Most of us have been there. You just found that adorable sleeveless top at Nordstrom’s, perfect size and on sale! But then you get into that dressing room only to find that this gorgeous top happens to emphasize your flabby flappers a little too well. While it isn’t quite an epidemic, most of us could do without the arm fat. Today we’ll be examining many ways in how to lose arm fat, restore your confidence, and get you into that wardrobe you were meant to wear!
General Concepts Of How To Lose Arm Fat
For the most part, weight loss and fat burning is a simple concept: calories in vs. calories out. Therefore replacing those whale flippers with toned, lean muscle is mostly a matter of a disciplined diet AND a routine exercises.
Arm fat build up is very common, and occurs in both men and women. The two major muscles in the upper arm are your triceps and biceps.
The good news? There are sooo many exercises we can do to specifically target these muscles to build strength, tone, and burn fat.
The not so good news? You guessed it! It takes work. At the end of the day though, losing arm fat is one of the easiest fixes out there. If I’ve got your attention read on into these surefire ways to lose excess arm fat fast…
Losing Arm Fat Through Dieting
When I say dieting I’m not talking about one of those celebrity diets or detoxes (the south beach diet, the master cleanse etc.) or any of that jazz. We’re simply talking about raising the quality of the food you eat and lowering the quantity. Eating wholesome, nutritious, and organic foods isn’t a fad, folks.
Not only are these foods good for you but make you feel better. Read some nutritional facts on your next visit to the grocery store. You don’t have to be a crazy calorie counter, just use your judgment and be aware of what you’re putting into your body. Try to compose a daily balance between carbs, fats, proteins and vitamins.
Speaking of vitamins, there are plenty of great natural supplements out there you can take to help burn fat and maintain good levels of required nutrients. A lot of us don’t get enough alkaline green foods into our bodies, and supplements are a great way to neutralize our acidic stomachs and gain some much needed green nutrients.
Juicing is a great way to get all the necessary nutrients for your body without adding many calories. You can invest in a solid juicer nowadays for around ninety bucks. Personally, I have been juicing for a little over two years now, and feel much more energized and focused than I ever have before. Also, there are a ton a great (and great tasting) juice recipes out there too!
Hydration is key! Most of our arm mass is made up of water, and the rest is our muscle. One of the secrets in how to lose arm fat fast is increased hydration. A healthy level of water consumption is eight to twelve glasses of water every day. Water not only helps sooth your hunger pangs, but it also helps flush out those unwanted toxins out of your body. Drown the flab!
Strong Is The New Skinny!
You can diet like an Ethiopian fruit farmer, but until you build muscle with some good old fashioned physical activity that arm fat isn’t going anywhere. But fear not! There are so many activities you can do to set those chicken wings on fire. Let’s start with some more general ways to burn fat before we get directly target those arm muscles.
Walking
Really? Walking is going to help me lose arm fat? In a word, yes! We’re talking about general exercise folks. If you aren’t exactly in the habit of an “active lifestyle”, walking is a great place to start. Walking will still burn plenty of fat and get that cute tush into shape. Walk the dog for a while, or take a stroll with a friend or significant other to get some great cardiovascular activity.
Dancing
Would you believe me if I told you that getting your groove on for 30 minutes would directly shred arm fat? When you’re dancing you move your arms and muscles in all sorts of ways without even thinking about it. So have some fun with it and dance away! I mean come on, who doesn’t love the Macarena?
Sex
Both physical and pleasurable, having sex is a great way to increase your heart rate and even break a sweat. What muscles do you think are holding you up in all those positions? That’s right. Your arms.
Jumping Jacks
Remember your 5th grade gym class? Think that. Jumping jacks will boost your heart rate and not only help burn arm fat, but build muscle tone over your entire body. While it seems like a childish activity, it gets you moving and really works!
Arm Exercises
Now that we’ve gone through some basic cardio exercises to get the blood flowing and the heart rate up. It’s time to take a look at some simple body-weight arm exercises that will increase strength and muscle tone in those arms!
Triceps Pushups
Triceps pushups are pushups with a narrower grip. The narrow grip specifically targets your arm muscles and helps build strength. To begin, start in a standard pushup position on your toes with your hands directly below the inside edges of your shoulders. Flex your core muscles to help keep your back straight while doing this exercise.
Slowly begin to lower down by bending your elbows, keeping them tucked into your side the entire time throughout this exercise. Pause at the bottom of your push up with your nose only a three to four inches above the floor. Then in a controlled motion, explode back up to your starting position. Start with five, maybe ten pushups. Your ultimate goal is twenty five consecutive pushups.
Triceps Dips
Another great exercise for your triceps are tricep dips. Another body-weight exercise triceps dips will help eliminate flab from the back of the arm, and decrease the look of excess skin. Using a stable chair, place your palms on the chair (facing away) and bend your knees so your entire body-weight is supported by your arms.
Bend your arms at the elbow until the upper arm and forearm form a 90 degree angle. Pause, hold, and slowly press back up until your arms are straight again. Try to start with three sets of eight repetitions for this exercise and then optimally you will be able to do three sets of twelve.
Single Arm Lateral Raise
This exercise is packed with toning results that helps lose fat fast from those upper arms. Also, this exercise is great for the core and ab muscles. Start in a push-up position with knees and hands in line, and directly below the shoulders. Now raise your left hand up from this starting position, while flexing the core, until it is parallel to the floor and your shoulder line.
Hold this position here for 10 seconds and then slowly return to the starting position. From here switch sides and repeat the process with the right arm. If you want to add a little more weight you can hold a water bottle in the extended hand. You will certainly feel a burn all over your core and arms with this exercise. Just remember, pain is temporary!
Arm Circles
After the single arm lateral raise I thought we should catch our breath with some simple arm circles. This one is a classic and is no doubt helpful in sculpting arms and shoulders. Again to increase the resistance you can hold two water bottles in your hands with this one.
Start by standing tall with your feet shoulder width apart from each other and your arms extended perpendicular to your sides, raised at shoulder height. From here move your arms in a clockwise rotation, completing fifty small rotations in this direction. Once finished, begin making small circles in a counter-clockwise direction.
This exercise targets your arms, shoulders and back and is great for toning all of these muscles.
Inverted Row
The other major muscles in your arm are the biceps. You’re biceps are located on the front of your upper. Burning calories and building tone in these muscles is a crash course in how to lose arm fat. The inverted row is a spectacular upper back and arm exercise that again utilizes your body weight.
For this exercise it is best to do this at the gym with a stabilized bar. However there are other ways to do this at home which I will explain shortly. We’ll beginning by setting the bar and positioning yourselves face up towards the ceiling. The next step is to grip the bar (palms facing away) with full extension in the arms keeping our entire spine straight from our head to our lower back.
Next we pull our bodies up using the stability of our bar, touching our chest to the bar. Then lowering ourselves back down to the starting position. The key here is to try to isolate your upper back and arm muscles while keeping our lower body quiet. Breathing here is important. Inhaling on the way down and exhaling on the way up.
If you don’t have access to a gym, you can do this at home by employing a sturdy table. The same concept only we are gripping the edge of the table while lying under it (as opposed to a bar). This is an outstanding exercise for toning those arms. By keeping your back straight and flexing your abs throughout this exercise it also greatly improves our posture.
Bicep Curls
Now that we’ve looked at some simple body-weight it’s time to add some weights! Here we’re going to perform three sets of 10-12 repetitions. Start with 5-10 pounds of weight here. Complete bicep curls by standing with the dumbbells at your sides. Keep your elbows tucked into your sides and slowly bend your elbows upwards, lifting your palms towards your chest.
Don’t forget to breathe! Inhaling on the way up, and exhaling on the way down. An alteration to this exercise is called hammer curls in which you simply turn your palms in and repeat the same motion. Hammer curls target the inner bicep muscles while bicep curls target the central and outer bicep muscles.
Arm Stretches
After all this physical activity it is very important to stretch out and cool down. Stretching is vital to giving your muscles a wider range of motion, aiding in the recovery process and preventing potential injuries. When engaging in exercise, you get out what you put in. By employing these stretches at the end of the workout you’ll ensure growth and tone in those arm muscles.
Bicep Stretches
A simple stretch, we’ll start by standing with our feet hip width apart, knees slightly bent and toes pointed forward. Next lift both arms out to your side at shoulder height, keeping your shoulders even with each other the entire time.
Then twist your wrists until your palms are facing behind you. From here gently push your arms back and slightly behind you until you feel the stretch in your arms. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds, breathing deeply the entire time!
Triceps Stretches
The most common of tricep stretches this isolates the back of your arms very well. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward and your knees slightly bent. Bring your right arm straight up by your right ear. Then bend the arm at the elbow, dropping your right hand to the left shoulder blade (behind your back). Point the fingers of your right hand down towards your left hip. Then take your left arm across the top of your head grabbing your right tricep slightly past the elbow. Breathe deeply again and gently pull with your left hand until you feel the stretch, but not to the point of pain. Again, hold for at least thirty seconds.
Finally, fat and excess skin in the upper arm is very common in most people. It occurs naturally over time, but in reading this article I hope you have learned at least a little in how to lose arm fat. Commit to some of these tips and I can assure you that your next trip to the Nordstrom’s sales rack will be a resounding success!
Arm Exercise Workout Table
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Tricep Dips | 3 | 8-10 |
| Bicep Curls | 3 | 10-12 |
| Single Arm Lateral Raise | 4 | 30-60 Seconds |
