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How to get thin and toned arms
Many women talk about wanting thin and toned arms as they are unhappy with their current wobbly triceps. In this post I’ll go over some of the myths concerning this type of training as well as looking at some of the ways to try and achieve this.
Myths about getting thin and toned arms
The women’s fitness industry is full of so many fibs and false informations that sometimes I feel like throwing my computer into the wall! However, I am determined to make Real Women’s Fitness.com full of quality, fresh and helpful information so as to combat all these myths.
As aforementioned, many women want thin arms. And, sadly, many companies try to capitalize off of this desire and women wind up getting hurt or discouraged.
As we all know you cannot spot reduce. That means that you cannot train one part of your body in the hope that it will burn fat off of only that part of your body. It is impossible.
So, if someone writes something that says that this exercise or this workout is only for toning or thinning your arms then you should close the window and forget about it - it isn’t true!
That being said, there are some things you can do in order to increase your chances of toning and thinning your arms.
Two ways of toning and thinning your arms
There are two elements you need to take into account when trying to achieve this goal:
- Weight Loss; and
- Weight Training.
If you have a well designed workout and diet that allows you to burn fat as well as working the muscles that you want to tone then you will significantly boost your results. Never try and just use weights or just use diet on its own, it is when they are combined that they become effective.
Getting thin arms involves luck
If you want thin arms then you, sorry to say, need to rely a little bit on your genetics. Not everyone can have perfectly toned and thin arms as some people simply aren’t programmed to do so.
However, by losing weight and working your arms out with weights you can significantly improve whatever shape arms you presently have and that is what fitness and health is all about. We are not trying to be like someone else, we are trying to better ourselves.
High reps for toned arms?
Many people say that if you want to tone your arms you need to use light weights with lots of reps. I personally don’t understand why anyone would do this!
My reasons for saying this is because we use heavy weights and low reps when we want to build muscle. Toning your arms is no different, you want to build muscle so that it is more visible once you lose the fat that is covering it.
However, if you want thin arms then you might want to decrease the weight a little bit so as to avoid excess size and to allow for a cardio type of weight workout; that is, to boost your heart rate and metabolism.
Does anyone out there have any workouts or tips for getting thin and toned arms? Anything worked particularly well?
Want more information? Ask an expert about arm toning!
Comments on this article:
| Emma said: | Great post. I love the honesty. |
| Emma Benim said: | I Have Quite Chunky Arms And I Always Feel Uncomfertable Showing Them Of And I only llok fat when u look at me straight on but at the side i look thin my arms are fine its jst the width of my arms are big and my dad is slim and my mum has quite big arms what should i do ? |
| RWF said: | Hi Emma, head over to the forum and post your question and I'll help you out :) |
| June said: | I have been using two 8 pound weights, one in each hand, to exercise my arms by raising the weights straight up toward ceiling and bending arms at elbow toward my back and then straight up again. I am buffing up and this I do not want. |
| noelle said: | Hi, so i personally have found that if you want thin toned, but not bulky arms you should do a high weight - for me that would be like a 15 pound dumbell- and a low rep - lets say 7...take a break and do some cardio- i like to do jumping jacks inbetween my wieght reps bc it rly gets your heart pumpin- then repeat. only do like 3 sets a day of each exercise. the most important thing is to not overwork your muscles bc then they will bulk! never get to the point where you rly have to push in order to lift the weight it should be somewhat easy to do, but you should feel it working aswell! hope this works :) |
| selr said: | We are not trying to be like someone else, we are trying to better ourselves. wow! i will ALWAYS remember that. |
| Zee said: | please can you tell me ow to get thin arms ? I swin and use treadmill and the excercise bike. |
| Ann said: | From my experience the best way to get thinner arms is working in an antique store. Lifting VERY expensive, heavy, solid wood furniture and moving it at a very delicate and slow pace.
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| Persephone said: | I don't know what to do! I'm a dancer and I've got very chunky arms, so the costumes always make me look fat, as well as my big, ugly jelly belly. Please help me do some exercises to lose the fat! Is there anything that will let me see results quickly? Even small results will give me a big about of joy. I don't have weights or anything to workout with, I'm only 11 and my mum won't buy anything. I'm not some anorexic chick, I look at myself in the mirror and see I'm fat. I'm not interested in losing like a million kilograms or something, I'm just interested in toning my tummy and my entire body.
PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!! |
| roxy said: | hi, i used to have thin-ish arms but they were jiggly. then i started going to these classes at the gym, and used relatively large weights. i've noticed recently that my shoulders are huge and it really bothers me. is there any way to reduce the size or muscle there? they're not naturally like that and it's not genetic. please help |
| case said: | i did karate and practicing punches into the air actually does a load for your muscles! karate is about speed so you end up with streamlined muscle tone rather than bulk. worked out great for me :) |
| Jay said: | I use to go to the gym regularly but never got skinny toned always looked bulky until my bf suggested thermogenics. he used them and had great results so i started taking 2 a day 30 minutes before my workout. gave me great energy for my cardio sessions and i lost 6 kgs in 1 month its amazing i love my body now and only take thermogenics every second month so that i'm not losing too much. i did strength training as well as cardio and when the fat started to strip the muscle tone started showing. if you want thin arms then do high reps with medium weight not too hard not too easy and use thermogenics (some ppl are reluctant to take em so do your research and see if they suit u) |
| unknown said: | ive tried for years to tone up my upper arms, ive tried diets in general just to get them abit thinner, ive done every kind of weight traning possible, and it just doesnt work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| sarah said: | ballet for adults give you thin arms, as basically in alot of ballet you hold your arms out to side lifting elbow dropping the shoulder using hand as ur weight, shoulders at highest point hand at lowest as u hold them there whilst doing things with your legs you dont notice it ballet is usually an hour long, and it definitly gives you thin arms!!and gives you thin lets also with no bulk as excercies are designed to lengthen muscles not contract them |
| Demi said: | hopefully itll work |
| Riada said: | Hi. I just wanted to tell everyone that I tried turbo jam's cardio party and turbo sculpt workouts together - cardio party 2X's a week and Turbo Sculpt 3X's a week for a month and lost 15 pounds, plus got a great butt, my depression went away, and I noticed all of the arms of the shirts and jackets I was wearing that were always tight were now actually loose! It also boosted my metabolism and I didn't have to work out regularly for a year after that! (Even though I should have been!) Now I'm starting to notice the shirt arms getting tighter again so I've started the workouts again! I love them! |
| S said: | Actually the reason why woman use light weights with high reps is to build long lean muscles, high weigh with lower reps build budging muscles that make a woman's arm look manly. |
| Madhu said: | Hi,
I used to have a thin, toned arm.But now i have put on weight and my arm looks very fat.Is it possible to get back my previous size thru diet and exercise?
Thanks |
| Francesca Palala said: | My mom has very toned arms, but they are still thin. She just uses 5lb. weights and does 15-20 reps of each exercise, 3 times each. she does about five different excercises. |
| mike said: | only way to tone arms is to lose bodyfat..plain and simple. you dont even have to do arms when you workout to get lean arms. diet combined with core training will get you an over-all lean look. dont listen to this mumbo jumbo crap about doing some super bicep/tricep workout. remember people the person who walks intot eh gym with the most knowledge leves with the best results..learn to eat right and do your research. |
| Deanna said: | Yoga will elongated your arm and whole body muscles. It can keep you very slender and fit. |
| Evonne said: | I do not know what has happened.It seemed that my metabolism has declined drastically. I have been watching my diet very strictly and been working out 5 times a week. However I did not even lose any pounds. The worst thing is my arms and shoulders got broaded and bigger. I did not carry any weight. Exercise that I do are only cross trainer machine, jogging and kick boxing. |
| Emma said: | hi i have recently lost a bit off weight but i still have fat arms. i have not lost any weight from my arms. can anyonehelp me? |
| cindy said: | hi, i lost abit of weight, although am not satified wit it but my big wobbly arms makes me look alot bigger dant i shud n its annoying, n i have to watch wat i wear. any suggestions as to hw i can reduce my arms? |
| khloee said: | there has to be a way to lose the fat in your arms, maybe we are not looking in the right place, is there any one out there that has had this problem? and found the solution? Can you help? |
| Ginny said: | For quick results I suggest yard work and pilates. One good day of shoveling dirt and picking up rocks and you can really see it in your arms and abs. Using a regular lawn mower is great for targeting arms and core muscles. Pilates helps me stay lean and strong. Running and P90X is my current routine. My daughter does ballet and gymnastics, and she has thin but very strong arms. |
| Jamie said: | It's true you can't just work out on part of your body to reduce its size, you have to do all-over exercise, like running or swimming to burn off the fat. That's what I did before my senior prom, it worked really well and for a while I had thin arms. My problem is that I hate running, so I don't do it often enough. I suggest doing a cardio workout like that combined with some weight training on your arms. |
| Evelyn said: | My arms are pretty much solid muscle. Everywhere I look I see how to BUILD lean muscle. My muscle is fairly lean, but there's too much of it. Is there any way I could just make it lean and not build any more? I really don't exercise my arms much at all! |
| penny said: | I have big arms, but am slim everywhere else- i truly hate my arms! I use 5kg weights, which used to work an absolute treat!they went really toned. However, they dont work anymore and if you don't use the weights for a while- the muscle sags and and back 2 square 1 with bingo wings! i think i have made them too big and now would like to lose some of the flab without building up bulk!any ideas?i swim everyday, which helps a bit. Also- if you ever go on a canal boat- doing the locks really tones your arms! any suggestions would be a great help. thanks |
| John said: | Hello--
Thought you gals might like a man's point of view. Believe it or not, there are men who really like women with muscular arms and shoulders. In fact, nothing turns me on more than a woman with nice biceps in a sleeveless top. Actually, nothing turns me on more than a woman with nice biceps in a sleeveless top who likes to show them off by flexing. Now that's hot.
So before you panic and drop those heavy weights, keep that in mind. |
| Aimee said: | I have been doing Jari Love for about a year now and she does high reps low weights and the workouts are killer, I don't use anything higher than 10 pounds because of the high reps my arms are very toned. But yes with that you do have to incorporate the proper diet just like if you want toned abs you won't get results without the diet included. |
| Taylor said: | lots of reps with a low weight, which is annoying but it pays off and lets you concentrate on actually building lean muscle and targeting specific muscles in your arms. assisted chin up/dip machines are the best and low weights work well too. WOOHOAH! |
| Annie said: | thankyou for the tips. i have a question though, i do on average about 3 hours of exercise per day, this includes lots of running, and included in that is about 12 hours of dance a week (ballet, jazz) etc. i hate my arms because they are really muscly, but not a good muscly, they look fat. How do i lose this muscle? thankyou. |
| Shermaine said: | Why is my arms so fat when my whole body is skinny?
I lost 6kg from exercising, i have toned thighs and stomach, but my arms are still flabby, i can do like 30 pushups with no problem, but i swear, there are still flabby-ness.
FYI - I used to have thin arms, before i gained weight. But currently Im underweight due to lesser calorie intake and more exercise and more healthy food, but i dont understand why my arms are still so fat!! |
| linda said: | I play racquet ball, walk, walk and walk more and of course I stretch (if I dont forget) Is this enough of a exercise routine to round out with toning my arms?? Also I dont want any development in my neck. Im worried about that. Once I was doing my arms under supervision of a gym trainer and my neck started blending into my shoulder blades like the Terminator! so i stopped immediately. |
| crystal said: | my arms r solid muscle... how can i stop building muscle and just have a super thin nd lean body? |
| yemad said: | Good news for everyone trying ot have lean and toned skin. I did five lady push-up, lady squat and five minute dance every morning and night. That's I did these exercise befor going to school and bed. My body is looking the way I wanted expecially my flabby arms. they are now sight my fiance love my new bod. PLEASE TRY THESE EXERCISE IT COST NOTHING. |
| Sakura said: | I dont want extreme thin, flat arms. I just want to have good ones. I have flabby arms and the width is big.
I have lost more than 10 kgs through out the years. I have reached the good body shape, but my arms arent improving. I did ladys push up up to 30 times everyday for a month, plus walking everyday for an hour, as well as i watched my food. I was on a diet with a perfect plan of focusing on all parts of my body, but my arms didnt improve.
Now, I bought a boxing small bag. I saw on TV once, that boxing can really help. But i ended up not knowing how to fill it with air -.-;
Hopefully this technique will help me get better arms. |
| Syndi said: | Remember in gym class when we used to have to do arm windmills? this will help you lose fat from your arms w/out having to use weights that may bulk you up. It is very repetitive but it works. First do a set with your arms straight out parrallel to the floor then move them in circles going clock wise, then do the same counter clock wise. Then put your arms out the same way now face your palms up toward the ceiling and repeat arm circles clock wise and then counter clock wise. When I first started, I did about 25 arm circles each position, then increased it to 50 each time. This will use your own arm weight to tone up. Also try shadow boxing, it really helps also. |
| jessica said: | well im 16. im really short, maybe like 5 foot. i dont feel comfterble with my body, basicly i got like a fat tummy and like big arms muscles and fat. i want to exercice by losing weight everywhere not only my arms. but i dont know what to do. like i took gym at school this year, i do set ups at home, i run sometimes, i do jumping jacks, dance. but besides that i dont know what else to do by losing weight, im trying to watch what i eat also. but do you have any
recommendations for me on how to lose more weight, i was maybe aiming to weight 110. or 100? 105. i dont know. i want to be like those short skinny persons not to skinny but enough to call myself skinny, any one out there who has ideas for me, i would really apreciate it, i need help.
please.
thankss. |
| alyssa said: | i have really big shoulders because i play sports. i love sports so i'm not going to stop playing them just because my shoulders are huge, but i just hate how huge my upper body looks when i dress up or if i'm in tank top.
i don't know what to do is there anything i should stop eating? any specific exercises? |
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