Arm flab exercises (muscles, lose fat, gym, treadmill)

[rachelteehee]

The wedding is in October. I'm running almost everyday and getting into a good routine.

Does anyone have recommendations on flab-blasting (that's fun to say!) exercises for my arms?!?!?

I've been doing tricep exercises, especially, since that's where the flab is....maybe someone knows a good secret

It seems, though, that on women, this is almost the LAST area that we lose weight in.

[Anu2]

Arm exercises are my favorite these days. Here are my favorites:

Tricep pull down (metal upside down V on pulley machine)
Bicep curls
21s
Bench press
Dips
Pull ups (arms facing towards you)
lateral shoulder raise
forward shoulder raise
Pullovers

The important thing is don't skimp on the weight. None of these exercises should be easy. Do enough weight that you're struggling to do the last few (12-15 reps). A lot of women think this will bulk them up but it doesn't--you will just get very defined, toned muscles. Do 2-3 sets of each at least twice a week.

[rachelteehee]

Originally Posted by Anu2

Arm exercises are my favorite these days. Here are my favorites:

Tricep pull down (metal upside down V on pulley machine)
Bicep curls
21s
Bench press
Dips
Pull ups (arms facing towards you)
lateral shoulder raise
forward shoulder raise
Pullovers

The important thing is don't skimp on the weight. None of these exercises should be easy. Do enough weight that you're struggling to do the last few (12-15 reps). A lot of women think this will bulk them up but it doesn't--you will just get very defined, toned muscles. Do 2-3 sets of each at least twice a week.

Sounds fun!! Thanks!!

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by rachelteehee

The wedding is in October. I'm running almost everyday and getting into a good routine.

Does anyone have recommendations on flab-blasting (that's fun to say!) exercises for my arms?!?!?

I've been doing tricep exercises, especially, since that's where the flab is....maybe someone knows a good secret

It seems, though, that on women, this is almost the LAST area that we lose weight in.

To lose flab you have to diet it off (unless you're talking about just loose skin). How is your diet? Running is a rather poor way to lose fat- fat cardio bunnies are a dime a dozen.

[TwiloMike]

Some good exercises suggested below, some are fluff. I think that our bride-to-be will get far more bang for her buck and time spent if she does compound movements as they will help her burn far more calories and will do her entire body a world more good than arm-specific exercises.

Originally Posted by Anu2

Arm exercises are my favorite these days. Here are my favorites:

Tricep pull down (metal upside down V on pulley machine)

Replace with assisted pullups or real pullups (palms facing away). Also, incorporate t-bar rows into your workouts so you're doing both vertical pulling (pullups) and horizontal pulling (rows). Do 4 sets of each of these with enough weight that you can do 10-12 reps per set and you will see great results.

Bicep curls
21s

Eliminate: both are unnecessary due to heavy back work.

Bench press
Dips

Fantastic chest/tricep movements, both of them! Same protocol as with pullups in terms of reps and sets.

Pull ups (arms facing towards you)

These are easier and they give less bang for the buck... I'd skip.

lateral shoulder raise
forward shoulder raise

Arnold press trumps them both as it works the delts in a variety of ways in one movement.

Pullovers

Overkill, imo.

What would be great to add to this would be leg work, as that is HUGE for calorie burning: lunges, squats, deadlifts, hyperextensions, etc.

The important thing is don't skimp on the weight. None of these exercises should be easy. Do enough weight that you're struggling to do the last few (12-15 reps). A lot of women think this will bulk them up but it doesn't--you will just get very defined, toned muscles. Do 2-3 sets of each at least twice a week.

I think 15 reps in a set is too light in terms of weight. I'd also increase sets to 3-4.

[Anu2]

Originally Posted by TwiloMike

Some good exercises suggested below, some are fluff. I think that our bride-to-be will get far more bang for her buck and time spent if she does compound movements as they will help her burn far more calories and will do her entire body a world more good than arm-specific exercises.


Replace with assisted pullups or real pullups (palms facing away). Also, incorporate t-bar rows into your workouts so you're doing both vertical pulling (pullups) and horizontal pulling (rows). Do 4 sets of each of these with enough weight that you can do 10-12 reps per set and you will see great results.


Eliminate: both are unnecessary due to heavy back work.


Fantastic chest/tricep movements, both of them! Same protocol as with pullups in terms of reps and sets.


These are easier and they give less bang for the buck... I'd skip.


Arnold press trumps them both as it works the delts in a variety of ways in one movement.


Overkill, imo.

What would be great to add to this would be leg work, as that is HUGE for calorie burning: lunges, squats, deadlifts, hyperextensions, etc.

I think 15 reps in a set is too light in terms of weight. I'd also increase sets to 3-4.

I'm going to have to disagree that any of these exercises are fluff. And it looks like you took out all the bicep exercises. It's really important to balance triceps and biceps for a variety of reasons but especially for Rachel to get the defined arms look for her dress. I do agree that weight training for all body parts is best (chest, back, legs, etc. included) but she asked specifically about arms so that's the advice I gave. I also tried to give specific advice to her as a woman and as someone who seems to be new to weightlifting. Real pullups (palms facing away) are extremely difficult for a woman to start out with. Also for someone who isn't used to weightlifting, 3-4 sets of each with 10-12 reps is a tough way to start. Regardless, I've been following the regime that I mentioned and my arms look great (if I do say so myself). I've also done the regime you've mentioned and that also worked. Either way works but I think that what I mentioned is best for a woman just starting out and wanting to get lean and toned muscle.

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by Anu2

I'm going to have to disagree that any of these exercises are fluff. And it looks like you took out all the bicep exercises.

I took out isolation movements and suggested the OP concentrate on compound movements which will work her biceps in a huge way anyway. Heavy back work is no joke! Pullups and rows utilize biceps in a very big way. Doing bicep work on top of that is very easily overkill and over training.

It's really important to balance triceps and biceps for a variety of reasons but especially for Rachel to get the defined arms look for her dress.

I completely agree that the OP has to be aware of tricep and bicep balance. The best thing Rachel can do for her arms looking "toned", imo, is diet down the fat that's hanging off her arms and engage in heavy back and chest work which will utilize her biceps and triceps, respectively. This will accomplish building a little bit of muscle and will expose it with the lesser fat coverage.

I do agree that weight training for all body parts is best (chest, back, legs, etc. included) but she asked specifically about arms so that's the advice I gave.

I understand that and you gave some great advice. I came in to offer slightly different advice because I see far too many people focus on direct arm training when direct arm training is neither their issue nor the most efficient way to get where they want to go.

I also tried to give specific advice to her as a woman and as someone who seems to be new to weightlifting. Real pullups (palms facing away) are extremely difficult for a woman to start out with.

You sure know quite a bit of good stuff for a weightlifting n00bie (regardless of gender) and that's great! I realize that full pullups are difficult but they are gold. I suggested assisted pullups because they allow adjustment of leverage. Also, one of my favorite fitness friends, MariAnne (see her blog here Got Built? ) loves to suggest self-assisted pullups for women who are starting out: using the Smith machine with the bar set low enough that if you need to help yourself up a bit with your feet, you can. It's goal-oriented "cheating" and it works wonders because there is plenty of confidence and the assistance "cheating" can be done only as necessary.

Also for someone who isn't used to weightlifting, 3-4 sets of each with 10-12 reps is a tough way to start.

Lighter weights make it all OK.

Regardless, I've been following the regime that I mentioned and my arms look great (if I do say so myself). I've also done the regime you've mentioned and that also worked. Either way works but I think that what I mentioned is best for a woman just starting out and wanting to get lean and toned muscle.

Congrats for achieving great arms! What I mentioned will work toward great arms as well as great everything else. Someone who is new really needs to start with compound movements- isolation work is most useful for pros. I default to MariAnne for women's training as she is the perfect example: a self-described fatty that dieted and cardioed her way to more fatness until she was 39... and then she figured it out with weights and proper eating habits and (at her not so lean) looks like this:

More "before" and "after" pictures, as well as her vast experience and research into fitness can be found on her blog: Got Built? » It takes a while…

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by rachelteehee

The wedding is in October. I'm running almost everyday and getting into a good routine.

Does anyone have recommendations on flab-blasting (that's fun to say!) exercises for my arms?!?!?

I've been doing tricep exercises, especially, since that's where the flab is....maybe someone knows a good secret

It seems, though, that on women, this is almost the LAST area that we lose weight in.

There is no such thing as spot reduction! Seriously. Do just a little research and you'll learn that physical fact for yourself if you don't believe me.

If you want to quickly reduce the amount of body fat you have on your body you need to #1 weight lift with the intention of gaining muscle, and #2 try to raise your metabolic rate by pushing your heart aerobically (don't just get on the treadmill or elliptical machine and idle away for 30 min - actually push yourself until you feel like you cannot take any more - speed up and slow down, make it hard on your heart ---within reason of course, you know your own body---). Lastly, #3 you need to cut your intake of a) bad carbs, b) sugar, and c) high fructose corn syrup. If you do all those things, you'll see that arm flab disappear in as little as 1 month of discipline.

Just going back to #1 - I wouldn't stop working your triceps, but I certainly would focus on compound-movements in the gym since a compound movement will work more muscles at one time. Compound movements such as squats, bench presses, lat pulls, etc... there's many you can incorporate into your regimen (just do a quick search online to learn what they are). You need to stimulate as much muscle development as possible to get rid of your body fat... doing curls or triceps presses quite simply won't get what you want done fast enough by themselves.

[littlesmurfette]

hi, i personally think that if you're new at this you'll probably be confused by all of that, ive been going to the gym a long time and what id agree with is you cant spot reduce and you should build it into your routine by doing weights then cv, try the rowing machine which will do wonders for your arms, triceps included, back, tummy and legs and make you much more svelte. also if you are a gym member try circuits and body pump classes much more enjoyable and pushes you harder!

[SmerkyGrl]

I just swim. Lots of freestyle and breaststrokes + 4 weeks = skinny arms.