Getting Arms in Shape

I have a DVD called "Jiggle Free Arms", which has aerobics and arm exercises. Here are some of them:
Arms straight out to the sides, make small circles and large circles, forward and back, at least 20 of each (ie: 20 small circles forward, 20 sm circ back, etc)
Use weights and gradually increase for strengthening- 3 lb weights are good for just losing fat.
Lift them straight up from the shoulder- 20 reps. Arms straight down at sides, lift them up and out to shoulder level- rep 20.
Also, holding weights, bend from elbow up to shoulder- 20 reps.
Holding arms straight over head, bend elbow so that hand goes down and back behind head, stretching as much as possible, use weights also.
They also do push ups on this video.
Hope this helps.

J., it's not super easy. Main reason is: you can't spot-reduce. You can't see muscles underneath fat very well, and the way to get rid of fat is to decrease calorie intake and increase activity to increase calorie expenditure. It's ough because we can't really choose the part of our bod where fat comes off when we lose weight--mostly genetically determined. Once the fat on your arms is decreased, you can do dips and extensions to work the triceps. Good luck!

You can't spot reduce. Our bodies don't work that way. But if you exercise the arm muscles then you can tone that area. But to lose fat you have to do cardio. I suggest walking briskly or doing an elliptical if you have one or have a gym.

M.

Only cardio burns fat, not specific area-targeted exercises. So, if you want to get rid of fat, do something cardio. Then, to tone your tricepts (the area that is flabby) hold 3-5 pounds in both hands over your head and lower and raise it behind your head. Start with 10 times, 3 reps and work up to 2-30 3 times with 10 pounds.

I use to work with a girl who helped me with the very same issue. I had a really cute oriental style dress that was snug in the sleeves. I never felt comfortable because of it. The rest of the dress fit really well. She was a body builder adn told me to take a soup can and hold it above my head and bring the hand and arme down so the can went behind my head. Do 10 to 15 reps whatever I felt comfortable doing. I did this for only a few weeks and it was like the sleeves got very wide. It worked great. Still was on the flabby side but I didn't mind since I lost about 80 pounds. Darn diabetic educator has me eating more so now I have gained about 40 pounds back. Pooh!!!!

Basic weight excercises are good to start--bicep curls and tricep kickbacks. Youtube might have free videos as examples. Tony Horton's 10-minute trainer (beachbody or eBay) would be a good starting point as well. And then, there are old-fashioned pushups and dips. All these will help.

Hey J.,

I am A., single mother of three. Go to Prevention.com. This is a womans magazine and they will tell you any and every way to do whatever you want to with your body. I have it where they send me messages to my email. If you will give me your email I will send you some of the ones I have or you can just look it up yourself. These arm tricks really work I have been doing them, and I can tell a difference in just two weeks. Be prepared to be sore if you really work them. I think that the email said something like getting your arms ready for summer.

I hope this helps.

A.

People have already mentioned cardio and weight training. I work with a personal training and if you want to target a specific area, you really need weight training on that muscle group to tone it up. Yes, the cardio will burn the fat, but the muscles can still sag without getting a good workout. The target exercises that have been mentioned will work....tricep pulls, kickbacks, etc. Also, if you can get a bar posted on a doorway and do pull ups...those are a great workout for the whole upper body. I just started doing pullups with my trainer and they REALLY work your triceps!

Here's what I do: I work my exercises slower and you don't have to do as many reps. Find a step stool and get your head above the bar. Then slowly lower your body with your legs bent underneath you. When your arms are straight, stand up and walk back up the stool and begin again. This is actually just doing the lowering, but it works. Also, don't begin to lower yourself until you stop swinging. You don't want to swing yourself down because it will take the work away from your arms.

If you can't do this, I would consider investing in some free weights (just a couple of sizes) and doing anything that will work the arms...especially the back part. I do like doing mine exercises slower and then you work harder, thus faster results.

Hope this helps!! Good luck!

A lot of the exercises for the arm can be done with a light weight ball. Lots of repetition will allow you to tone up that area. But you have to remember that you must rotate arm exercises because muscle memory will prevent the same exercises from assisting you.

e.g. stand up with your legs shoulder width apart. take a light manageble weight and hold it straignt up in the air. bring weight slowly down like you are making the "choo choo" sign from a train. your arm should look like an "L" shape and the weight should be at eye level. As you do three sets of 12, 24 or a number of your choice, you will feel those arm muscles being worked.

The next day, you should do another exercise and rotate them to continue seeing improvement.

Hi,
I recently went to this website that I got off of Yahoo Shine and seems to be working for me. The web site is http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/get-michelle-obama-....
I have noticed improvment in my fat and jiggly arms in 2 weeks but I did this easy exercise 3 times a day instead of just 5 minutes each day. Hope this helps you !!!

When you lose weight, you will lose weight all over. If you are left with flab, I would try lifting weights (start with 3 pounds or a can of soup). Hold one in each arm, bend down with your arms hanging down infront of you then lift them to up to your sides like a butterfly. Also try this: lift one arm behind your head and then lift it up and down in that position (with the weights).

A few upper body exercises that will work your triceps include - push ups, tricep dips, and tricep extensions. It's best to work the whole arm, so include bicep curls, deltoid lifts, and a move that looks like you're pulling weeds. It's always good to include cardiovascular and if you want to focus on your arms, I recommend jumping jacks, jumping rope, or rowing. A combination and a variety of all will produce the best results. Don't do them everyday, your muscles need time off to rebuild. I would suggest a Mon. Wed. Fri. or Tues. Thurs. Sat. plan.

I have a degree in physical education and I am a personal trainer specializing in women's fitness. Good luck, stay with it, and don't expect immediate results.

J.,
I love yoga. It builds strength and endurance and all over toning. Triceps are not so easy for women to tone, but with the right exercises you can do it. I am a massage therapist, so I get a great upper body workout. If you need total body tone and fat burn, staying in your cardio range and not getting to anaerobic will help. Drink water and if you need so more advice, contact me. I have some great products that contain fiber and help with fat metabolism.

The only thing to get rid of the 'fat' is proper nutrition and cardio exercise that burns fat.

To firm up the muscles underneath on the arms you can do the following exercises:

BICEPS
bicep curls
concentration curls
preacher curls
hammer curls

TRICEPS
tricep extension
tricep pressdown
tricep kickbacks
chair or step dips

SHOULDERS
front raise
lateral raise
shoulder press

Push-ups are also a great exercise.

You can try all you want but there IS NO SUCH THING AS SPOT REDUCTION. Your body will take/gain weight in the order and in places it was designed to, REGARDLESS of your attempts. You CAN tone, but don't waste your time on spot reduction.

If you gain weight in your face last, it will be the first to come off, no matter HOW much you work your butt or thighs for it to come off there instead.

If you need weight loss, you need to be doing LARGE MUSCLE EXERCISES........legs, back, chest & abs. In addition, the MORE FULL BODY EXERCISES you do, the more muscle recruitment, the more calorie burn.

By full body exercise, I mean, things like, doing a squat against the wall w/ a ball and doing an overhead press at the same time. Muscles used.....legs, abs, back and arms. There are TONS of these! I do more of these than anything when I train clients. You'll be MUCH happier w/ your results if you have clear expectations.

If you have a chair or even the counter in your kitchen. Put your back to it and your palms on it. Place your feet about 2 feet away and then lower your body and raise and continue. I'm no expert. So I don't now how many reps, but I'd say what you are comfortable with.