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Shrink Love Handles for Good With This 4-Minute Free Weight Routine, Trainer Says

Love can be an amazing thing—unless you're referring to love handles.
FACT CHECKED BY Alexa Mellardo

Love can be an amazing thing—unless you're referring to love handles. If you happen to have love handles, you know it's a frustrating part of the body to shrink. In order to shape this area up, you'll have to eat a healthy diet, get in high-intensity cardio, and perform strength training on a regular basis. We've come up with a four-minute free weight routine for you that will target this area effectively, helping you shrink love handles for good.

Many people start a fitness journey with the intention of losing fat, but may have a hard time staying consistent. There are many reasons why this happens. It could be they don't know what to do, or they believe they don't have enough time to dedicate to a routine. Well, those are no longer good excuses. You can get a great workout in much less time than you'd think. However, your exercises should be challenging so that you can maximize your workout time. All of your movements should be full-body and engage your core muscles.

If you truly don't have much time to commit to working out, you can begin with something as quick as four minutes. Here's a four-minute dumbbell routine to will help you burn calories, work your abs, and shrink love handles for good. Perform the following exercises for as many reps as possible within the time interval, with a 15-second transition in between each. Read on, and next up, don't miss The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.

Alternating Reverse Lunge + Press

reverse lunge press
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.

Begin your Alternating Lunge + Press by holding a pair of dumbbells in front of your shoulders. Keeping your chest tall and core tight, step back with one leg until your knee touches the ground. When you're at the bottom of the movement, press the weights up, then lower them back down before stepping back to the starting position. Do this exercise for as many reps as you can within a 45-second interval.

Related: The #1 Workout To Lose Your Beer Gut for Good, Trainer Says

Dumbbell Renegade Row

trainer doing dumbbell renegade row
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.

Start the Dumbbell Renegade Row in a pushup position with a wide stance and a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your core tight and glutes squeezed, take one hand, and row the weight up by driving your elbow towards your hip and squeezing your lat. Return the dumbbell back to the ground, and then perform a row with the other arm. Perform this for as many reps as you can within a 45-second interval.

Related: Get a Flatter Stomach With These Quick Daily Exercises, Trainer Says

Dumbbell Pushups

dumbbell pushups to shrink love handles for good
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.

Place the pair of dumbbells in front of you, and get into a pushup position. Keeping your core tight, hips high, and chest tall, use your control to lower your body, coming down until your chest is an inch or two above the ground. Get a good stretch at the bottom, then push yourself back up, flexing your pecs and triceps to finish. Do this for as many reps as you can within a 45-second interval.

Pullover + Leg Lift

leg lift pullover shrink love handles for good
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.

Start by lying flat on your back, holding a single dumbbell in front of you with your legs fully extended. Keeping your core tight, lower your legs down to about an inch off the ground. Lift the legs back up to you, then pull the dumbbell behind your head until it touches the ground. Use your core and lats to bring it back to starting position before performing another leg lift. Perform this for as many reps as you can within 45 seconds.

Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach based in Los Angeles Read more about Tim
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