agree, not training them may give me more of a v-taper but it isn't worth it imo. I train for aesthetics, but a bit of functionallity is important for me as well

[Serpentarius]

What does your lower back look like? You have hardly any fat on the sides, you would of course need to stay in a deficit, but you would probably look 10x better dropping about 6-7 more lbs.
My sides look like that but store ALL of my fat on the back, so a rear pic would help (above glutes and below lats).

[Dzike]

This picture is about 2 week old, as you can see; the ring of fat continues on my lower back.
I'm getting lean everywhere but there

[sunsean]

This picture is about 2 week old, as you can see; the ring of fat continues on my lower back.
I'm getting lean everywhere but there

Yeah man I have to say - you're pretty lean already...from that angle at least you don't have a lot of visible lower back fat.

I'm more curious why at such low body fat you don't have more definition in your abs? Can you see the separation in the 6 pack when you flex?

Everyone is different I guess, for me I can see the separation in the abs WAY before my love handle gets to your level of leanness.

[Dzike]

I can see some separation when I flex but not a lot. Probably has to do with the ab training I have done
I only started doing weighted ab exercises a month back, before I only used bodyweight; my abs are somewhat underdeveloped as a result

As for the bodyfat, I'm currently just shy of 13%; which isn't really low imo

[sunsean]

I can see some separation when I flex but not a lot. Probably has to do with the ab training I have done
I only started doing weighted ab exercises a month back, before I only used bodyweight; my abs are somewhat underdeveloped as a result

As for the bodyfat, I'm currently just shy of 13%; which isn't really low imo

What method are you using to get the 13%?

13% is not super low, but low enough that you should be able to at least see some outline of the abs. Whatever the percentage, you have good vascularity and arm definition, and if your abs were developed adequately they'd be showing through more IMO.

Definitely focus on some progressive overload on your abs when you focus on lean bulking.

[Dzike]

I'm using a digital scale that measures weight, bodyfat and muscle mass

and I'm definitly starting progressive overload on the abs by introducing weighted exercises! Tips on the type of exercise? Lower abs are the issue imo

[sunsean]

I'm using a digital scale that measures weight, bodyfat and muscle mass

and I'm definitly starting progressive overload on the abs by introducing weighted exercises! Tips on the type of exercise? Lower abs are the issue imo

That's what I was afraid of (the scale) - don't rely on that reading, those scales are notoriously inaccurate. Usually, they overtime someone's true body fat. Use them for bodyweight, but that's it.

For abs, my go-to routine is a superset of hanging leg raises, torso tucks, and weighted crunches (all done on a decline bench). I'll then usually do some dumbbell side bends. You can progressively overload by increasing reps for weighted exercises or obviously weight for everything else.

[Daniel1836]

I'm 9% body fat and still have some love handle fat and not completely without any spare fat yet. So keep cutting.