How To Get Skinny Arms

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Learning how to lose arm flab the right way is not as easy as some might think.  When we put on weight it tends to gather in certain areas and the arms are no exception.  In this article I will show you how to get skinny arms that you will be proud to show off.

When you want to discover how to slim down arms there are two things that you’ll need to focus on:  diet and exercise.   You don’t have to eat like a bird and spend hours at the gym.  With a moderate change in your lifestyle you can really make some big changes.

Your Diet

When it comes to your diet you should definitely NOT try to starve yourself thin.  This will actually have the opposite effect of what you’re trying to do.  It goes all the way back to caveman times:   When cavemen would have to go for periods of time not getting enough food their metabolism would slow down and their bodies would store all excess fat.  The same thing will happen to you if you try and starve yourself.  Out of self-preservation your metabolism will slow down and your body will store excess fat.   However, if you get the right amount of food each day then your metabolism will be running “high” and your body will not store as much fat (especially in your arms).

Try to eat at least 5 or 6 smaller meals per day.  And make sure those meals are balanced.  Eating the same thing every day can also cause your body to gain weight.  You want to vary it up and included vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, whole grains, monounsaturated fatty acids foods, plenty of water, and nuts.

Try cutting and/or burning 500 calories per day.  This will help you lose around one pound per day.

Here are a few ways in which you can increase your metabolism which will help you burn calories and fat to slim up your arms:

• Don’t starve yourself (you can find out how to stop hunger without food but don’t fast for long periods of time)
• Do not overeat
• Increase the muscle percentage in your body (especially in your arms – there are several exercises below)
• Eat balanced meals – don’t severely limit your intake of proteins, fats, or carbohydrates
• Get the right amount of sleep each night
• Meditate or try deep breathing exercises to eliminate stress
• Don’t skip meals

A high running metabolism will help you burn calories much, much faster.  When you are learning how to lose arm weight (or any other part of your body) this will be invaluable.

Exercises

Along with diet arm exercises are the other integral part of getting the arms you’ve always wanted.  Developing strong and lean muscle will help you burn calories faster and will also make your arms thinner and stronger LOOKING.

Because you want your arms to be skinny you need to focus on doing more repetitions of lighter weights.  Most women will use ten pound dumbells or lighter.  You can find out for yourself by  testing each size.

You should be able to do 15-20 reps without straining too hard.  If you’re straining to reach 8-10 reps then you definitely need to move to a lighter weight.  You’re trying to burn fat, not gain muscle.  If you struggle to do 8 to 10 reps then you’re going to build BIG muscle, not tone and lean muscle.

Here are 3 workouts that will help tone your arms:

The Dumbell Curls

Stand straight up, with your feet shoulder length apart, with a 5-10 pound dumbell in each hand.   Curl your right hand up toward your chest in an arc movement.  Keep your elbows locked in the same place on your sides.  Bring the weight up in the arc movement as high as possible (which should be about shoulder height) using your bicep muscle.  Then slowly lower the weight to your side.  Now with your left hand do the same thing.  You want to do 15-20 reps per side.

The Tricep Kickback

Stand with your feet together and lean forward  so you’re in an upside down L position.  Keep your back straight and your arms curled up into your shoulders.  Now slowly extend your left arm backwards until it reaches your side (the bottom of your hand holding the weight should be facing the ceiling).  Stay bent over with your back straight. Bring your left arm back to the starting position slowly.  Now repeat this with the right arm.  This is a little complicated and may not be easy to do the first time.  However once you have it down you’ll find that this is one of the simplest and most effective ways to tone and slim your tricep muscles.

The Forearm Curl (Also Known As The Reverse Curl)

This is the same as the dumbell curls except your hands will be facing the opposite direction.  Stand straight up with your legs as shoulder-width.  You want the backs of your hands holding the weights to be facing forward (with your palms facing behind you).  Now lift your left arm in an arc towards  your chest, keeping your hand in the same position (so you’ll be raising the back of your hand towards the ceiling).  You may feel this in your forearms and that’s what you want.  If the weight is too heavy you can switch to a lighter one.  Lower your arm slowly and then do the right arm.  Do this 15-20 times per side.

Here’s An Anti-Cellulite Arm Routine

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7 Comments

1. 

   Mitchell

   May 3, 2012 at 8:13 pm

   I was watching the video of the exercises down at the end of your post and noticed that she said you would see a difference in your arms in about 6 weeks. That is a long time if you really thing about it. I am doing a 30 day program that is supposed to have you ripped in 30 days. Do you think this is even possible, Jillian Michaels seems to.

   Reply
   • 

     Admin

     May 5, 2012 at 2:00 pm

     Hey Mitchell,

     30 days is too short to get “ripped” if you’re not already in good condition. To get “ripped” like Jillian Michaels takes time. The people you see on the cover of fitness magazines and people like Jillian Michaels work out every day. To get in that kind of shape takes a LOT of extra effort. You could try something like the P90X or Insanity (both from Beachbody.com). These programs are developed to get your “ripped” in a short period of time. Be careful, though, because with these programs you do put a lot of strain on your body.

     Sara

     Reply
2. 

   Mary

   May 3, 2012 at 8:13 pm

   I don’t think you are going to build big bulky muscles by lifting a weight that you struggle to lift after 12 reps. This is called working to fatigue and that is what you want to do. Even if you do this as a woman you are not going to be able to develop huge muscles without steroids or hormones. Don’t worry about that.

   Reply
3. 

   Victoria orok

   June 23, 2012 at 4:17 am

   Am developing muscles

   Reply
   • 

     Admin

     June 23, 2012 at 10:59 pm

     Hey Victoria,

     Developing muscle is excellent. You need to develop muscle in order to burn more calories and provide definition to your arms. You dont’ want to “bulk” up so make sure you do your arm workouts with lighter weights and more repetitions.

     - Sara

     Reply
4. 

   malloy

   February 24, 2013 at 6:24 am

   How many sets are you supposed to do of each? And how many times a week ? Thanks

   Reply
   • 

     Sara

     February 27, 2013 at 6:30 pm

     Hey Malloy,

     Complete two or three sets of each move two or three days a week. Thanks for reading

     Reply