flabby arms

Options
Dutchgirly
Dutchgirly Posts: 57 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
At my most fit, age 19 or 20, before I started bar hopping I could do at least 10 full push ups in a row several times a day. My arms have since gotten doughy, but after 5 days of at least 90 minutes of exercise a day I can feel them toning up and can do about four full push ups. I am very excited. Half my mental battle with exercise was to stop thinking about it and just get down and dirty. . .at least sweaty. I ordered a bunch of swimming gear as an incentive to get in the pool and do more laps. My skin and arms look so much better after swimming. I am afraid of weights. I don't even feel strong enough to start with any. Is there an easy transition, everyone in the weight room at my downtown gym is scary buff- I am so intimidated, but I want to get strong. What can I do?

Replies

  • mistyb47711
    mistyb47711 Posts: 861 Member
    Options
    Im over 200 lbs and I go to the gym and lift weights...I know alot of people there are more fit, but maybe they where where I am now in the past. I just ignore it and go do my workout and get my results that I want....I suggest strength training for toning...
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Options
    Buy some free weights and start at home. You can do it!
  • beckymike36
    beckymike36 Posts: 105 Member
    Options
    I hear ya, I was 20 lbs heavier last year and I could only do 1 full push up. I joined a bootcamp gym and now I can do 37 pushups in 3 mins!!! I am very proud of myself and how far i've come, I still have a way to go though towards my new goal.
    My advise if you feel intimidated at the gym lifting weight go to Walmart and buy a set of 8lbs and do your own little circuit with them at home. They are relatively inexpensive.
  • barefootbeautiful
    barefootbeautiful Posts: 144
    Options
    First of all, LOVE the name! Also a proud dutchwoman! :) Second - do NOT be afraid of the gym! Strength training is fabulous, necessary, and completely empowering. If you are new to the gym, though, I suggest a trainer - at least to begin with. When done right, the benefits of strength training are endless; when done wrong... not so much. Have you considered no-leg laps? Put a paddleboard between your knees and try a few laps arms only. Or take a water-aerobics class - awesome workout. Does your pool have waterbricks? And would they allow them during lap/open swim? We did a lot with the water bricks during lifeguard training - tread water with bricks overhead, tread water with bricks at side, retrieve bricks.... Get creative. :)
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
    Options
    What I like to do at my gym, since the weight area is full of buff men, is grab some 5 or 8 pound weights and walk over to the sit up mats and combine free weight arm exercises with ab workouts! It makes ab workouts less painful :) and you have a minute in between to think about what arm exercise you should be doing, and some are good to do on the exercise balls if the benches are all taken by guys. I stay away from machines typically because since they run on tracks you don't tone the little stabilizer muscles that us girls should be toning!

    Just go to self.com or something to get started on some simple arm exercises with free weights. Do 25 or so reps of your first ab exercise, then do 10 reps of one of your arm exercises, then your next ab one, next arm one, etc.

    After you figure out some good arm exercises to do this way and feel you have the moves down, move over to the bench and use heavier weights, or just grab heavier weights and go back to your mat and ball, because you don't REALLY need the bench if you have one of those big exercise balls.

Categories