10 Reasons Why Men Over 40 Grow Love Handles (and How to GET RID of THEM)
Kettlebell Burn 2.0 -
https://go.chasingstrength.com/burn-sa3/
Lovehandles.
The Spare Tire.
The Middle Age Spread.
Why do guys over 40 get these?
And more importantly, why does conventional diet and exercise advice fail to get rid of these?
And most importantly, what DOES get rid of them?
First, up, why Over 40-somethings grow lovehandles:
Well, it’s not just ONE thing - it’s a plethora of factors.
(I love that word - plethora - makes me think of "The Three Amigos"...)
Here are TEN (10!) Factors Explaining why:
1- Energy Surplus
Pretty simple. We tend to eat too much and that fat has to be stored somewhere.
Any long‑term gap between calories in and out is stored as triglycerides in your “flank” fat cells.
2- Genetics
Genetics & sex hormones decide preferred "fat parking spots."
The hip/flank depot is a common one. Some people are just wired to store more fat in their sides.
3- High Fat Cell Density
This area holds more fat cells per square inch.
Those fat cells shrink, but don’t disappear when dieting. This makes results seem slower.
4- Age-Related Fat-Burning Decline
Muscle mass falls, fat mass rises, and the ability to mobilize subcutaneous fat declines every decade. As a result, basal and catecholamine‑stimulated lipolysis (fat-burning) falls.
5- Chronic Stress & Cortisol
Chronic stress elevates circulating cortisol (mobilization hormone).
As a result, persistently high cortisol boosts appetite and channels calories to the abdominal/hip region.
Individuals with higher cortisol reactivity accumulate more subcutaneous abdominal fat at a given BMI.
6- Sleep Loss (Elevated Cortisol & Appetite)
Short nights raise cortisol further and flips your hunger hormones so you eat more and store more.
In fact, just one night of total sleep deprivation lowers leptin and raises ghrelin / adiponectin, changes that can drive overeating and fat storage.
7- Sex Hormone Shifts
Falling testosterone (men) or higher estrogen (women) steer fat toward the sides and hips.
In men, lower total & free T correlate inversely with higher visceral / abdominal fat and insulin levels.
8- Growth Hormone Decline
GH drop reduces your ability to mobilize and burn stored fat, favoring central fat gain.
9- Insulin Resistance
Elevated insulin both stores incoming calories and blocks fat release, especially around the waist.
10- Thyroid Slowdown
Hypothyroidism cuts your resting calorie burn and impairs access to stored fat.
How Do You Get Rid of Those Pesky Lovehandles?
1- Go see your doc, get a physical, and a blood test.
Get hormonal baselines.
Address any medical issues.
2- Sleep More!
7-9 hours a night. 7 minimum.
3- Eat Less (Crap).
You already know this, right?
4- Move More Throughout Your Day
Take the stairs. Go for a walk. Park in the distance. Go for another walk.
Walk after meals.
You get the idea.
This elevates your energy flux so you can potentially burn more FFAs (Free-Fatty Acids) and they aren’t restored in your lovehandles.
5- Use Your Kettlebells To Train For Hormonal Optimization
[a] Lift heavy
Creates acute T and GH spikes
Upregulates your β‑receptors
(β‑adrenergic receptors are the "on‑switch" that tells a fat cell “open the vault and let the fuel out.” The fewer you have - or the weaker the signal - the harder it is to empty the vault, which is why receptor balance is a big piece of love‑handle stubbornness.)
Increases muscle mass (muscle is your “longevity organ”)
[b] Lift explosively:
Creates huge catecholamine pulses
Immediate fat-burning
GLUT-4 translocation
(GLUT-4 is your muscle & cell glucose transporter. GLUT‑4 translocation is the fast, reversible move of glucose‑transport doors from inside the cell to the surface. Muscle contractions do it without needing much insulin, which is why even brief kettlebell or walking “snacks” after meals help tame blood sugar and, over time, make those love handles harder to feed.)
Increases EPOC - Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (burn extra calories after you train)
Increase your mitochondria function and density, so you burn fat more efficiently and live longer
[c] Manage fatigue
Use your KBs 3x week up to 6x a week, as long as you keep the sessions shorter when using higher frequencies
Keeps insulin and fat-burning signals favorable all week long
[d] Take a full day off
Keeps your cortisol in check
Releases “mental pressure”
Now, admittedly, "twisting these knobs & dials" to build your program can be hard to figure out how to do on your own.
That’s why I recommend you don't.
Save your time and energy and grab a copy of Kettlebell Burn 2.0 here.
You'll train 3x a week for the next 16 weeks.
And when you're done?
You probably won't recognize yourself.
Like John who dropped 40 pounds and got a 4-pack.
Or Scott, who lost 2 stones (28 pounds).
Or Tony, who ripped 4 inches from his waist in the first 4 weeks alone.