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How can I tone my arms without gaining muscle? Many women would love to lose weight without looking shredded, and this feeling extends to their arms too. Flabby arms, aka bat wings, are something that many women do not care for. Those bags of flesh really ruin a woman’s chances of wearing any short-sleeved dress or blouse. The situation gets even more pronounced when we’re talking about any item of clothing that has a spaghetti strap.
In looking for ways to get rid of flabby arms, one might be concerned that most of the suggested workouts could very well cause incredibly muscled arms instead of something leaner, which many consider to be feminine. However, is it possible to tone arms without gaining muscle?
Sadly, it is not possible to tone your arms without gaining muscle, as even bodyweight exercise can build muscle (3). However, this does not mean that you will automatically end up looking like your local gym’s bodybuilder.
The first thing to note is that bat wings or flabby arms are caused by either excess fat or muscle tone loss in this area (11). For you to get this or that, you have got to do exercise. This is simply the best way to slim down your flabby arms. Secondly, let’s consider how do muscles grow in the body.
Increased muscle mass occurs in a process beginning with when the fibers of the muscles sustain damage or injury. This is the kind of damage or injury usually occuring during exercise. After you are done with your workout, your body gets busy with the repairs to these damaged fibers by fusing them, which in turn increases the mass and size of the muscles (6).
Anyone wishing to grow bigger and stronger muscles is advised to, among other things, consume more calories, lift heavier weights, and increase their intake of protein (1). Of all the advice given, weight lifting and strength training is the biggest culprit of building great muscle mass. Free weights add more resistance to your workout, causing more damage to the muscles, and so make them bigger.
To avoid this, you can do bodyweight exercises, which, while they still build muscle, result in the muscles being smaller and leaner because it is quite easy for your body to handle its own weight.
Read More: How To Get Rid Of Bat Wings: Simple Steps To Achieve Well-Defined Upper Arms
While working out is essential to getting toned arms, it is not enough to give you your desired results. Here are more things you should do while still doing arm workouts at home (9):
Adding more protein to your diet while still exercising contributes to greater strength and muscle mass gains. It also allows for more significant muscle mass preservation when consumed during periods of negative energy balance and limits age-related muscle loss (4). Protein takes longer to digest, thus keeping you satiated for longer periods, which usually means less snacking.
Not all carbs are made the same. Complex carbs can be found in peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables. These are better for you when compared to the simple carbs found in foods like white bread and pasta, pizza, and candies.
Lack of enough restful sleep can lead to your body holding on to fat irrespective of the amount of working out and eating right. Try getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
A point to note is that weights are essential to help to tone your arms. If you are worried about ‘how can I tone my arms without gaining muscle,’ all exercises build muscle. However, the key point is that it’s that heavier weights build bigger muscles. Opt for smaller weights, which will boost your workout without making you shredded.
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Before looking at the best arm workouts for women with flabby arms, it is important to remember that spot reduction is a myth (8). You can not continuously work out one body part and expect to see results. Doing this will most likely backfire on you. Instead, use these arms workouts without weights to supplement your daily exercises. Focus on full-body workouts and do more cardio, which will help you lose weight and tone your body.
The push-up variations are fantastic arm workouts for women, and the best part is that you do not need to purchase any equipment for them. You can do them using the edge of your bed, couch, staircase, chair, or an entryway bench.
As long as the height in question is comfortable for you, it does not matter how high you are off the ground.
If you are looking for ways on how to get rid of flabby arms, then this workout is for you. Like decline push-ups, triceps dips are amazing arm workouts at home exercises as they can be done with your furniture.
Read More: Planks For Beginners: Put Your Core Strength To The Test
Inchworms are great examples of arm workouts without weights. All you need is a proper form and your body weight to do them (7).
If you are a beginner, you can altogether omit the push-up. The original inchworm workout does not involve it.
It is better to do this exercise for bat wings using a timer
Beginners should start with a 15 to 30 seconds timer. You can slowly work towards doing this exercise for a full minute.
The following exercises are incredibly effective in helping tone the hanging flesh in your underarms.
This is a great overall exercise for flabby arms. With each push-up you do, you will be targeting your pecs, deltoids, triceps, and the core.
If this is too hard for you, opt to do the push up on your knees instead of straightening your feet all the way. You could also do an inclined push-up where instead of going all the way to the floor, you can do the same movement against a couch or table.
While kickboxing requires a punching bag, you can still do this arm workout without the bag. Here is how
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Trying to turn muscle into fat has been described as trying to turn coal into gold. It simply cannot happen because these two are completely different in nature, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. Muscle is active tissue that burns calories around the clock even as you sleep, while fat is just extra calories that were not used by the body and thus ended up stored in the body (10).
Muscle already exists in your body, but it lies under the extra fat in the body. The more you workout, the more fat you lose, and the more pronounced the muscle becomes. Lost fat does not become muscle; instead, it is converted into energy that is eventually used by the body through diet and exercise, and that is how you lose it (12).
Yes, it does, especially if you are looking to lose fat in this area. When doing cardio, especially HIIT cardio, your heart rate goes up, pumping your blood faster, making you sweat and breathe harder (5). All these actions help you burn calories, lose fat, and tone your arms and other body parts. Like the above exercises, cardio also builds muscle (2), so be sure to include different sorts of exercises such as hiking, running, walking, swimming, and more into your exercise routine.
To anyone wondering, ‘how can I tone my arms without gaining muscle,’ you should realize that this is not possible. All exercises, cardio, bodyweight workouts, or lifting weights build muscle. You can try the bodyweight arm workouts without weights for leaner muscles and include cardio exercises to your routine. Please note that before trying any of the above-listed workouts, be sure to consult with your doctor, especially if you have a chronic illness.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!