what do you do to tone and slim your arms?

sexymuffintop

For arms to be leaned out, my advice would be: low amount of weight (like 3-10 pound dumbbells) with a high amount of reps(to burn more calories and work that muscle simultaneously). Also, up the cardio to burn the fat.

That's an old tired myth that sound be buried in the garden and never allowed to rear it's ugly head again!!! I see so many women doing just this day after day in the gym, it just makes me want to scream!! Lift heavy (for you), 6-8 reps, make that muscle work hard.

dbmata

By pretending you're a windmill trying to fend off Don Quixote.

Sounds like me at my boxing gym.

Consequently, hitting things a lot have helped my shoulders, neck and arms get harder.

Warchortle

I'm not sure if some of you know... but resistance training whether it's through heavy weight or through higher reps will stimulate and trigger the same muscle growth at the end of the day (provided you get rest).

Increasing or progressively overloading through higher reps may give you better muscle "endurance" whereas lifting heavy as F may increase your over muscular strength... but at the end of the day you're still going to tone very similarly if you use proper form.

All your arguments over higher reps vs. high weight are mute. Every additional lb of muscle burns an additional 50 calories at rest.. since muscle is more dense and if you're not eating over maintenance calories your arms will slim down from any sort of training program.

Sarauk2sf

Let me reiterate. I am under the impression that the original poster wants to improve the appearance of their arms. In order to do this, sculpting is the focus. Diet alone does not "sculpt" figure. You may lose weight by dieting alone, but will still have fat that remains stored. Why? Because dieting does not burn the fat necessary to sculpt muscle. Exercise, such as aerobic activities burns fat. Resistance training, which is anaerobic, conditions the muscles by ripping and tearing muscle fibers so they may regenerate cells that will improve elasticity and reshape the body by bonding together during the rest period. Nutrition is key to this process. Our cells feed on nutrients in order to survive, and as long as we provide these cells with the nutrients they need, we will see improvement in our bodies overall.

You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot train. If the focus is on having more shapely arms and more strength to perform weight training exercises, then my advice to the original poster is sound.

There should be no further need to argue about this matter.

You can get rid of fat by diet alone...people are arguing because you are making incorrect statements. To help get some definition when you lose the fat, yes, strength training is important, but it will not directly get rid of the fat from any given area.

Banglore

Is lifting heavy as simple as it sounds? Would I just have to lift heavier weights than I maybe normally would? Or is there more to it than that?

Warchortle

Let me reiterate. I am under the impression that the original poster wants to improve the appearance of their arms. In order to do this, sculpting is the focus. Diet alone does not "sculpt" figure. You may lose weight by dieting alone, but will still have fat that remains stored. Why? Because dieting does not burn the fat necessary to sculpt muscle. Exercise, such as aerobic activities burns fat. Resistance training, which is anaerobic, conditions the muscles by ripping and tearing muscle fibers so they may regenerate cells that will improve elasticity and reshape the body by bonding together during the rest period. Nutrition is key to this process. Our cells feed on nutrients in order to survive, and as long as we provide these cells with the nutrients they need, we will see improvement in our bodies overall.

You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot train. If the focus is on having more shapely arms and more strength to perform weight training exercises, then my advice to the original poster is sound.

There should be no further need to argue about this matter.

You can get rid of fat by diet alone...people are arguing because you are making incorrect statements. To help get some definition when you lose the fat, yes, strength training is important, but it will not directly get rid of the fat from any given area.

You can also get rid of muscle through diet alone.

Sarauk2sf

Let me reiterate. I am under the impression that the original poster wants to improve the appearance of their arms. In order to do this, sculpting is the focus. Diet alone does not "sculpt" figure. You may lose weight by dieting alone, but will still have fat that remains stored. Why? Because dieting does not burn the fat necessary to sculpt muscle. Exercise, such as aerobic activities burns fat. Resistance training, which is anaerobic, conditions the muscles by ripping and tearing muscle fibers so they may regenerate cells that will improve elasticity and reshape the body by bonding together during the rest period. Nutrition is key to this process. Our cells feed on nutrients in order to survive, and as long as we provide these cells with the nutrients they need, we will see improvement in our bodies overall.

You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot train. If the focus is on having more shapely arms and more strength to perform weight training exercises, then my advice to the original poster is sound.

There should be no further need to argue about this matter.

You can get rid of fat by diet alone...people are arguing because you are making incorrect statements. To help get some definition when you lose the fat, yes, strength training is important, but it will not directly get rid of the fat from any given area.

You can also get rid of muscle through diet alone.

No -one said not to strength train.

muayqis

By pretending you're a windmill trying to fend off Don Quixote.

Sounds like me at my boxing gym.

Consequently, hitting things a lot have helped my shoulders, neck and arms get harder.

Completely agree.
Personally I think that boxing is one of the most under-rated workouts, Anyone who's not given this kind of training a go is missing out bigtime.

Warchortle

Is lifting heavy as simple as it sounds? Would I just have to lift heavier weights than I maybe normally would? Or is there more to it than that?

Lifting heavy is relative term. It's a weight that won't hurt you, but you can only achieve a certain rep ranges. 6-8+ is considered hypertrophy where 5 and below is considered more of a strength training. I mean 5x5 program is a little unique since it's compound movements... and we're talking about isolation movements, so let's say you pick a weight that you can only curl 6 times.... then follow that up with reverse bench flies.. maybe tricep extensions, then rinse and repeat 6-10 times. I like to do higher sets, but you may not.

jenilla1

If you are a beginner, the last concern should be becoming bulky. No offense, but that would require a few years of eating at a surplus while lifting heavy.

<--- Yup. I eat at maintenance and have been lifting for a few years. I started lifting HEAVY almost a year ago. I am far from bulky! :laugh:

Warchortle

Let me reiterate. I am under the impression that the original poster wants to improve the appearance of their arms. In order to do this, sculpting is the focus. Diet alone does not "sculpt" figure. You may lose weight by dieting alone, but will still have fat that remains stored. Why? Because dieting does not burn the fat necessary to sculpt muscle. Exercise, such as aerobic activities burns fat. Resistance training, which is anaerobic, conditions the muscles by ripping and tearing muscle fibers so they may regenerate cells that will improve elasticity and reshape the body by bonding together during the rest period. Nutrition is key to this process. Our cells feed on nutrients in order to survive, and as long as we provide these cells with the nutrients they need, we will see improvement in our bodies overall.

You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot train. If the focus is on having more shapely arms and more strength to perform weight training exercises, then my advice to the original poster is sound.

There should be no further need to argue about this matter.

You can get rid of fat by diet alone...people are arguing because you are making incorrect statements. To help get some definition when you lose the fat, yes, strength training is important, but it will not directly get rid of the fat from any given area.

You can also get rid of muscle through diet alone.

No -one said not to strength train.

Well if someone wants to tone.. they want to retain muscle while losing weight, which is impossible without resistance training.. so saying losing fat is achievable through diet alone is an incomplete sentiment. Losing "weight" is achievable through diet alone would be more correct because as you lower in body weight things your lean body mass will also decrease along with fat, which may not intrinsically lower someone's body fat % to where tone becomes apparent.

Sarauk2sf

Let me reiterate. I am under the impression that the original poster wants to improve the appearance of their arms. In order to do this, sculpting is the focus. Diet alone does not "sculpt" figure. You may lose weight by dieting alone, but will still have fat that remains stored. Why? Because dieting does not burn the fat necessary to sculpt muscle. Exercise, such as aerobic activities burns fat. Resistance training, which is anaerobic, conditions the muscles by ripping and tearing muscle fibers so they may regenerate cells that will improve elasticity and reshape the body by bonding together during the rest period. Nutrition is key to this process. Our cells feed on nutrients in order to survive, and as long as we provide these cells with the nutrients they need, we will see improvement in our bodies overall.

You cannot spot reduce, but you can spot train. If the focus is on having more shapely arms and more strength to perform weight training exercises, then my advice to the original poster is sound.

There should be no further need to argue about this matter.

You can get rid of fat by diet alone...people are arguing because you are making incorrect statements. To help get some definition when you lose the fat, yes, strength training is important, but it will not directly get rid of the fat from any given area.

You can also get rid of muscle through diet alone.

No -one said not to strength train.

Well if someone wants to tone.. they want to retain muscle while losing weight, which is impossible without resistance training.. so saying losing fat is achievable through diet alone is an incomplete sentiment. Losing "weight" is achievable through diet alone would be more correct because as you lower in body weight things your lean body mass will also decrease along with fat, which may not intrinsically lower someone's body fat % to where tone becomes apparent.

If you want to get pedantic...you can get rid of fat by diet alone, which is what I said. Reducing BF% and maintaining LBM is another matter and yes, strength training is important...as I said in the post.

Lupercalia

Yes, you should lift weights. Your diet will help you to lose the fat, whilst strength training will strengthen your muscles. It will not make you look "bulky". You will not gain muscle while you are eating to lose fat, as others have pointed out.

Lift weights that are heavy for you. You don't need to lift them 20 times, or even 10. I lift heavy weights that I can only lift 5 times, for instance. Most women are surprised to find out they can actually lift a lot more than a couple of 3 pound dumbbells if they give it a go. We carry relatively heavy stuff around all the time--think about it.

muayqis

For arms to be leaned out, my advice would be: low amount of weight (like 3-10 pound dumbbells) with a high amount of reps(to burn more calories and work that muscle simultaneously). Also, up the cardio to burn the fat.

could you explain how high reps, or any reps for that matter burns fat from arms?

Seriously?
I'm not an expert but.

Lifting anything at all will use up calories(unless there's some kind of way anyone knows to get movement without any energy expenditure(think you can get a lot of money if you figure this out)).
Assuming everything else is constant(calories in, macros, exercise) and you add in an additional exercise( in this case low weight high rep exercise) then calories will be burned.
Some of those calories will come from fat.
Some of that fat will come from your arms.

Am i missing something?

I am not saying this is in any way the best way to get the results the OP is looking for.

brit_ks_89

ugn.. exercise does not burn fat or slim arms people. so why are you recommending it?

count calories, balance macros, and do full body compound exercises. fat will be lost as determined by genetics. there is no such thing as an arm toning exercise..

SO ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I CAN GET RIPPED ARMS BY JUST A DIET ???/

amazing.. which diet are you on???

i guess my bench press, push ups, tricep & bicep workouts are a complete waste of time.. OHhH THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP FOR ME!!!! i appreciate it !

Sarauk2sf

ugn.. exercise does not burn fat or slim arms people. so why are you recommending it?

count calories, balance macros, and do full body compound exercises. fat will be lost as determined by genetics. there is no such thing as an arm toning exercise..

SO ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I CAN GET RIPPED ARMS BY JUST A DIET ???/

amazing.. which diet are you on???

i guess my bench press, push ups, tricep & bicep workouts are a complete waste of time.. OHhH THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP FOR ME!!!! i appreciate it !

No, he is not saying that. Not sure why you are shouting.

brit_ks_89

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

jaxxie

Here is a thought...take a look at Sarauk2sf and the post above! Which would you rather have? I will go with Sara and her kick *kitten* methodology. IT WORKS!

Lupercalia

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

Read the subject line again. TOPIC: what do you do to tone and slim your arms

Slim typically means "lose fat", yeah?

jimmmer

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

"Tone" - what a horrible word. It doesn't really mean anything. Or, at least, people bandy it around like it means something.

Reduce BF% and retain LBM is what most people mean by "toning up". So to "tone up" (need to wash my mouth out even uttering those words!) you'll need to strength train and be in a calorie deficit. That's all. It's not magic - just takes time and hard work.

Want to "tone up" the arms? Lift some weights, eat at deficit - job done!

emblu

wow this topic has raised a few tempers:huh:
spin poi, its fun which is key to keeping it up and improves arm and shoulder muscle, co-ordination and generally chills me out. its a maori thing and looks as awesome as it is to do
have a nosey on youtube or world of poi:happy:

brit_ks_89

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

"Tone" - what a horrible word. It doesn't really mean anything. Or, at least, people bandy it around like it means something.

Reduce BF% and retain LBM is what most people mean by "toning up". So to "tone up" (need to wash my mouth out even uttering those words!) you'll need to strength train and be in a calorie deficit. That's all. It's not magic - just takes time and hard work.

Want to "tone up" the arms? Lift some weights, eat at deficit - job done!

obviously the person need to eat a deficit diet. i was referring to my post above this post and everybody else that says the op doesn't need to exercise .

brit_ks_89

ugh

brit_ks_89

.....

brit_ks_89

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

Read the subject line again. TOPIC: what do you do to tone and slim your arms

Slim typically means "lose fat", yeah?

not not really . you can slim down by losing muscle too ..

medic2038

she asked out to TONE up the arms not lose fat ..

Read the subject line again. TOPIC: what do you do to tone and slim your arms

Slim typically means "lose fat", yeah?

not not really . you can slim down by losing muscle too ..

Health reasons aside I think most people want to lose weight for aesthetic purposes. You CAN slim down losing muscle too, but I doubt anyone is going for that "emaciated AIDS patient look".

tmaree2

I bet she regrets even asking the question...absolutely amazed at how some people are so rude and arrogant on this site...some of us are beginners and really don't know the answers...to all those that think they do..... lighten up and be polite to each other on these posts....it gets so ugly when people have a differing opinion..and that is exactly it...opinions! how many are professional athletes or sports scientists or dieticians or doctors and have done some credible education other than searching on the net!

think I will be changing over to another support site....some people on here not that supportive at all!!!

beatricelombule

Try some Billy Blanks dvds and also Jillian Michaels workouts, they will tone you up, use light dumbbells but not too light. Try 30 day shred and no more trouble zones

jimmmer

I bet she regrets even asking the question...absolutely amazed at how some people are so rude and arrogant on this site...some of us are beginners and really don't know the answers...to all those that think they do..... lighten up and be polite to each other on these posts....it gets so ugly when people have a differing opinion..and that is exactly it...opinions! how many are professional athletes or sports scientists or dieticians or doctors and have done some credible education other than searching on the net!

think I will be changing over to another support site....some people on here not that supportive at all!!!

It's not really an opinion though. Retain LBM and lose BF%. If you think that's one opinion against another, then you're wrong. It's not a matter of opinion - it's a fact.

You don't need to be a doctor to know these facts, btw.

trudijoy

i did massive damage to my shoulder a few years ago (13 bone dislocation, temporary paralysis blah blah blah) and so i can't lift heavy on that side but through swimming, netball and light weights i've achieved tone, still need to work on the triceps though.