Upper Arm Fat Pockets

MoonPhoenix8
MoonPhoenix8 Posts: 5 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

For YEARS I have had these unsightly (to me) large upper arms. I'm petite and though I have some extra fluff I'm working on losing/toning, I've always had this problem with my arms. I'm fairly fit and I do have a good amount of arm muscle, but this area sticks out and truly bothers me. I read that the fat deposits by the triceps are called "bingo wings" (not sure why...) and could be hormonal. What I'm looking for are tips on how to tone my upper arms and finally lose that stubborn fatty area so that you can actually see my triceps (pics attached for reference). Is it diet? Is it certain exercises? Is it hormonal and if so, how can I work with it? Thanks in advance!4u81ye4yptm0.jpg
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Replies

  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Some women are just more prone to store fat in upper arms and I don't think there is much you can do. Resistance work will strengthen triceps, but unless you are flexing they won't be visible unless you were to get to a contest-lean state (~15-18% body fat) which is just not sustainable long term.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,682 Member
    Maxxitt wrote: »
    Some women are just more prone to store fat in upper arms and I don't think there is much you can do. Resistance work will strengthen triceps, but unless you are flexing they won't be visible unless you were to get to a contest-lean state (~15-18% body fat) which is just not sustainable long term.

    I’m actually at c18% body fat and have been for well over a year, so it is sustainable. And I eat a lot (but also lift).
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I’m confused. You say you have fluff to lose but are at 18%bf. You say you want suggestions of triceps exercises yet you lift regularly. Weight loss and lifting are the things to do to. Consider looking at the recomp thread for insight on working on your shape while eating at maintenance.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,682 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I’m confused. You say you have fluff to lose but are at 18%bf. You say you want suggestions of triceps exercises yet you lift regularly. Weight loss and lifting are the things to do to. Consider looking at the recomp thread for insight on working on your shape while eating at maintenance.
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I’m confused. You say you have fluff to lose but are at 18%bf. You say you want suggestions of triceps exercises yet you lift regularly. Weight loss and lifting are the things to do to. Consider looking at the recomp thread for insight on working on your shape while eating at maintenance.

    Uh I’m not the OP...I was responding to her message. I’m v happy with my training and eating thank you!
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    IMHO and based only on what I can see in the pics, it doesn’t look like you have a lot of fat yet to lose but I can clearly see the bulge on your upper arms you are referring to. I cannot tell if it’s fat or muscle, it’s likely a combination of both. You might just have to accept that it’s simply the way your body is unless you would consider something more drastic like surgery. Maybe you can reduce it with many bulking and cutting cycles and heavy lifting but I don’t really know, might be worth a try though. I’ve never heard of something like this being hormonal but again, I can’t say for sure. What I can tell you is that they are definitely not “bingo wings” because that refers to the skin/fat that hangs down from the upper arms when they are held out at a 90 degree angle from the body, I seriously doubt yours hang down and jiggle when you put your arms out, your arms look very firm. When I was losing weight, my upper arms were the last place I lost it from and it still took a few years of maintenance for them to “settle” and slim down, perhaps it just needs more time. For what it’s worth your arms look great to me and if not pointed out in a post like this, I honestly never would have even noticed it :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,760 Member
    Usually, at least part of what most women identify as "bingo wings" is actually relaxed (slack) triceps muscles. It's a chunk of "loose tissue" that wobbles below the arm, when the arm is held out horizontally to the side.

    In every single real life case where I've discussed this with a female friend, then told her to grab as much ot yof the "bingo wing" as she could in the opposite hand, then flex her "bingo" arm (which I usually had to coach her on how to do, BTW), at least a fair fraction of that "wing" tightened up into nice triceps muscles. (I'm not saying there was zero fat or loose skin, I'm just saying there was much, much less than the woman imagined.)

    What you're showing in your photo is not the classic "bingo wing" presentation. I can't tell what we're seeing in your photo - whether it's fat or muscle (though it does seem surprisingly unaffected by gravity, if fat). What happens when you put maximum flex into that part of your arm?
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    I've never heard it called "bingo wing". I've always heard "bat wings".
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Bat wings aka bingo wings are on the underside of the upper arm, not where OP is concerned about. Stick your arm straight out to your side. What hangs down is the b-wing🦇
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    You are very fit and look great. What you mention seems to be the natural shape of your fit arms. We all have different shapes ..keeps life interesting. I hope you can find a way to see it that way.
  • MoonPhoenix8
    MoonPhoenix8 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks, all! This is definitely something that affects my body-image and could be more visible to me than others. I like my body overall but as a petite person, the upper area of my arms looks imbalanced in photos (the last one, specifically) or when I look in the mirror. It just juts out. A lot of it might be muscle but I'd like it to appear less round, I guess. I appreciate all of the honest input offered. It can be very easy to fixate on an area and compare it to other bodies that are made of up different diets, exercise routines, and physiques, so this was a helpful perspective for me to remember. I'm big on body positivity and acceptance with others and am still working on that for myself. I'm getting married later this year so I think I'm focusing more on this now that I picked out my dress and gawked at how big (to me) my upper arms looked. Again, thank you for the mindful answers =)
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Ooh, you are in a store with a lot of white dresses, is that your dress in the last pic?

    I think your arms look great btw, but understand your extra focus.

    Cheers, h.
  • TanyaHooton
    TanyaHooton Posts: 249 Member
    Your upper arms look like my upper arms. I store all my weight in my upper body and lose from my lower first. It is true that when I flex my left arm, what appears to be "bingo wings" or "batwings" is actually just muscle. But for some reason my body is lopsided and many parts of my right side are larger than the left, so when I squeeze the underarm on my right, I can grab fat. And yes, it is taking a PAINFULLY long time to get them to slim down.

    I have never heard that it is hormonal, unless by that you mean that storing fat on the upper body is the more "masculine" way to store fat (with fat storage on the hips and bum being more "female"). Evidently it is just the way that our bodies are designed.
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