This special “by the body part” page is primarily for women, but men can (and do) get a ton of benefit from these same exercises. Men can also get “flabby lunch lady” arms like women do, but women are more genetically prone to upper arm fat on the triceps, and therefore are much more prone to seek out firming and toning exercises for this particular part of the upper arm.

It is really the triceps that needs to be toned and worked for the “flabby arm syndrome” that so many women complain about, but there are other areas that are vital to trimming and slimming the upper arm area as well.

We will talk about several exercises that attack flabby arms from all angles, which is an essential part of getting great results for any target area of the body that you want to tone and minimize.  These are all exercises that women (or men) can do at home.

SKULL CRUSHERS

The first one is the simple scull crusher. Or, if you prefer a less icky name, these also go by the name of head bangers.  Take five pound dumb bells to start with, and work your way up as you get stronger.  Use a weight in each hand.

Raise the weights up to meet eachother in a triangle above you head.  Keep the elbows as close together, as if you are squeezing them together, as you bring them down toward the back of your skull, behind your head. You will feel this in the triceps, or the flabby area underneath your upper arm, as long as you are doing them correctly.

You will feel your arms begin to tire fairly quickly, especially if you are using heavier weights. You can vary the speed and the weight, which will help you tone the upper arms even faster. I like to alternate between doing fast skull crushers with five pound weights, and slow ones with eight pounds weights for maximum fat burn and maximum toning and muscle fatigue.

TRICEP KICKBACKS

Tricep kickbacks are one of my favorites, because I can really feel this targeting the specific angle that I know I have trouble with, and I see a definitive difference in my under arm flab after a few intense sessions.  These are where you stand with one dumb bell in each hand, preferably five pounds to start. Work your way up to eight or more.

Bend forward at the trunk to help save your back from injury and get the right angle on your arms.  Your elbows will be bent alongside your body, in the same v-shape.  Then, kick back your arms so they are behind your butt, straight out, and bring them back into the v, then kick them back out again.  This move is intense after a few reps.

Change this up form fast to slow for a better workout, and more fat burning. This will also help you to create more definition in the arms a lot faster than just doing the same speed and same amount of weight every time.

HYDRAULICS

The next exercise for those flabby arms is what I call Hydraulics, because you are forcing up against gravity, like you are the machinery behind an engine.  For this one, you will lie down with your back flat on the floor and your knees up in a v-shape to protect your back and bring it closer to the ground.

You will have your five pound or more weights in each hand.  Your elbows will be as close to your sides as possible at ALL times during this one. This is the only way you get a good burn on the upper arms and back of the arms, is the angle.

Your weights will be facing up toward the ceiling, with your arms in an L-shape.  You will go slowly and deliberately up toward the ceiling, then back down with your weights, all the while concentrating on keep those elbows as close to your sides as possible. This creates a sort of downward pressure on the triceps, which gives a great variance of definition from the other exercises.

PULLOVERS

This is another one where you lie flat on the ground, with your knees up toward the ceiling to protect your lower back.  You will also have one five pound or more weight in each hand, as if they are hammers.

Bring the weights together at the top of your sight of vision, toward the ceiling, then bring them back, over your head, to the floor above your head. Pull them down over your body so your weights are again separated, and one is on each side of the body. Repeat this again and again to the point of muscle burn out.

You can vary the angle on the one a lot. Sometimes I like to straighten my arms out and bring them up to a V in front of my face. This works the tricep at a different angle, and also rounds out the other muscles nicely to help suck in that flabby upper arm fat even more.

Be careful not to strain your neck. All the work should be in your arms, not your neck or shoulders. If you concentrate the power in the arms, then you get the results, and you also protect your neck, back and shoulders from strain.

ALTERNATIVE HAMMERS

This is just like the pullover, except your weights are separated, and they never meet in the middle. You have a weight in each hand, flat on your back, and move the arms in opposite directions, like you are hammering down on the ground.  This will work the areas of the upper arms that get flabby from several different angles.

There you have it ladies!  Although these are exercises that women typically seek out more than men, guys can get the under arm fat as well, and these exercises work equally as well on both sexes.  Here’s to skinnier, fit, firm and toned upper arms!