Your worst nightmare

[LingChuanPai]

Love handles. The absolute worst thing for your image that you can possibly think of.
I have been training these **** saddlebags...and to no avail...they're still there! maybe I need to step up my cardio or something.

What are some ways to battle with them? How do you work on eleminating them?
Thanks,
LCP

[Chief Fox]

LCP, I'm sure that you'll get several responses but the first thing you need to know is that you can't spot reduce love handles. You'll have to loose excess fat from your entire body before you start to see a reduction in the love handle area.

Also, I'm assuming that you're a male. The love handle and stomach are the places where men start to accumulate fat before anywhere else.

You may want to post what you're doing now so some people can take a look and make suggestions.

There are many approaches to loosing fat but ultimately there is only one way to do it. Burn more calories than you take in each day. You can do this by upping your cardio, strength training or adjusting your diet. The best way is probably a combination of the three with changing your diet as the most important. A lot of people work out like crazy but they are sabotaging themselves by eating wrong.

it sounds like you're p!ssed off by these love handles. That's a good thing. Don't let them beat you. Take a picture of yourself just wearing shorts. Also take some measurements of you body. Waist, chest, arms, legs. Measure yourself each week to check progress. If you're not making progress then you're doing something wrong.

A great way to track your eating habits is by using a site called fitday. http://www.fitday.com. it's a great site and it's free to register. Start tracking your meals and try to get a good balance of Carbs, protein and fat in your diet.

ok, sorry about the long post. Start by posting what you're doing now.

[Oso]

Isn't the simplest answer 'more cardio'?

I don't think you can isolate love handles or the gut...you simply have to get your body to start using fat as fuel. AFAIK, this means more cardio.

For me personally this means long cardio sessions.

Good luck, I'm doing the same and I bet I'm further gone than you are.

[LingChuanPai]

Thank you for your replys....great suggestions!....very helpfull!
Chief Fox-"A lot of people work out like crazy but they are sabotaging themselves by eating wrong." Thats exactly what i've been doing.
I used to weight 230 lbs and im 5' 5. After six months of running day and night everyday....except on Sundays...I dropped to 155 lbs. But I still ate the same(whatever I wanted to eat~my metabolism became a bonfire).
After getting a girlfriend, and becoming so **** sexy(yeah right) i began lacking in the training field. 2 yrs have gone by AND THE LOVE HANDLE TWINS HAVE RETURNED...I'm 23 now and 188 lbs, and i think i'm going to try using the calorie counting with training:
wake up...
run (alternate days with weight running),
isometrics or weights,
kung fu,
stretching,

WORK (ERRRRRRR)

run some more,
kung fu forms,
streching,

SLEEP (AHHHHH) LCP

[FooFighter]

Love handles. The absolute worst thing for your image that you can possibly think of.
I have been training these **** saddlebags...and to no avail...they're still there! maybe I need to step up my cardio or something.

What are some ways to battle with them? How do you work on eleminating them?
Thanks,
LCP

Ling,

I understand your unhappiness about self image. Psychologically we all have things we want to improve about our image, but this attachment for beauty has culturally confused us about the truth about health and fitness. This confusion will not stop our self hatred I know, but we all have self image issues. You are not alone. From my experience, those who train for "looks," who judge their own personal progress by the size of their pecs, bis, and bodyfat ratio, who in general have above average physiques have greater self image issues. I am not claiming all of them are insecure, but look deeper beyond their body and see what I am writing.

There are many ways to improve your looks or decrease your body fat but please consider others things first before you try to change your physical form. Here is the paradigm or the belief system that I believe in and if do not have the same paragidm, then my message is in a sense meaningless to you. A good primer is reading Scott Sonnon's article called, "what is fitness?" http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/38/sonnon4.html. You can start by becoming aware of your health habits or unhealthy habits. Changing your bad habits can help you become healthier and more fit which in the end will help you decrease love handles.

What is your health and fitness background?

How is your health?

How is your diet?

How is your daily exercise program?

What do you do for a living?

How is your mental health? Are you happy and positive person or you negative and reactive?

How much discipline or will power or time do you have for practice healthier habits?

Ling, my name is Bao Tran. I am a CST instructor and also a personal trainer in NYC. Please allow me to help you if you want it. I hope you feel healthy first and look better because of it.

Yours in CST,
Bao

PS: Here is some background information about me and my experience with others:
1. My first published CST Mag article describing some of my problems and solutions teaching CST in a conventional gym setting (The Bao of CST): http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/34/bao.html

2. How to Breathe on the Treadmill: http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/38/baotran2.html.

3. Why Multi-Planar Mobility?: http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/38/baotran.html
Warrior Wellness: http://www.rmax.tv/warrior.html
BodyFlow: http://www.rmax.tv/kinetic.html

5. Comments from my practice member Jon Manchester:
http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...ghlight=#39649 " In the past three years under Bao's watchful eye, I have lost 44 pounds and am in the best physical shape of my life." Currently lost 55 to this date and his bodyfat is 17%. Not bad for 59 years old.

6. Comments from Scott Sonnon and others CST instructors about me after I completed my written CST exam: http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...ghlight=#48532

7. Comments from Robert Hand, a fellow Rmax tribe member: http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...pic.php?t=7321

8. Comment fromf Micheal, a fellow Rmax tribe member: http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...pic.php?t=7461

9. Comment from Cole Simpson, a fellow Rmax tribe member: http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...pic.php?t=8554

10: My First CST workshop seminar review: http://circularstrengthmag.com/forum...pic.php?t=8456

11. New CST Article On Bodyflow: http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/39/bao.html

[fa_jing]

yep, you need to lose weight. Sorry. You should be below 160 at your height. Also, losing weight means eating less than you'd like to, which you will have to tough out.

[fa_jing]

p.s. don't starve yourself or skip meals, it's bad for your metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight. What you want is small meals/snacks, and stop while you still want more.

[glich]

LingChuanPai i am suffering a similar fate
i have a poch belly n some luv handles that make me sick.
i'm 5'10 172 lbs
thanks to your post i've made some amendments to my training mainly my diet
and have already dropped a few lbs. but iknow this is going to be an ugly battle.

my training is generaly
2 days on 1 day off though the diet remian the same

wake- light snack
work- moderate portions of decently healthy food every 2 hrs
5pm-- dinner
7pm--2-6 mile run alternating hand techniques and a 15 lb. body bar on shoulders 3/4 mile with a few sprints here and there
7:30-8pm-- alternating between heavy bag work and weight training
8pm-- alternating body conditiong and shodow boxing
streching n meditation
10:30 pm --salad very little dressing

i'm tring to concentrate on cardio for the most part hoping the elevated heart
rate burns the luv pads away. thoough i've found the diet to be the hardest to maintain

[Oso]

glich: you could try to eat sooner after the workout (within 60 min) and include some carbs and some fat...lesser portion of the fat of course but you need carbs to synthesize protein...which also seems to be lacking in the late meal.

also, have you actually counted the calories? at your weight (which seams totally fine for your height: I'm 5'10'' and 250) you would probably need to be eating sub 1800 calories for any weight loss to occur. you seem to be eating a good amount of the time.

[glich]

glich: you could try to eat sooner after the workout (within 60 min) and include some carbs and some fat...lesser portion of the fat of course but you need carbs to synthesize protein...which also seems to be lacking in the late meal.

also, have you actually counted the calories? at your weight (which seams totally fine for your height: I'm 5'10'' and 250) you would probably need to be eating sub 1800 calories for any weight loss to occur. you seem to be eating a good amount of the time.

thx Oso your right I do need to start actualy counting and eating a high protein meal after my workouts. I just read an ebook on nutrition that touched on that but it was leaning more twards the body building side of things. i'm looking to cut and define

[Oso]

I've just finished reading a great book on sports nutrition and am trying to assimilate and apply it to my own weight problem.

this is the book.

http://www.humankinetics.com/product...sbn=0736034048

pricey straight from the publisher...and I'm not pimping Human Kinetics (this is actually the first time I've been to their site) I got a lucky score on the book for $12 at B&N

good luck.

[Becca]

yep, you need to lose weight. Sorry. You should be below 160 at your height. Also, losing weight means eating less than you'd like to, which you will have to tough out.

This kind of statement really ticks me off. Do you know how many people get sick trying to cram themselves into the "formulated body weight" cr@p?!? If you are serious, co to a nutritionist and have your actual needs detrmined... Don't make yourself sick based on the advice of someone who nkows nothing about your lifestyle, heath needs, family history, cholesteral level, ect.

p.s. don't starve yourself or skip meals, it's bad for your metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight. What you want is small meals/snacks, and stop while you still want more.

No this one, I agree with. Just because you want more doesn't mean you are actually still hungry.