What can be done about the dreaded BATWING?!

sunshinelively

Hi folks - looked a bit for a thread on this but didn't find one. So I've been in menopause for two years and have noticed my upper arms look like my grandmother's.

I've list about half the weight I want, about 19 lb to go. This year focused on building strength by lifting heavy weights, so I'm already working out.

My question is whether anyone has had success with fixing your arms? It seems related to menopause since I never had this problem before. A friend said going on HRT would help, but I'm through the worst part of the hot flashes and sleeplessness.

Any suggestions or personal experience with this would be most appreciated!!

Sabine_Stroehm

I do kettlebells and lots of Pilates.

sunshinelively

Thanks Sabine - anyone else? Details? Does lack of response mean this can't be done? Oh no..... )

irish6165

Upper and tend to respond very quickly to lifting....I am just starting to incorporate bands into my workout regime and it seems to be helping some . I also seeing my arms when I am doing my walking . The next thing I'm adding is a French press whereas I hold the weight behind my head and lift it over with my elbows pointing out . This works your triceps which will lead to noon saggy arms.....hope this helps . Btw....I had a hysterectomy last year in August so I understand about the hot flashes and all that.....good luck .

cara4fit

Batwings often mean that one has lost muscle tissue in the arms, most specifically the triceps area, which actually takes up 2/3 of one's upper arm. Muscle loss around menopause is very real if one doesn't do anything, which it seems that the majority of menopausal and post-menopausal women aren't. Although that's beginning to change as people get the message that not every single little thing is inevitable as we age. A whole lot of it is due to disuse. Which means there's hope - USE it, and it will come back to a great extent.:) There are women around now who got the message and who are in better shape now than they were 20 years ago.:)
If one REALLY has a lot of excess skin despite working out and being down to a good weight for one's body, then surgery might be the only way out to get rid of it, as in upper arm lift. But for lots of other women, only good hard work will help. Not little 3-lb weights(unless one really has to start there though). Good old-fashioned compound, bodyweight work as in, push-ups(in whatever variant one can do them)seated dips, assisted dips at the gym. Also various pressing movements like bench presses, shoulder presses(both of these kinds of presses do activate the triceps as well as chest and shoulders. Various yoga sequences, like Sun Salutations, etc. will hit the upper body too. Don't be afraid to work hard, because this is what it takes. It's far better of course to have gotten onto a program before serious "batwings" show up however.
My personal stuff to address this is angled push-ups, seated dips, dips on assisted dip machine(3 sets of 10 of each exercise), and Pilates planks+push-ups(just 4-5 of these as these are harder). Sun Salutations made a big difference added in too. I'm 66 and have pretty good arms now. Again, basically you gotta WORK. Hope this helps!:)

sunshinelively

Thanks for the replies everyone -

Cara4fit, it is as much as I thought, weight training. I started the New Rules of Lifting for Women about a month ago, so I'm lifting pretty heavy. I guess my questions related to if the heavy lifting works or not. I've seen some improvement, but it seems like there's extra skin. I have about 20 lb to go, so I could see where things stand then. Really just wondering if weight training works for this problem or whether we are just stuck with these flabby arms forever no matter what we do. Considering HRT for the hot flashes and to build bone density and extra muscle.

deksgrl

If it is primarily fat, the fat loss is going to come through diet which will reveal the muscle underneath. Since you only have 20 pounds to go, take a small calorie deficit and get enough protein, to preserve your lean body mass & muscle as you lose the fat. With heavy lifting, you might find the scale is not going down as fast, but your inches will.

Perhaps genetically that is where you stored fat.... or perhaps, if you were taking a large calorie deficit for awhile with no resistance training, you lowered your lean body mass more than was desirable.

sunshinelively

well i've definitely seen worse arms than mine, but there is that jiggle. weight trained in my 30's then was more sporadic about yoga and weight training in my 40's and just now over the last 6 months getting back into it. i'm just hoping that it's not permanent, that the weight training will help. and maybe the additional weight loss. went into menopause earlier than i thought i would (48). mostly through it now, but still having hot flashes and sleepless nights. so considering HRT, side benefit is supposed to be your muscles come back a little bit too. hoping that takes care of it!

sheesh how did i get to be this age so fast?? lol

deksgrl

I'm at about 28% body fat, and I have a little jiggle there when my arm is relaxed. When I make a muscle, it tightens right up. (body fat is estimated based on tape measure measurements, not calipers, but my digital scale also puts it around 28%) I have been lifting heavy off and on for 14 months. My goal is 24-25%. It is slow going. My belly fat is more of a concern than the arms.

I forgot to mention, nice bike! I have an 883 Sportster.

sunshinelively

I'm at about 28% body fat, and I have a little jiggle there when my arm is relaxed. When I make a muscle, it tightens right up. (body fat is estimated based on tape measure measurements, not calipers, but my digital scale also puts it around 28%) I have been lifting heavy off and on for 14 months. My goal is 24-25%. It is slow going. My belly fat is more of a concern than the arms.

I forgot to mention, nice bike! I have an 883 Sportster.

wow you're doing great! I would love to be at 28%. last i checked (about 6 weeks ago) i was at 31% down from 34%. i have a shrinking iceberg of belly fat that's been going away slowly. it looks more like an island on my stomach right now. you're right it is slow going, but i've gotten it through my head that i need to convert fat to muscle (probably will take a year!) and maybe then i can shred the last of the fat off when i've rebuilt the muscle back.

a fellow rider? awesome. i have a 2012 switchback. like the sportsters, too, they're so fast and nimble!

deksgrl

a fellow rider? awesome. i have a 2012 switchback. like the sportsters, too, they're so fast and nimble!

I just had to go to the HD website and dream some dreams. LOL. Friend of mine has the new "Breakout".
One of my main reasons for lifting, so I can handle a bike for a long, long time.

sunshinelively

HD dreams are the best ones, eh? My dream this year is to take a longer overnight trip!

Sweet_Pandora

sunshinelivel and deksgrl nice to see some HD riders.

I am going for my motorcycle license very soon. My husband is getting a new Fat Boy Lo and he wants me to get my license so I can have his Sportster 1200. It seems like a big bike to start on but he seems to think I will be ok.

As for the bat wings I hear you! I've started lifting programs a few times, hubby is in to it but it's just not my thing.

Karen

deksgrl

sunshinelivel and deksgrl nice to see some HD riders.

I am going for my motorcycle license very soon. My husband is getting a new Fat Boy Lo and he wants me to get my license so I can have his Sportster 1200. It seems like a big bike to start on but he seems to think I will be ok.

As for the bat wings I hear you! I've started lifting programs a few times, hubby is in to it but it's just not my thing.

Karen

You should be fine on the Sportster, just take it easy at first, do a lot of parking lot practice. I started with a 250 Suzuki just like they have in the classes, and I outgrew it almost immediately. I rode that the first summer but definitely could have handled the Sportster sooner. Especially since it looks like you have long legs. I talked to a ton of lady riders before going to the Sporty, half of them loved it, half of them hated it and couldn't handle it. I figured out that the shorter ladies with shorter legs had problems with it, all the taller ones liked it.

sunshinelively

sunshinelivel and deksgrl nice to see some HD riders.

I am going for my motorcycle license very soon. My husband is getting a new Fat Boy Lo and he wants me to get my license so I can have his Sportster 1200. It seems like a big bike to start on but he seems to think I will be ok.

As for the bat wings I hear you! I've started lifting programs a few times, hubby is in to it but it's just not my thing.

Karen

You should be fine on the Sportster, just take it easy at first, do a lot of parking lot practice. I started with a 250 Suzuki just like they have in the classes, and I outgrew it almost immediately. I rode that the first summer but definitely could have handled the Sportster sooner. Especially since it looks like you have long legs. I talked to a ton of lady riders before going to the Sporty, half of them loved it, half of them hated it and couldn't handle it. I figured out that the shorter ladies with shorter legs had problems with it, all the taller ones liked it.

karen welcome to the club of lady riders - there's an excellent resource online http://www.womenridersnow.com/ they've got great blogs about what bike and other kinds of biker stuff specifically for women! awesome, you're going to love riding for sure.

agree with deksgrl - i started out on a honda shadow 750, rode 3,000 for one season then had to move up. all in all a good way to do it. took the motorcycle safety class without ever having gotten on a bike before (except as a passenger) so basically learned how to ride in the class. best thing i ever did, what a great thing, the freedom, the empowerment, the excitement. my boyfriend and i ride together and it's a great bonding thing, too. you'll have to keep us in the loop on how you're doing!

medusa211

Yoga.. Those shatarangas will fix your "batwings":-)
Tricep pushups are very effective. You can either use small weights for tricep exercises or just do dips using a bench or even your couch while you're watching tv.

Sweet_Pandora

Thanks ladies I can't wait to ride.

@ sunshine I will definitely check out the website thanks for the link. I will be taking a course and as deksgrl suggested lots of parking lot practice.

Karen