Everyone knows if you want to lose stubborn love handles, the best way to do so is crunches and abdominal exercises. Right?

What if I told you that everything you know is wrong?

The truth is, some of the best exercises for love handles are actually cardiovascular. Regular cardio exercise is highly effective - in fact, it's one of your best allies. Love handles are fat, pure and simple. Your body stores excess fat around your waist and hips, and the only way to banish the fat for good is to burn it off through diet and exercise.

So without further ado - the three best exercises for love handles.

Climbing stairs is a major cardio exercise. It gets your heart rate going, works out your leg muscles, and helps burn calories at an exceptionally impressive rate. Many people use stair climber machines at the gym, but the same exercise can be had on a flight of stairs, if you're not worried about your neighbors thinking you're weird.

Running or jogging is also a huge burner of fat, although it does scare many people just because of the sheer physical involvement. Since cardio exercises must keep your heart rate up for a good long while, running is perfect; it gets your heart rate up almost immediately, keeps it there as long as you keep moving, and it gets your adrenaline flowing like almost no other exercise. The endorphine rush from running or jogging has been likened to being high on drugs, and the fat burning ability of this exercise is nearly unparalleled.

Whichever way you go, if you want to get rid of love handles, you are going to have to exercise and eat right. It is only the combination that's proven to help you drop the weight.