arms- losing weight/toning

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missrvromans
missrvromans Posts: 16 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
ok,I'm getting married in october.. and I'm wearing a strapless dress, i have a lot of weight I want to lose (in general.. not specifically for my wedding day), but I'm mostly concerned about my arms and how they are going to look in photos.
If you have any tips/tricks any advice about how to focus on this part of my body and make them look their best for that day? ... I'm aware that there are no miracles.. and arms are difficult... but i bet they can be tighter and better then they are now..
Thanks for any advice! genuinely appreciated.

Replies

  • Tyggress73
    Tyggress73 Posts: 104 Member
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    Do weight-lifting exercises that focus on shoulders, biceps and triceps.

    And, do cardio & eat as clean as possible...that will help burn or shed the fat covering those muscles.

    Build the muscle, shed the fat = toned looking arms!

    good luck...and congrats on your upcoming wedding. :)
  • RhineDHP
    RhineDHP Posts: 1,025 Member
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    First of all, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Don't let planning and in-laws stress you out too much! :laugh:


    The thing is, you can't spot reduce fat. It will come off your body as a whole, and maybe not in the places you want at first. But you know, strength training really does help in getting muscle groups stronger, and look more toned. So eating a caloric deficit while lifting weights will definitely get you to where you want to go. 7 months isn't too aggressive a time frame to lose weight, good luck!
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Do a balanced weight training routine: the overall effect will help keep your arms in perspective: Michelle Obama guns would look pretty silly on an otherwise tiny woman.

    Most importantly, a balanced weight training routine will help you build/retain muscles that will look great and burn calories even while resting.

    Personally, I prefer to a do a total body routine 2-3 times a week and cardio the rest of the week. If you don't have cardio workouts that you love, you could alternate between a lower body routine and an upper body routine, to keep you in the habit. Then you can either do short cardio routines on weight days or longer ones on rest days: you want to keep up with cardio because your wedding day is going to be an endurance race!
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    All of this works exactly the same for men as for women. There is no such thing as a man workout or a woman workout, that's bull**** marketing.


    Diet = Lose/Maintain/Gain Weight (be it Fat or Muscle)
    Cardio = Most time efficient way to burn calories, Great for cardiovascular health and conditiong, Not *required* to burn fat
    Heavy Lifting = Burns lots of calories, Builds strength, Builds or Maintains Muscle

    Recipe for Toned Look = Lower Bodyfat %, Increase Muscle Mass, Mix to taste

    Recipe for Ripped Look = Even Lower Bodyfat %, Increase Muscle Mass, Mix to taste

    You can't spot reduce fat with exercise or diet, so where/when/how the fat comes off depends on your genetics. Usually first on means last off... is what it is. Keep lowering BF% until you're happy. You do this by eating a deficit of calories. If you screw up a day or a week or whatever, don't worry, just get back on it. No shame. You'll start looking better and getting compliments well short of reaching your actual goals anyway. Big plus. How noticable it is though depends on how much you have to loose.

    Your body's natural shape is also determined by genetics, and unless it's fat that's giving you size, you're going to have trouble getting rid of it. Also, you cannot influence the shape of muscle, only size.

    You have to eat a surplus of calories to put on any appreciable muscle, and some of the weight gain will be fat as well. And the whole process is slow.

    So... don't worry about getting bulky, whether you're a man or a woman. Getting bulky is slow for men and even more difficult for women, so you'll know well in advance when you're approaching whatever aesthetic goal you're aiming for.

    My book recommendation, and *I swear on my life* it will help you and is worth your time to read, is "New Rules of Lifting" (they have one geared a bit more towards women as well, although there's 0% difference in the way this works for either sex). The program at the very end of the book is kinda "fluffy" lol, but it's perfectly fine to use if you like it. If not...

    An excellent starting program is Stronglifts 5x5, doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman. Uses the five main, fundamental compound movements to build strength, and it's a simple workout that hits nearly every muscle in your body. Do that for a while to start, and then use "ICF 5x5" to up the volume a bit and keep the "5x5" compound lifts for strength (just review the programs and you'll see what I mean).
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    So the thing that's going to help you the most in the short-run, is loosing weight. A healthy mix of cardio with some simple lifting like ICF 5X5 is going to get you in the best place given your goals.

    Lastly, soon after a workout your muscles will be a bit swollen (read: not sore, but swollen with blood). This will make your arms look bigger... but it's totally normal, nothing to cry about, and it goes away after a few hours. Just keep dieting and lifting, and you will be fine.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
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    I agree with the weight training, pushups are also good.
  • kickivale
    kickivale Posts: 260 Member
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    all of the above, cosign.

    Also, I've posted this before, but in the last few months before my wedding (I was already slim so I was able to sort of just tone up) I found that daily push-ups and planks did the job for my arms. Just kept increasing the amount of time I did them for as it got easier. It made a big difference within about a month and a half.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,618 Member
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    Just losing fat alone will change the appearance. So that means CONSISTENT calorie deficit and use weight training to help "harden" the muscle underneath.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    I've been doing Stronglifts since the end of November and my arms are where I'm noticing it most. Perhaps it's genetics, but I strongly urge you to take up lifting. It does a body good.

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