When going to the gym, every woman sets their goals. Some of them dream about perfect abs and but, some desire toned arms and shoulders. While others just need to lose some weight and fit in their favorite dresses.
No matter your goals are, to whittle the arms or the strength the muscles of the shoulders, the arm zone of the body can be very stubborn to get fit. Although many have tried lots of youtube exercises and fitness programs, with building the biceps and triceps, the result might not have been the expected ones.
SAY GOODBYE TO DAYS WHEN YOU ONLY DID LIGHTER WEIGHTS WITH HIGHER REPS. THAT ALONE WON’T GET THE JOB DONE.
Where are the toned arms and definition? Are you really incapable of getting those fit arms you are dreaming about? Is it really necessary to have good genetics for looking good?
Well, no, “toned arms” are not reserved for the winners of the genetic lottery. Although many people are really helped by this to achieve easier to best look. It seems that the real problem is your workouts – the constant focus on biceps and triceps exercises in one rep range – are suffering from a lack of TLC.
The phare of “toning up” is everywhere, from magazines to the advertising. Achieving “tone” (a concept of what you desire, more than a scientific reality) results from a combination of adding muscle and losing fat. So, in order to have those dreamy, glossy, fancy arms, you need to change and shift the mindset and the plan of working out. Lighter weights are not anymore a solution, neither the higher reps.
So which is the actual solution? Well, is the Volume. How is that? In fewer words, you need to do more reps and sets of certain exercises and not fear that those movements will make you bulky. They won’t, actually, they will help on shaping the body in that desired way. [Note: Bulk does not come from any particular exercise, which is why you shouldn’t worry.]
“Women can handle a lot more upper-body volume than they tend to lift,” explains Colorado-based online personal trainer Kourtney Thomas, C.S.C.S. “A couple of push-pull and isolation movements once per week isn’t going to be enough to trigger significant change.”
How can you calculate the Volume? It’s easy: “Volume” is exercise-speak for the number of reps you perform, multiplied by the weight lifted during each of those reps. It might sound confusing, but this strategy can help turn up the volume of the workouts, make the muscles really work, strengthen them and, finally, help you see the results in the “fight” with the weights.
To help you get those “toned arms”, we are posting below some strategies that can make you more stronger and more capable to get the best from your body.
Toned arms for the win
- Increase the Intensity
“In general, the biggest thing that I see keeping women from their arm goal is using pink dumbbells for 20 reps,” says Minnesota-based exercise physiologist Mike T. Nelson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.
It’s not like higher reps are bad or have really no results. And it’s also not that women are afraid of heavier weights. But they are really selective with some of their body parts. They don’t think about training their upper body, and mostly the arms. The majority is thinking of getting flat abs, or a great but.
“Women seem to be more comfortable lifting heavy weights for their lower body than for their upper body,” adds Nelson.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Moreover, 2016 research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that lifting light can trigger muscle size increases similar to those from lifting heavier weights. This applies only to those who perform enough reps so the arms reach a point of tiredness on every set.
It’s not wrong to use and lift pink dumbbells for 100 times, but the journey to the fit body will take a very, very long time. Instead, bumping up the resistance and increasing the weights will save money are take you to the results a lot faster.
But if you are still afraid that heavier weights will make you look bulky, just keep in mind that this is just a myth. And it has been debunked a lot of times. Imagine all the stars that you love their bodies. They all work with weights and still look impeccable.
If you are looking for fit arms with nice muscles, shoot for sets of six to 12 reps such as rows, press, pushups, pulldowns), and then sets of 8-20 reps (oftentimes in the higher range) for the more focus movements, like curls and triceps press downs. It is really important to do both types of exercises and movements, otherwise, you will limit the ability to go heavier. Rows and presses are the best and safest way to accomplish the goal of having fit arms.
To make an idea about the perfect weight, imagine that it should be enough heavy to barely squeeze out the very last set, but at the same time enough to be able to perform every rep correctly. If you are sneaking in extra reps after our form has completely broken down, you should either stop or lower the weight slightly.
2. Work the legs
Although you are focusing more on the upper part, you cannot dismiss the importance of big lifts. Deadlifts and squats are recommended and very important in the process of getting a fit body. When the main goal is to look good, and develop more muscle tone, it requires losing some fat. It is the equation we were talking about, of gaining muscle and losing fat.
As we already mentioned, spot reduction of fat does not exist. For example, in one Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise study, when 104 people worked one arm crazy over the course of 12 weeks, and MRI scans showed that the trained arm didn’t lose any more fat than the untrained one. So a good alimentation to ditch the fat that hangs onto the arms is a must on the process of losing fat and building muscle in the specific targeted areas. This process is called spot-enhancement.
And the best way to achieve that fat-burning effect is to perform large, compound lifts that involve as much musculature as possible. While upper-body compound moves such as rows, pull-ups, and bench presses use a lot of musculature for a sizeable caloric burn, lower body exercises like deadlifts and squats will take that caloric burn to the next level, Nelson says.
So if you need to lose fat in the upper part of the body, the best to do it is to incorporate lower-body compound lifts at least twice a week. This way you will get the best routine for your body.
As scary as it might sound, you don’t need to go daily to the gym to have that high-intensive work-out. It’s just a matter of custom and a good structure of the gym program.
First idea: One “push” day, one “pull” day
On your push day, you could do exercises like shoulder presses, chest presses, squats, lunges, and then triceps pushdowns and extensions.
On your pull day, you’d combine rows, pull-ups (or lat pulldowns), deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and biceps curls variations.
Second idea: One “compound” push-pull day, one “accessory” day
This variation requires at least 2 push-pull days and at least one accessory day. For instance, the first day will include squats (push), row (pull), shoulder presses (push), and step-ups (push). During Day 2 (accessory) women should focus on biceps curls, triceps pushdowns and extensions, and shoulder raises.
In the day 3 you can include deadlifts (pull), chest presses (push), and pulldowns/pull-ups (pull), and lunges (push).
3. More “Arm days”
No matter how heavy are those weights for the upper part of the body, regularity is the key to success. How often you perform those exercises will tell you if the results are right at the corner or not.
“If your arms are a major training goal for you, you need to put more attention there and start skewing the percentage of your total training that targets your arms,” Thomas says. “For example right now, upper-body work is literally like 75 percent of what I’m doing. I lift four days per week, and three of those days are upper-body days.”
After making the switch from only two days for the upper-body to three pieces of training a week, she notes that in less than a month you will see the results in the mirror.
The reason is explained by science: while it differs for everyone, women tend to carry less fat in their arms compared to their thighs, butt, and pelvic area. From what we understand, this is merely an evolutionary trait and should not be viewed as a bad thing.
At women, the fat accumulates in those areas, such as the arms because of 2 reasons:
- The higher level of estrogen
- The fat levels that act as a storage center for the demands of the body that should become pregnant.
For instance, the period of lactation requires a lot more energy, this is why the body responds to this by storing more fat. This way, it will be more prepared for this need (think from an evolutionary standpoint of undernourished females needing to provide for their babies; the energy needs to come from somewhere, so the body has created reserve storage — just in case.)
Which is not so bad, thinking that men store a lot of fat in their stomach. Which is even worse. Lots of women don’t like the fact that fat goes generally around the legs and the butt, but they should enjoy it, as the clepsydra body form is completely natural and good looking.
On the other hand, fat storage in the gut – as men use to experience – is really dangerous. So if the waist is bigger than the hips, there might be a lot of health risks. Coronary artery disease, diabetes, elevated triglycerides, hypertension, cancer, and general overall mortality are the most important and harmful ones.
So while you can’t “spot reduce,” knowing that certain body parts are naturally leaner means that a target focus can make it easier for results to come faster — if you provide them with a little extra attention.
The minimal way to improve the aspect of arms by sport is at least two upper-body pieces of training a week. And there are 2 types of exercises to consider:
One “push” day, one “pull” day
On a push day, the best exercises to perform are the bench press, shoulder press, and tricep pushdowns, while on a full day it’d be movements like pull-ups or chin-ups, rows, and bicep curls.
One full body day, and one “accessory” day
The scheme is simple: you spend one day on the bigger lifts that involve a lot more musculature (such as the standing shoulder press or pull-ups), and day two on smaller, more targeted lifts like biceps curls, triceps push-downs, and shoulder raises.
For the best results, no matter the way you decide to perform the exercises, Nelson recommends to compound the training in sets of six to eight reps. In the accessory day, with isolation-focused exercises, go with sets of eight to 15 reps.
Tips and tricks: when it comes to the exercises for triceps, you can go with heavier weights and do 20-25 reps. The exercises for triceps involve a small range of motion, this is why you need to do more reps and fatigue the muscles.
Option 1: One “push” day, one “pull” day
On your push day, you could do exercises like shoulder presses, chest presses, squats, lunges, and then triceps pushdowns and extensions.
On your pull day, you’d combine rows, pull-ups (or lat pulldowns), deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and biceps curls variations.
Option 2: One “compound” push-
pull day, one “accessory” day
This variation will require at least 2 push-pull days, and then, at least, one accessory day. So day 1 of the push-pull days could include squats (push), row (pull), shoulder presses (push), and step-ups (push). Day 2 (accessory) would then focus on biceps curls, triceps pushdowns, and extensions, and shoulder raises. Day 3 could include deadlifts (pull), chest presses (push), and pulldowns/pull-ups (pull), and lunges (push).
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4. Adjusting the nutrition to help you get toned arms
No matter the fitness program and the expected results, the right nutrition is essential. Correct nutrition will fuel your workouts, support your recovery, and help you build and maintain the muscle you want.
The food portions and the right food depends on the set goals.
If the goal is to gain some muscle, it is possible to achieve it while keeping the same caloric intake consistent. And this is where is recommended you to start. It’s impossible to know what you need until you consistently apply the right techniques and see the results you get.
So try firstly an approach consistently for 8-12 weeks before making any decisions on how you need to adjust.
By analyzing the results, if you consider that you are not moving in the right direction, you might need to make some additions to your diet. But as helpful advice, to build most muscle mass, you need to be in a caloric surplus (a.k.a. you consume more calories than you burn per day). Simply put, you have to eat a little more than usual to see the results.
Meanwhile, if your goal is to lean up and lose fat, you must achieve a caloric deficit (a.k.a. you burn more calories than you consume per day).
No matter your caloric approach, from building strength and muscle to losing weight from fat (rather than from muscle), it requires consuming adequate levels of protein. And it is well known that women are not getting enough quantity of protein as a general rule.
According to the American Council on Exercise, to build muscle mass, you should eat 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day (if you weigh 150 pounds, that works out to 75 to 120 grams of protein per day). Nelson recommends that women eat 30 grams of protein at least three to four times per day. This way, they can promote healthy muscle levels. The best and handy sources of protein are eggs, meat, fish, dairy, soy, and quinoa.
Based on the results you want, you will eat more or less. How you want to look and feel is directly reported in the way you choose to eat. If you’re seeing results in the gym, are stronger in your day-to-day life, and loving how you feel, you really don’t need to adjust to meet an image perception that isn’t your own.
The best results that anyone could get are those which start from the understanding that appearance is not everything and it is not the final goal. Sport should be fun, relaxing, a true enjoyment when you are in the gym. The fulfillment after training is nothing to compare with. How you feel is the most important thing. So whether you are adding calories or subtracting them, both can feel difficult. So it’s important to gravitate towards the path that feels both sustainable and like it’s the right fit for what you’re trying to achieve.
If you achieve this state of mind, it’s like you reached the success. Don’t waste time and start from tomorrow the body journey.