Arms Problems, Advice would be great.

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ericarenee2005
ericarenee2005 Posts: 91
in Health and Weight Loss
Soooo the other day I was trying on my sun dresses to see what I had going on for summer. I looked good..like my torso and hips and everything. the dresses looked great and I was excited, but...there was one huge problem...my arms are flabby and fat. What kind of exercises or diet tips does anyone suggest when it comes to arms? I'm happy with my weight loss, but they are really holding me back from enjoying being able to fit properly into smaller clothes. Another issue is, even when I've been stronger and fitter my arms are always the weakest part of my body so I've had a hard time doing heavy weights for them. Ab and leg exercises seem to be much easier for me. If anyone started out having really weak or flabby arms I would like to hear what they did to improve this and how long it took. If there are any programs, or diet and exercise twerks I'd like to know.

-Thanks for any advice.

Replies

  • aliciadalicia
    aliciadalicia Posts: 73 Member
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    I have the same exact dilemma !!!

    Except I have had stronger/fitter arms before from swimming and doing arm exercises (that I thought did nothing but now I know they did since my arms got weaker and bigger without them!)

    I have a bad cold now but I still got some beginner exercises I found on LivestrongWoman Youtube channel. It'd be a great to have a partner in arm flab kicking!!!

    P.S. As for not being able to use heavier weights, Just use lighter or no weights at all until your strength increases. I used to hate being strong in the arms (felt masculine I guess) but since dislocating my shoulder I miss it so much!!! Grass is not always greener!
  • ericarenee2005
    ericarenee2005 Posts: 91
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    I have the same exact dilemma !!!

    Except I have had stronger/fitter arms before from swimming and doing arm exercises (that I thought did nothing but now I know they did since my arms got weaker and bigger without them!)

    I have a bad cold now but I still got some beginner exercises I found on LivestrongWoman Youtube channel. It'd be a great to have a partner in arm flab kicking!!!

    Sounds good I'll add you, maybe we can both overcome this problem. It's hard to not have decent arms with tank top season and everything :/
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,594 Member
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    Many women tend to carry fat on their arms. Unfortunately this is a genetic issue and can't be addressed by spot reduction of exercise. You can just keep trying to lower your body fat and they will start to reduce too.
    For strengthening, just achieving body weight push ups alone for a female (on the toes and not the knees) is a good way to increase strength.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Sadly, we can't spot reduce. Fat comes off where it wants to come off. Best way to lose fat and retain lean muscle is with a small calorie deficit.

    If your upper body is weak, best way to strengthen it is to start with resistance training and work your way up. start with body weight exercise if necessary - push ups, tricep dips, etc. Or start with small weights, and increase the load over time. There are some great programs - 100 Pushups (app and website), Stronglifts 5x5 or You Are Your Own Gym - google them. For pushups, you can start by doing them on your knees - or if that's too much, do them with your hands on a coffee table or step, or even on the wall if needed, and work your way to the floor - stick with it and you'll be doing full pushups before you know it.
  • kittentoast
    kittentoast Posts: 7
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    I relate! And my arms have gotten way weaker over the years. Alarming to discover this when I tried to do a back-bend the other day and could barely hold myself up! I used to be great at those!

    I've been doing easy pushups, like from the knees, to start srengthening my upper arms. Over a few days you'll start to be able to do more reps. You can also do them standing upright, with your palms against a wall.

    I don't use weights much, but there's an arm excercise I got from Denise Austin that you can do with 3- or 5-pound hand weights. Take a chair and bend toward it from the waist, supporting yourself with one hand on the arm of the chair. With a weight in your other hand, curl it under and toward you like a discus thrower, then slowly raise and extend your arm. Pull back under again, slowly, and repeat. This is great for the backs of the arms.
  • JaysWays
    JaysWays Posts: 77 Member
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    Hey Ladies!
    Any extra fat you may have. You need to keep eating good and making clean healthy choices. Its all about what you eat. To make your arms stronger and to help tone them while your losing weight I would try these excerises.

    Benching
    Arnolds
    push ups
    curls
    all with dumbbells except the push ups of course, also I love my planks! Plank hold will make everything much stronger. Remember diet is key. If you do not know how to do these exercises make sure its light weight or even know weight just to get the movement down. Look on youtube how to do each exercise.;-Good luck to you!
  • aliciadalicia
    aliciadalicia Posts: 73 Member
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    I love Denise Austin! She helped me get into shape the first time of my life!

    Everyone says we can't spot train and I know... but at the same time, runners tend to have amazing legs and weak upper body strength...or at least the runners I know. I started running over a year ago and my lower half looks fantastic!!! but everything above looks flubbier/softer! I used to have a great back and better arm definition....but I think switching from sports where I used my arms (at home exercise, outdoor work, swimming) and to ones where I am always on my feet (running, moved to a city where I walk/stand in public transport).

    I need to focus on strengthening all of my body and not doing so has definitely shown! (Obviously diet factors in but if I can't do as many pushups as I used to I have issues!)
  • ericarenee2005
    ericarenee2005 Posts: 91
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    I have gotten some really excellent advice thank you everyone. I had no idea you couldn't spot train, so I suppose I'll just have to keep losing the weight and deal with it if they are the last to go and in the mean time try my hardest to make them at least stronger. I suppose it's more important that they are strong than small anyway but smaller would sure be nice :/ Lol It's just so unproportional.
  • ericarenee2005
    ericarenee2005 Posts: 91
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    Oh I should also mention I will definitely try some of the exercises suggested. ;)
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Many women tend to carry fat on their arms. Unfortunately this is a genetic issue and can't be addressed by spot reduction of exercise. You can just keep trying to lower your body fat and they will start to reduce too.
    For strengthening, just achieving body weight push ups alone for a female (on the toes and not the knees) is a good way to increase strength.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Agreed.

    Also an "easy" way is pushups leaning on a counter or desk. I do that at work a few days a week. Quick, easy, can be done in a quick minute.
  • kittentoast
    kittentoast Posts: 7
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    Re: spot training - spot training actually is possible, if you're talking about toning. I mean, your arm muscles will look leaner and more toned if you do the excercises people have mentioned.

    What isn't possible is spot reducing, or weight loss in a given area. You may not lose actual poundage in a specific area that you're working on, but it will be better toned and it'll look better.

    Or that's how I understood it!
  • Loralrose
    Loralrose Posts: 203
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    You can "spot train" to make muscles in an area bigger/stronger, but you will not get rid of the fat that's covering the muscle. On the other hand it will give you many strength benefits and may even look better.

    I'm just out of luck in the arms department. Mine are very large for a woman. Fat or not, doesn't matter... they're just really big. So I have a hard time finding shirts that fit in the body and still have big enough sleeves.

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