Reprintable Article - Get Toned, Defined, Flab-Free Arms
How do you get strong and toned looking firm arms? Eliminate flab and 'wings' with these exercises.
Get Toned, Defined, Flab-Free Arms
by Jackie Burgmann, author of "Hot at Home" - The
Transformation
Solution for People Who Hate The Gym
Toned and defined arms are one of many people's goals when they decide to get in better shape.
No one likes the bat wing flab that appears under our arms when we aren’t keeping track of our diet and fitness.
There are lots of effective exercises that can help you work your arms and get those muscles firm and develop great-looking definition that will be turning heads whenever you're wearing your short sleeved Summer clothing.
However, there is one detail that needs to made clear before continuing along with those exercises:
Spot reduction is NOT possible.
In order to get fat off your arms you MUST embark on an overall fat loss program.
No amount of strenuous arm workouts alone will give you toned looking arms if you still have a large amount of fat over your newly built muscles.
In order for your muscle definition to show, you must burn the fat off , and that means burning it off your entire body with proper nutrition and full-body weight training workouts plus doing enough of the right kind of cardio workouts.
Now the facts about toning your arms, or any other part of your body are clear, try incorporating these arm and shoulder exercises into your next workout to help build sexy, defined arms.
Bicep Curls
There are lots of ways to do bicep curls.
Try doing them sitting or standing, with dumbbells or a barbell, or even fitness bands.
The key here is to isolate so that your bicep is getting the workout. So, don't swing from your shoulder or throw your body behind the move as you raise the weight. Keep the remainder of your body static and contract just your bicep to raise the weight.
Also, keep your elbows close to your body for maximum stability and to maintain proper form (unless you're doing sitting concentration curls, in which case stabilize your elbow against your thigh or knee). Really concentrate on feeling the bicep contract as you lift against the weight and lift slowly and with purpose.
Lower the weight just as slowly as you raised it, don't let it drop or swing down. Stay in control of the weight at all times.
Tricep Cable or Band Pushdowns
You can do tricep pushdowns from a cable apparatus or using a fitness band anchored above you.
Use both hands to hold the handles of the band or cable with your palms facing down.
Cement your elbows to your sides and pull slowly straight down on the handle until your arms are straight (but do not lock your elbows), then slowly raise back up. This is very similar to the bicep curl except for the direction in which the harder work happens (pulling down instead of lifting up).
Again, you want to make sure you're stabilized and only using your tricep to pull the handles down. Don't move your shoulders or swing, and don't use your body for momentum or lose control of the weight as you raise the handles back to the starting position. Every portion of the exercise should be performed slowly and precisely.
You can also try dumbbell tricep kickbacks over on a bench or other sturdy surface that you can bend over and use for support. Make sure your elbows are glued to your sides and that you aren’t swinging the weights for momentum and that all portions of the move are slow and controlled.
The movement should be made by your elbow only, so be sure you're not rotating your shoulder or wrist to assist yourself.
Lateral Raises
This exercise is particularly good for working your deltoids to give you that rounded, defined look in your
shoulders.
Be careful with this exercise as it can strain your shoulder if not done correctly.
Simply hold two dumbbells at your sides palms facing in towards each other. Then, keeping arms straight but elbows soft, raise the weights up to shoulder level (so that your palms are now facing the floor), then return slowly and with control to starting position.
Front Raises
This exercise also works your deltoids and helps with creating definition in your shoulders.
Front raise are similar to lateral raises, except you start holding the dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing behind you. Then, raise the dumbbell out in front of you up to shoulder level and return slowly to your sides.
Front raises work the front of your deltoids whereas lateral raises work the sides of your deltoids.
You can choose to do them alternating one arm at a time or do them both arms at the same time.
Raising both arms at the same time can be more effective if you're prone to 'cheating' by swinging or using body momentum since tends to limit how much body motion you might otherwise use to get the weight up. Swinging is more likely to occur when you’re alternating one arm at a time.
Incorporate these four arm and shoulder exercises into your next workout for more defined, toned arms.
And don't forget to eat for health and keep your calories low enough to burn fat off your whole body so when your hard work starts to take effect, your defined arms will show through.
Flab-free, toned arms can be yours. Grab your copy of "Hot at Home" now and learn all the lean-body tricks Jackie has up her sleeve that can help you get the body of your dreams in the privacy and convenience of your own home.
arm workouts, toned arms, defined arms
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