Want sexy, toned, sleek arms? Not proud of your bingo arms that prevent you from wearing sleeveless dresses? Then try these 6 steps for sleeker, slimmer fabulous arms in just few weeks.
1. Focus on full body workout first
One of the most common fitness mistakes women make is to try and ‘spot treat’ their problem areas. This just does not work! You have to first start by reducing overall body weight since the amount of fat storage in different areas of the body depends on multiple factors. During a full body workout, you focus on each part and exercise and tone all of the muscles. If you have a gym membership, your trainer could guide you further. If not, you can also do some home exercises without equipment. We recommend walking daily for 30 minutes at least. Move your arms up and down while you walk to tone the muscles in this area. You could always carry 3-lb dumbbells to enhance your workout but it is not totally necessary.
2. Swim
Swimming is a fabulous exercise to get rid of excess arm fat. You must use strokes like the breaststroke or butterfly stroke which are known to help develop you strong, muscular arms. Swim daily for 30-45 minutes to see the results in less than a month.
3. Use dumbbells
Dumbbells are a proven exercise to workout flabby arms. Start your routine by using a pair of dumbbells to do bicep and tricep kickbacks. This way, you can add resistance based workouts to focus solely on the arms. Close grip pushups, wide grip pushups and stability ball pushups from the knees are some other exercises to add to your dumbbell routine. Here are some more arm toning exercises and the time and number of sets you must repeat:
- Tricep kickbacks- 4 sets 30 secs
- Bicep curls- 4 sets 30 secs
- Push press- 4 sets 30 secs
- Lying tricep extensions-4 sets 30 secs
- Hammer curls- 4 sets 30 secs
- Lateral raises- 4 sets 30 secs
- Front raise- 4 sets 30 secs + 30 secs
- Bent over lateral raise- 4 sets 30 secs
- Shoulder press- 4 sets 30 secs
4. Arm toning exercises without dumbbells
If you do not have dumbbells, you can even tone your arms without them. Here are some awesome workouts focusing on arms:
- Arm circles– Stand up straight with a little gap in between your feet. Keep your arms out with palms facing the floor (so your body is now in the form of the letter ‘T’). Keeping each shoulder as the center point, rotate your arms in small circles without moving the rest of the body. Make clockwise, then anti clockwise circles. Do this for 30 seconds. Repeat by doing larger circles for 30 seconds more.
- Knee pushups– Start on all fours. Cross your legs at the calves with ankles in air. Bring down the body until your shoulders level with your elbows. Do this for 30 seconds.
- Floor tricep dips– Lie on your back. Raise the body so that you are now supporting the body on your feet and palms (knees bent, hands behind, fingers forward). Push up through arms, lift the hips and extend elbows completely. Do this for 30 seconds.
- Bicep curls without dumbbells– Stand up straight with a gap in between the feet and hands touching the sides of the body. Lock the elbows against the body and using your body’s resistance, curl the biceps up.
5. Do yoga
Many yoga poses can also give you sleek arms. Here are some:
- Sun salutations–Here are the steps for sun salutations. Ideally you should do 12 iterations (always start will 6 iterations and then increase to 12).
- Bhujangasan– cobra pose. In this asana, you lie on the stomach. Keep your feet heels up with a little distance in between. Rest your chin on the floor. Now, slowly raise your body up till the navel. Do not straighten the arms completely- instead keep them at an angle so that you feel the strain on the shoulders and arms. Keep breathing deeply in and out and focus your attention on the lower back. Hold this asana for 15 seconds. Relax. Repeat 3 times. See image below:
- Plank pose- This is a great yoga pose for toning the arms as well as the core. Here is how you do this pose. See image below:
6. Cut carbs
The best way to lose flab from the arms is to not just exercise but also eat healthy. Carbohydrates happen to be fat storing; so try and focus on proteins and healthy fats. You will need to reduce your intake of breads, pastas, burgers, pizzas and sugary fruit juices. Here are some steps to help you:
- For an entire week-cut all carbs from your dinner. Instead, eat chicken, fish, eggs, beans, grilled veggies, salads etc.
- The next week, cut all carbs from your dinner and lunch. Continue eating lean protein and healthy fats.
- In the 3rd week, cut all carbs from your dinner, lunch and breakfast. Eat eggs, chicken, fish, veggies with low carb content. Snack on nuts and seeds. Drink plenty of water.
Want toned and sleek arms? You have to work for them! We hope these 6 home remedies and exercises help you burn the flab from bingo arms and get toned, muscular arms you are proud of!