Weak, flabby arms might not raise your risk for diabetes like stomach flab, but they can lower your self-esteem when you lift your sleeve. To tighten and tone your muscles, perform exercises that involve every part of your arms. This includes the front and back of the upper and lower regions. Use free weights and the weight of your body for resistance.
Cardio
Whenever flab is a concern, cardiovascular exercise needs to be done to reduce it. Because it is your arms that are flabby, perform full-body cardio like elliptical training, kickboxing, rowing, jumping rope, versa climbing and cross-country skiing. All of these exercises involve arm movement. Work out for at least 30 minutes, three to four days a week.
Triceps Exercises
The triceps are the three-part muscles on the back of the upper arms. It is this location where flabby skin and fat can be seen when you raise your upper arm and shake it back and forth. Exercises to strengthen these muscles include extension of the elbow. This is a motion where your arm goes from a bent to straight position. Push-ups, close-grip bench presses, dips, straight bar pushdowns and triceps kickbacks can all be done to target your whole tricep area. Kickbacks target all three parts, or "heads," of the triceps, and they are done with a dumbbell.
Stand with your right foot forward, left foot behind you and the dumbbell held in your left hand. After bending at the waist, lift your left upper arm until it parallels the floor and is tight to your side. Your palm should be facing your body at this point. Steadily push the weight backward by extending your arm. Squeeze your triceps forcefully, return to the starting point and repeat. When you've completed 10 to 12 reps, switch sides.
Biceps Exercises
The biceps flex the elbow causing the arm to move from a straight to bent position. These muscles are found on the front of the upper arms, and they need to be worked to promote strength and prevent muscle imbalances. Exercises such as barbell curls, twist curls, hammer curls and chin-ups can work the biceps brachii and brachialis. These are the two parts of the biceps muscles.
To do chin-ups, grab a pull-up with an underhand, shoulder-width grip and pull yourself up toward the bar as high as possible by contracting your biceps. Slowly lower yourself all the way down and repeat for 10 to 12 repetitions.
Forearms
The forearms automatically get worked when you grip dumbbells and barbells, but you can also single them out with exercises. Wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and reverse barbell curls work both sides of the forearms. Reverse curls work the long muscle called the brachioradialis, which originates under your biceps and runs down the forearm.
To do reverse curls, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand, shoulder-width grip and lift it until your palms face forward. Slowly lower the bar and repeat 10 to 12 times.
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