By healthiergang writer , majoring in Medicine and Surgery.
Lose Weight Arms
With the arrival of summer, how many of you have looked in the mirror and thought “how bad those are chicken wings"?
That gravity dangling fat is hardly a pretty sight, and while men have the opposite problem, most women are not satisfied with their arms… Summer, short sleeves… we want our arms slim and toned!
Unfortunately this is one of the most critical areas for women; characterized by poor muscle tone and sagging skin, it causes embarrassment.
In normal daily activities, the muscles of the arms are used much less than those of the legs, so it is easier for them to appear relaxed: this is especially true for the triceps.
First of all, as always, diet dominates: localized weight loss exists, but up to a certain point, if we correctly combine healthy nutrition and physical exercise.
Don't even think for a moment of bet everything on a crazy diet to try to lose as much fat as possible, at the risk of finding yourself more flabby than before.
So what? Our ace in the hole are toning exercises! The firmer and more muscular your arms are, the slimmer they will appear!
Localized Weight Loss
But let's go back to localized weight loss for a moment.
In a study by Neri, Paoli, Velussi published in the “European Journal Physiology”, 2 groups of subjects were trained exclusively with cardiovascular activity (control group), while the other with cardio fit training (study group). This last group in particular performed, in the anaerobic stations, exclusively exercises for the abdomen and the triceps.
The aim of the study was to highlight how it was possible to obtain a physiological weight loss even using methods that are not exclusively aerobic.
The subsequent skinfold survey showed that the two groups had lost weight similarly, but with one surprise: the study group had the triceps and abdominal folds halved compared to the control group.
What does this mean? Muscles exerted in the anaerobic station of cardio fit training were twice as thin as in the control group!
The data of this study indicate that through cardio fit training it is possible to induce localized weight loss!
To recap:
- aerobic activity promotes generalized weight loss,
- if we combine it with toning exercises, it is possible to promote fat loss in specific areas.
Then, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO LOSE ONLY IN A BODY AREA.
As mentioned before, first of all, follow a slightly low-calorie diet, rich in healthy and nutritious foods; avoid frying and saturated fats, preferring extra virgin olive oil and dried fruit… Do not skip meals and do not eliminate carbohydrates, rather prefer whole grains, much richer in fiber.
Insured the right amount of fresh and seasonal fruit and vegetables, never neglect to drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day to avoid water retention, one of the factors favoring the appearance of cellulite which, as many know, can also accumulate in the arms.
Exercises To Lose Weight The Arms
The focus of the matter, however, is always physical activity! To get leaner arms there are two goals to pursue:
- build muscle,
- lose the adipose layer.
It would be great to join the gym as well follow a complete fitness program, but if that's not possible, you can also practice at home, albeit with some variations, simple exercises but of sure impact (which obviously, even more so, can also be reproduced in the gym with more adequate equipment).
A good workout could be done 3 times a week, better if every other day, with exercises aimed at stimulating biceps, triceps and shoulders. Yes, these too deserve special attention! Although they are generally stronger than the arm muscles, the posterior ones generally work less than the anterior ones, causing a hunched and anterior "closing" posture.
But what could be a "typical workout" that is fast, suitable for everyone and effective?
Like any self-respecting workout, it must start with a bit of warm-up… and here is the green light to personal preferences, although I would advise everyone to focus on a few minutes of dynamic stretching instead of walking or cycling.
But let's move on to the exercises now! Council, for each, to perform 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
# 1 Military press with barbell
Sit on a bench and bring the barbell to chest height with your palms facing forward. Raise the bar until your arms are fully extended, then slowly descend to shoulder height. While performing, be careful not to arch your back and check your weight well
#2 Push ups
Hands resting on the ground with a width slightly greater than that of the shoulders, forefoot also resting on the ground, with lower limbs slightly apart; trunk, nape and pelvis on the same line, eyes turned towards the floor in the center of the hands. Begin bending your arms, lowering your body towards the floor, remember to keep your back flat, until your chest almost touches the floor.
Climb up to return to the starting position.
# 3 Barbell bench press
Place a barbell on the support rack of a bench. Lie down, with your feet on the ground, and grab with a grip close to the center of the bar, with about 15 inches of distance between your index fingers. Straighten your arms and bring the bar forward over your chest and shoulders and keeping your elbows close to your torso, slowly bend your arms and lower the bar until it touches the center of your chest. Then return it to its original position
# 4 French press with dumbbell
Grab a dumbbell with both hands, with your thumbs wrapped around the bar and palms facing up, and lift it over your head, fully extending both arms. Keeping your triceps close to your head with your elbows still, begin lowering the dumbbell towards the floor, then contract your triceps and slowly raise the dumbbell back to the starting position.
# 5 Triceps to cables with ropes
While standing, bend your upper torso slightly forward; grasp the sides of the string with your palms facing each other. Pull the string down to bring both sides up to your thighs, then slowly raise the string back to the starting position.
# 6 Hammer curl alternating with dumbbells
In a standing position, grasp a dumbbell in each hand, aligning the arms with the torso with the palms facing inward. Keeping the upper arms close to the torso, lift the dumbbell forward until it reaches shoulder height; then relax the muscle to return to the starting position.
# 7 Alternating dumbbell curls
Grasping the two dumbbells, sit on a bench inclined at 45 ° and start by bringing a dumbbell towards the shoulder keeping the elbow still and close to the torso and always perpendicular to the ground. Rotate your palm up as you lift the dumbbell; once you reach shoulder height, slowly bring the dumbbell back to the starting position by reversing the rotation of the wrist.
Obviously there are many other exercises that can be useful for this purpose, but these are certainly some of the basic ones to get toned and strong arms.
Good workout!
