Love it or hate it.
Can you handle the truth about your love handles?
Today, we're going to find out.
What's up, guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.COM.
Let's get right into it, the truth about love handles.
Right.
A lot of questions, a lot of misconceptions when it comes to training the love handles.
Can we even do it?
Are there exercises that help us to target that area?
I think all of that needs to be discussed.
But first and foremost, we need to know what it even is.
What are we talking about when we're talking about the love handles?
Well, we know that it's this area right here over the pelvis on our side.
But what is actually going on underneath?
Well, what that is, is our external oblique.
Ok.
So, the external oblique takes up this whole area from right next to the six-pack area,
the rectus abdominis.
This whole big chunk of muscle right up through here is the external oblique.
Now, the internal obliques are in there too but they're not visible.
They're underneath.
Same thing with the transverse abdominis.
So, what we have is a visible external oblique, a visible rectus abdominis.
So, what we have to do is realize what the function is here.
The external oblique, if I were to turn this direction, you can see that it becomes much
more visible.
Right?
As I turn to the left, the external oblique on the right becomes visible.
Of course the lat is here, but framing right through here is the external oblique
So, we want to know, we want to work the muscles.
You can see also that the direction of the fibers is not straight up and down, but it
runs on an angle like this.
Ok.
Keep that in mind when we go over a couple of the exercises.
But, first and foremost it does some flexion to the side.
It does rotation to the opposite side.
Now, let's get into a discussion of what the love handles are not, and what you should
not be doing about them.
Ok.
First, let's cover what not to do.
I talked about the external obliques and how, when you look at their orientation, that they
run like this.
So then why are we doing Weighted Side Bends to get rid of our love handles.
Right?
How many guys do you see pick up a dumbbell and do this over and over and over again,
thinking that because they're crunching down in here
and you can see the obliques working or contracting, that they're doing the right thing.
Well, we know, again, that they will assist in side bending.
But what's also happening here is, you're bringing in another muscle, the quadratus
lumborum.
One that lays back here right around the backside of this, and is responsible for hip hiking.
So, we talked about relative motion, right, whether we bend from the top down or whether
we bend from the bottom up, it's still going to involve that area.
And if you keep doing this, you are going to develop the muscle there to the point where
you could thicken the area.
So, if you have any overlying fat at all, it's going to get worse.
You're going to cause a bigger, thicker waistline.
Especially those guys that have sort of short torsos, right, between the top of the pelvis
here and the bottom of the chest.
If you're a guy that has a shorter torso, it's going to look even worse.
Ok.
So what we want to do is, we want to focus on things that work the obliques in the direction
that they're supposed to be.
So, let's throw this dumbbell down and promise me you won't pick it up again and do this,
and I'll show you something else that you could do instead.
Ok.
So, let's get to what I think we should be doing.
Now, I mentioned if you want to work the external oblique, alright,
because we know that is at least the area that the love handles are in.
It's the area beneath the love handle.
Then, you have to incorporate rotation.
Ok.
None of this side bending crap.
Rotation.
And what we want to do is, if you want to work that right external oblique, you got
to rotate left.
If you want to work that left external oblique, you have to rotate right.
But, what if there's a way that we can make them work together.
Alright, if you guys know from following the ATHLEANX Training Program,
or just from watching my videos, we like to train like an athlete.
And athletes train on their feet at all costs, ok.
We also like to work muscles together in cross patterns because muscles prefer to work that
way.
So, if we can get them working the way they want to, another bonus.
So, I set up this cable machine here with two of the cables, one up here at shoulder
level on the right side, and one on the left side.
Now, before you flip out, guys, you can do this with a band.
Two bands, hook them up for less than 20, 30 bucks, and you can do the same thing that
this $5,000 machine does.
Ok.
But what we want to do is, grab the cables here, and then as you're rotating left, ok,
you're pulling back with the right.
So, we're working on rotation, left which is going to get that right external oblique.
And then as we come back, we're going to eccentrically control that.
So, what's great is we got internal and external oblique working at the same time, one eccentrically
and one concentrically.
Now, is this involving the chest?
Yeah, because I'm pushing, but don't try to push through the arm, guys.
We know that you can do a cable crossover, right.
What we want to do is work on using the core to drive the rotation.Ok.
See how it gets harder for me to talk, because as I'm really trying to focus on pushing with
the core and not my arm, it gets harder for me to talk.
Ok, so we want to work on that.
Of course, you're going to work the other side, too.
But, what's key here is, we're working the muscle in the direction that the fibers are
oriented, the way that it prefers to work, working both sides together,
and targeting the area that is over this area that we hate, alright, the love handles.
Now, doing this all day long, guys, is not going to help.
As I said, diet.
You got to get your nutrition under control.
We do that in the ATHLEANX Training Program.
We have the X-FACTOR Meal Plan geared to helping you cut body fat.
So that when you do get rid of it, if you're training the muscles the right way, athletically,
then you'll be able to see them.
Ok.
So, this great alternative, a great way to be training your obliques, if you want to
start training them not just more like an athlete, but actually the way they're meant
to be trained.
So, there you have it guys, the truth about love handles.
Hate them or love them, you should be hating them, you got to know at least how they work,
can we target them, right?
Dispel all the myths because the faster you get to learn about what is actually needed,
right, and get rid of all the other crap, the quicker you're going to get results.
And talking about quick results, guys, you know the ATHLEANX Training Program is known
for that.
It's known for delivering fast results because guys start training the way that their muscles
have been meant to be trained all along.They start training like athletes.
So, if you haven't already, head over to ATHLEANX.COM right now, grab our 90-day training program.
In the meantime, make sure if you like this video, if you found it informative, leave
your thumbs up, leave a comment below.
Shit, tell me how much you hate your love handles.
Whatever you want to do.
You can vent if you want this time, ok.
In the meantime, I'll be back here in a couple days with yet another video.
I'll see you guys later.