Flappy Arm Syndrome

I'm currently trying to walk for an hour a day three days a week. Id like to try yoga or zumba in between unless I should be doing some weight training instead? Id love to get some advice on good core building excercises and on how to tone up my ridiculously embarasssing flappy arms in the tricep area. Have you ever seen the saggy belly of a cat that has had too many litters of kittens? Yeah that what the underside of my arms look like just with less fur. Any help is appreciated.

Replies

  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    If it's fat… you can't really spot reduce. But it will gradually reduce as you lose weight. However, if you're not really fat, just flabby, then weight training may definitely help with that. If it's loose skin from a large amount of weight loss… eesh… that's even trickier. Depending on how old you are, your skin may eventually bounce back… but then again, it may not (again, depending on your age)
  • ammossrn
    ammossrn Posts: 43
    Have you heard of PiYo? It's the best moves from yoga and Pilates, with the pace sped up a bit. It's a brand new program, not even available to the general public yet. I've been to some sneak peak classes and I'm sore in places that are hard to target! I can send ya a video link if you'd like more info. I just ordered my copy, I'm pumped! :smile:
  • rachelhaueter
    rachelhaueter Posts: 41 Member
    Oooh yes, please pm me a link. I was just looking at a Yoga video today, I'd love to see this. =)
  • chunkilios
    chunkilios Posts: 7 Member
    Try Caroline Pearce workouts. She is amazing. They are very short but super effective workouts that last 10 - 15 minutes depending on if you need to pause to catch your breath. Super core building. I am super unfit and havn't finished one, in one go yet but i'm getting there!. She is fantastic and what helps me is that they are so short and yet so effective. I'm a total fan. See her workouts on on Fab TV (if your in the UK) or on You Tube for free.
  • liftnlove_
    liftnlove_ Posts: 112 Member
    1. Strengthen your muscles by some form of weight lifting/resistance training, the heavier the better.

    2. Reduce body fat all over through a calorie deficit.

    --You cannot turn fat into muscle, you cannot spot reduce. Do it the right way and you CAN have a firm, fit body though :)
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    This one.
  • Junebuggyzy
    Junebuggyzy Posts: 345 Member
    The Queen's wave :( I am doing as many tricep exercises as I can. I don't know if they are helping, but at least I feel the muscles working. I have been using FitnessBlender videos (on YouTube) called Tank Top Arms. There is a part one and a part two. And since I have a short attention span they are perfect for me. Ten minutes each, and I can do both of them together as long as I know I don't have to, if that makes sense at all!
  • Tanya949
    Tanya949 Posts: 604 Member
    I've been doing strength training for months now, and have lost 45 lbs. My triceps and biceps feel much more defined (I LOVE my tris!), but I also have a LOT of flab under my arms still. :grumble: Overall, my arms look smaller, but there is still a lot of jiggle. I'm becoming a bit impatient, and starting to think there will always be flab there.
  • ammossrn
    ammossrn Posts: 43
    sure thing!
  • Lesleycali
    Lesleycali Posts: 236 Member
    I've had luck with a combination of cardio (running) and doing the 30 day shred with hand weights, and eating at a calorie deficit. The cardio helps with overall fat loss and the 30 DS does a lot of upper body repetitions which has really toned my arms. I was using 3 lbs but am now going to 5 lbs as my arms have gotten stronger.

    GL to you!
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    I never could get away with sleeveless. At least not since puberty. I guess that should make me feel resigned. Instead it just makes me bitter. Before my upper arms were fat, they were burly.

    On the plus side, there was only one boy in the seventh grade I couldn't beat arm wrestling.

    Now I just call them my cougar flag. Any observant college freshman will realize I'm not a peer, in spite of my relatively wrinkle-free face. And this is a good thing. I can't afford to pay off my own student loans, much less someone else's!
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    OP made me laugh with her post. I'm laughing with you, OP! I have the same problem.
    Here's my 2 cents:
    Having lost a lot of body fat, my arms are pretty floppy now; losing body fat only made it worse -- not that you shouldn't do that. It's just the reality is that without the fat in my arms (or some muscle), they are just loose skin now. I've improved them somewhat by building up some muscle there and that has helped. I'm not interested in pumping up my arms with lots of muscle, though, so I use lots of reps with lighter weights to tone. Time -- and not gaining the weight back -- has allowed the skin to shrink up a bit, too. I'm old now, so it isn't going to look like young arms, but maybe in another year they will have tightened up a bit more. Maybe by then I might decide to have the excess skin surgically removed. In the meantime, I'm trying to be less self-conscious about them.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    You will make a big change as your overall bf% reduces, it's amazing! Also try a lymphatic massage ( massage that focuses on the circulation of lymph); it's amazing what that can do to change the look of those areas. Sometimes those tissues are kinda plugged up.
  • Junebuggyzy
    Junebuggyzy Posts: 345 Member
    Since I have lost all this weight, I notice my skin looks wrinkly on my legs and my arms. It's not that much weight, but I guess it is a lot for me. I am not very tall. I lost 36 pounds in 5 months, bringing me to 126.

    I am a good size, but the crinkly stuff needs to go away! I can't lift that heavy yet. I have back issues. I am staying at low weights until I am sure I can lift them without hurting my back.

    Keep 'em coming! Great ideas so far.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    The flappy arms are really annoying! I've lost 1.6cm on my lower arms, but a mere 0.30cm on my upper arms. Though I must say I'm seeing the same nonloss/loss on my thighs/lower legs as well. Genetics I guess :(