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Should you use heavy weights for toned women's arms?

Should women use heavy weights to tone their arms?

I am often asked by women whether they should use heavy weights when they are trying to tone their arms. This is a popular issue here at Real Women’s Fitness and one that many women seem to be misinformed about. Here are some things you should know about toning your arms and using heavy weights.

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How do you tone your arms?

If you want to tone your arms there are a few things you need to know. Knowing these things is important because it will save you a lot of time and effort. And, if you think you already know these things then you should continue to remind yourself of how important they are so you don’t get frustrated later on.

To tone your arms you need to remember these things:

1. Fat loss is paramount
If you want toned arms you need to lose the fat. It is the fat that covers them that makes the arm not toned in the first place. It is the fat that gives the arms the wobble and the soft feel.

So, if you want to tone your arms so that they are firm and defined then you need to get into a weight loss program where you will lose fat off of your entire body. Remember, you cannot lose fat off of just one part of your body. If you want to lose the fat on your triceps then you need to lose fat off of your whole body.

2. Weight training is necessary to build the arm muscles
After you have lost the fat off of your arms you want there to be some muscle to show. This is why weight training is important because it builds the arm muscles to a point where the muscles become visible.

Also, weight training is important because it helps you burn fat. Fat and muscle do no co-exist together and the muscle will always win. The more muscle you have on your arms the less fat you will have.

Also, weight training boosts your metabolism so you will not store as many calories as fat during the day. This is an important advantage of weight training that many women overlook.

So should women use heavy weights?
The answer is YES! Women should use heavy weights on a regular basis, especially if they are trying to tone their arms. Here are the reasons why.

1. You won’t get bulky
Women are worried about getting bulky but due to the lack of testosterone this will not happen. However, for those women who WANT to get bulky there are ways to do it. It involved high amounts of protein and a very specfic type of training. For the rest of you though, you do not have to worry about heavy weights making you bulky. Besides, even if you do find yourself getting a bit bigger than you would like you just cut back on the weights and increase your cardio.

2. Heavy weights build muscles faster
Every time you weight train the muscle tears slightly. When it re-builds you get muscle growth. This muscle growth happens a lot faster when you use heavy weights. And, as we have already learned the more muscles you have the less fat you will have so this is a positive for arm toning results.

Conclusion
So, put the light weights and high reps aside and start working out with heavy weights and low reps. Start pushing your muscles at the gym so they feel challenged and respond by growing. Light weights are doing nothing to tone your arms.

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