Lose Love Handles: A 1-Week Workout Plan to Start Trimming Side Belly Fat
Are the sides of your waist making your jeans feel tighter than they should? If love handles are becoming frustrating, the good news is that you can begin reducing side belly fat with the right workout routine and better daily habits.
Love handles are the extra fat that sits around the sides of your waist. The name may sound harmless, but most people would gladly do without them. They can be stubborn, and getting rid of them usually requires a mix of regular exercise, smarter food choices, and consistency.
If your goal is to start seeing progress within a week, now is the time to tighten up your training plan and pay closer attention to your lifestyle. This guide focuses mainly on an effective workout for love handles that helps reduce overall body fat and target the waistline more efficiently.
To be clear, love handles develop because of excess body fat, especially around the midsection. That means the best workout for side belly fat is one that supports full-body fat loss rather than trying to spot-reduce one area.
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The Best Workout Approach for Love Handles
To reduce love handles, your exercise routine should include both:
- Cardio training
- Resistance training
Just as important as the type of exercise is the intensity of your workout and how well you engage your muscles during each movement.
A 15-week study from the University of New South Wales looked at the effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise, often called HIIE. Researchers found that compared with slower, steady workouts, HIIE was more effective for reducing subcutaneous fat and trunk fat. It also improved insulin resistance in young women.
The study showed that doing HIIE three times per week led to meaningful reductions in total body fat, including fat around the trunk and legs.
That is why this routine is built around a high-intensity format you can do three times weekly. You may not erase your love handles in just seven days, but if you stick with it over time, especially for several weeks, you can expect real progress.
How to Do This Love Handle Workout
HIIE is often grouped under HIIT, or high-intensity interval training. This style of exercise alternates short bursts of hard effort with brief recovery periods or lower-intensity work.
Almost any cardio session can be turned into a HIIT workout, and strength exercises can be included as well. The goal is to work at around 80% to 95% of your maximum heart rate, followed by a short rest.
Research from the University of Colorado also found that people doing HIIT burned up to 30% more calories than those using other exercise methods.
Workout format
- Perform the first four exercises in order
- Rest for 15 seconds between exercises
- Complete 2 to 3 rounds
- After that, move on to the jump rope finisher
1. Burpee
The burpee is a powerful full-body move that combines strength and cardio. It works your legs, arms, chest, and core while also raising your heart rate quickly.
How to perform a burpee
- Stand upright with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Tighten your core, lower into a squat, and place your hands on the floor.
- Jump your feet back into a high plank position.
- Perform a push-up.
- Jump your feet back toward your hands to return to a squat.
- Explode upward into a jump and land softly.
- That counts as 1 rep
- Do 10 reps as fast as possible while maintaining proper form
2. Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing is one of the most effective exercises for the lower body and posterior chain. It targets the glutes, hamstrings, hips, and core, while also improving posture and stability.
How to perform a kettlebell swing
- Hold a kettlebell with both hands in front of your body at arm’s length.
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your back straight and your core braced.
- Push your hips back and bend your knees slightly.
- Swing the kettlebell back between your legs.
- Drive your hips forward forcefully to swing the kettlebell forward.
- Let it return naturally, but control the motion with your core, glutes, and hips.
If you are new to this exercise, practice a few reps slowly first so you can learn the rhythm.
- Complete 10 to 12 reps
3. Kettlebell Squat to Press
This is a highly efficient compound exercise that trains several major muscle groups at once. It combines a squat with an overhead press, making it a strong choice for building strength and burning calories.
How to perform the kettlebell squat to press
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hold a kettlebell with both hands at chest height.
- Brace your core and lower into a squat by pushing your hips back.
- Descend until your thighs are nearly parallel to the floor, with your knees bent about 90 degrees.
- Keep your knees from moving past your toes.
- Push through your heels to stand up.
- As you rise, press the kettlebell overhead.
- Lower it back to chest level and begin the next rep.
- Perform 10 to 12 reps
- Rest briefly before moving on
4. Bicycle Crunch
When it comes to ab exercises, the bicycle crunch remains one of the best for working both the rectus abdominis and the obliques.
An ACE study comparing 13 popular ab exercises found that the bicycle crunch ranked number one for activating the front abdominal muscles and second best for the obliques. That makes it one of the top choices for shaping the entire midsection.
How to perform the bicycle crunch
- Lie on your back with your hands lightly behind your ears.
- Do not pull on your head or neck.
- Tighten your abs and lift your shoulder blades off the floor.
- Raise both feet off the ground.
- Bend your left knee to about 90 degrees while straightening your right leg.
- Twist your torso to the left and bring your right elbow toward your left knee.
- Return to the center and repeat on the other side.
Focus on using your abs and core to create the twist, not your arms or neck.
- Complete 10 reps per side
5. 10-Minute Jump Rope Finisher
Jump rope is a simple but highly effective cardio exercise for burning calories, improving endurance, and supporting fat loss. It also helps develop:
- Balance
- Coordination
- Agility
- Power
- Full-body conditioning
If you have not used a jump rope in years, this is the perfect time to bring it back into your routine.
Basic 10-Minute Jump Rope Routine
If you prefer steady cardio, use this simple format:
- Jump for 30 seconds at an easy pace to warm up
- Jump for 9 minutes at a fast but sustainable pace
- Jump for 30 seconds at an easy pace to cool down
HIIT Jump Rope Routine
For a more intense fat-burning option, try this jump rope interval workout.
Complete 2 rounds of the following:
-
Jump for 45 seconds at a fast, steady pace
Rest or slow down for 15 seconds -
Jump for 45 seconds on the right foot
Rest or slow down for 15 seconds -
Jump for 45 seconds on the left foot
Rest or slow down for 15 seconds -
Jump for 45 seconds at a fast, steady pace
Rest or slow down for 15 seconds -
Jump for 45 seconds at a fast, steady pace
Rest or slow down for 15 seconds
Final Thoughts
If you want to lose love handles, focus on reducing overall body fat through a combination of high-intensity training, strength work, and cardio. This workout routine is designed to help you start that process quickly, especially when done consistently three times a week.
You may not completely transform your waistline in one week, but you can absolutely begin moving in the right direction. Stay consistent, push the intensity, and support your workouts with healthier eating habits for the best results.
