Best way to tone "bat wings"?

melsmith612
melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone have any suggestions for how to tone up that flabby skin that hangs from your upper arm? I've lost quite a bit of weight already on a different program but they didn't emphasize exercise much and I failed to remember that I'm 5 years older than the last time I dropped this much weight... the old skin isn't bouncing back as quickly as it used to (I'm only 30 but those 5 years made a BIG difference).

I can't afford a gym membership right now so exercises that utilize normal household items, hand weights or Wii Fit Plus would be most appreciated! Thanks for your help!
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Replies

  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
    If you do a search in the posts and type in "bat wing exercises", you'll find quite a few posts on the subject :)
  • areesaha
    areesaha Posts: 1
    Unfortunately, there's no way to "spot reduce" fat from a certain body part. You're just going to have to stick with your diet and exercise to further lower your body fat percentage, and you should see those "bat wings" slowly diminishing.
  • huckahe
    huckahe Posts: 11
    Try some tricep dips on your stairs or a chair! Try them with both wide and narrow arms. When you work one are of muscle you must work its compliment; so therefore do some bicep curls and hammer curls along with your tricep work. Any kind of exercise that works your lats will also be helpful in that all those muscles are tied together. You can buy some cheap weights at Walmart or Target or even use those flexible workout bands. It will all be a good start to sculpting those arms ;-)
  • wcrathbun
    wcrathbun Posts: 85 Member
    I really like Jillian Michael's "No more trouble zones" for that kinda of thing...
    I am not quite where you are yet but I know it really worked that part of my body!
  • lrob100
    lrob100 Posts: 122 Member
    I'm 35 and have lost 41 lbs, and I am having the EXACT same issue, melsmith612! I was just staring at my bat wings in the mirror before I logged on and read your post. I even photographed them, thinking to work on my arms to hopefully improve them, and later compare the photos. I have been doing simple arm exercises with 5 lb weights, but I don't think that's enough for me.... any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
  • ChannelBZ
    ChannelBZ Posts: 1 Member
    Take up archery!
    If you find a coach that teaches proper archery form, you'll find that you'll lose the batwings. The coach will also teach you how to use a stretch band to practice for archery and I found mine improved considerably in a couple of months.
  • emkohler77
    emkohler77 Posts: 34 Member
    I do Ballet Body by Leah Sarago and her upper body workout is really awesome (difficult but good). I might hurl insults at my tv during the workout, but I am getting great results and i am so much stronger. All of her workouts are great- go slowly, take breaks, and stick with it :)
  • geonbaeLeilee
    geonbaeLeilee Posts: 606 Member
    Anyone have any suggestions for how to tone up that flabby skin that hangs from your upper arm? I've lost quite a bit of weight already on a different program but they didn't emphasize exercise much and I failed to remember that I'm 5 years older than the last time I dropped this much weight... the old skin isn't bouncing back as quickly as it used to (I'm only 30 but those 5 years made a BIG difference).

    I can't afford a gym membership right now so exercises that utilize normal household items, hand weights or Wii Fit Plus would be most appreciated! Thanks for your help!

    I'm in the same boat as you all the way. I was actually going to ask this question today. I hope you get the answers you're looking for!
  • misalillstead
    misalillstead Posts: 407 Member
    Bump for later! :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    So, the best thing you can do is continue losing body fat in general and strength train. This way, when you lose the BF covering them, you will have nice defined arms. It may take a while as they can be the more stubborn places that your fat goes from.

    A couple of good exercises are - push ups (vary width of hand placement for either more tricep or more bicep) and, if you can get a pull up bar, chin and pull ups.

    ETA: pull ups and chin ups are hard, especially for women, so start of with negatives - where you start at the top and lower yourself as slowly as possible.
  • claram5415
    claram5415 Posts: 512 Member
    Those muscles are called triceps. Push ups are also bench dips which you could do with a chair. If you go to your local library you can check out exercise books, like Fitness for Dummies and exercise DVDs that will be very helpful. Here's a link to a youtube video on doing bench dips. Not sure if I can link it but here goes:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST4HaFhi-X4

    Hope this is helpful! Remember just keep at it!
  • lrob100
    lrob100 Posts: 122 Member
    Thanks for everyone's advice. I think I personally still have a LOT of body fat left to lose (41 down out of 101 leaves 60 to go), so hopefully after the other 60 lbs is gone, the arms will improve.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The "dips" sound right up my alley! I'm still doing my push ups against a wall because I don't have the upper body strength yet to lift my 200+ lbs off the floor without landing there a split second later. I'm also trying to bowl on the weekends every couple of weeks with my husband but that's only trimming the bat wing on my right side because ambidextrous I am not. ;-)

    Keep the ideas coming and please no more posts asking me to search through other posts... truthfully? I find that annoying. I'm here for ME not to see what people said to someone else with a similar question.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    I'm 35 and have lost 41 lbs, and I am having the EXACT same issue, melsmith612! I was just staring at my bat wings in the mirror before I logged on and read your post. I even photographed them, thinking to work on my arms to hopefully improve them, and later compare the photos. I have been doing simple arm exercises with 5 lb weights, but I don't think that's enough for me.... any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

    You're braver than I am, I don't want any photos of my bat wings - it's bad enough seeing them in the mirror! lol I've gone from 262 lbs to 205 lbs since February 10th of this year and the flabby skin is just eating my soul. I hope we get some good suggestions so we can both abandon our "wings" for good! :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Ignore the actual routines - but this has links that you can click through to see explanations/videos of the exercises that use dumbbells as you mentioned that you had some.

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/frankoman-dumbbell-only-split.html
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    It will take time but it will happen, I promise. The less fat that's in your upper arms,the more the skin will start to contract. I'm almost 10 years older than you and started at about the same weight as you. And unfortunately, a lot of the fat left is still being stored in my upper arms - thank you genetics! I'm now at 173 and although they're still not pretty, my arms have definitely reduced (wish I had the measurements handy, sorry) I even noticed how much more of my elbow shows the other day! :)
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    Ignore the actual routines - but this has links that you can click through to see explanations/videos of the exercises that use dumbbells as you mentioned that you had some.

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/frankoman-dumbbell-only-split.html

    Awesome, thank you!
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    It will take time but it will happen, I promise. The less fat that's in your upper arms,the more the skin will start to contract. I'm almost 10 years older than you and started at about the same weight as you. And unfortunately, a lot of the fat left is still being stored in my upper arms - thank you genetics! I'm now at 173 and although they're still not pretty, my arms have definitely reduced (wish I had the measurements handy, sorry) I even noticed how much more of my elbow shows the other day! :)

    What's an elbow? :laugh: j/k

    I think my main problem is that I've lost so much so quickly that my body hasn't had time to keep up (and I haven't done it any favors by avoiding regular exercise like the plague). :embarassed:
  • EyeLikeTacos
    EyeLikeTacos Posts: 324 Member
    Rapid HJ's
  • angel823
    angel823 Posts: 190 Member
    I liked the V pushups, did great things for my flabbies
  • ValRAAAAY
    ValRAAAAY Posts: 270 Member
    Overhead tricedp extensions have worked for me, so have chair dips, LOOOOOVE me some kettlebells....you'll find what works for you, PROMISE!!!
  • Tkichler
    Tkichler Posts: 26 Member
    My trainer at the Y told me to do pushups with your hands as close together as possible. Not easy, but not horrible either. He also showed me using a dumbell, hold it with both hands above your head, elbows right at the side of your face and lower the weight down and back up.

    Hope that helps. and good luck! Stupid batwings!!!
  • taylorblues
    taylorblues Posts: 49 Member
    Bump!!

    I have the same problem and don't have the cash for a personal trainer........interested to read advice.

    Thanks for posting.
  • jenluvsushi
    jenluvsushi Posts: 933 Member
    Anyone have any suggestions for how to tone up that flabby skin that hangs from your upper arm? I've lost quite a bit of weight already on a different program but they didn't emphasize exercise much and I failed to remember that I'm 5 years older than the last time I dropped this much weight... the old skin isn't bouncing back as quickly as it used to (I'm only 30 but those 5 years made a BIG difference).

    I can't afford a gym membership right now so exercises that utilize normal household items, hand weights or Wii Fit Plus would be most appreciated! Thanks for your help!

    I've lost over 60 pounds and have about 40 more to go....my best tip for getting rid of bat wings? Lift heavy weights! Lifting has changed my life and I look better now than I did when I weighed 20 pounds less.....my arms are actually much smaller than ever! There are lots of great programs out there but I am currently liking stronglifts....best of luck!
  • Lize11e
    Lize11e Posts: 419
    I hate my wings. I've actually lost 104 lbs now and still have about 80 left to go. My arms (and lower belly) are really giving me fits. To the point where when I set my elbow down on my desk it pinches my arm fat because it rolls down over my elbow. I sure hope it gets better.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    I've lost over 60 pounds and have about 40 more to go....my best tip for getting rid of bat wings? Lift heavy weights! Lifting has changed my life and I look better now than I did when I weighed 20 pounds less.....my arms are actually much smaller than ever! There are lots of great programs out there but I am currently liking stronglifts....best of luck!

    Heavier... hmmm... I have a 15 lb dog, does that count? :bigsmile: How heavy would you suggest?
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    Rapid HJ's

    I'm not real good with acronyms... what's an "HJ"?
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
    Overhead tricedp extensions have worked for me, so have chair dips, LOOOOOVE me some kettlebells....you'll find what works for you, PROMISE!!!

    How do Kettlebells work? I've heard of them but have no clue what they're used for or how...
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
    this is subjective, but make sure you are hydrated... have read a lot of people say it helps the skin elasticity :) And I know from personal experience, since my arms are aweful...lol.. the MORE i do weight training, the better the skin looks... i think the muscle starts to fill in some of that empty space...lol. ;)

    And again... TOTALLY subjective...but i have been wearing a bodybugg/gowearfit armband for over two years...even though that is my NON dominant arm...THAT arm is a bit over an INCH smaller...and the skin looks better on that side. I wear it about half way up my upper arm....people don't beleive me until i take off the band and make them look at my arms!!! So i bought an armband for my media player about the same width to wear( if i could remember more. lol) on the other arm... I wear the bodybugg 24/7 other then in the shower.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Rapid HJ's

    I'm not real good with acronyms... what's an "HJ"?

    If it is what I think it is....you don't want to know :tongue:

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