Flabby arms can be a thing of the past if you do just one arm toning exercise-- the push-up. Push-ups work the tricep muscle in the back of your upper arm where excess fat likes to hang out. By doing different variations of the push-up, you can tone your arms as well as work the muscles in your shoulders, chest and abs. Your biceps, back muscles, and glutes also will be challenged as antagonist muscles during this popular exercise. There are other exercises you can do to train your triceps, but push-ups are the best because you don't need any equipment and you work your entire body to build muscle and burn more calories than doing tricep exercises like skull crushers.
Step 1
Do diamond push-ups to target the triceps. Put your hands flat on the floor or exercise mat and turn your fingers toward each other so your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle. Lift onto your toes or come onto your knees if you are a beginner. Position your chest over your hands with your arms straight. Pull your shoulder blades back and down. Breathe in as you bend your elbows and lower yourself toward the floor while keeping a straight spine. Breathe out as you push your arms straight again. Work up to two sets of 20 to 40 reps.
Step 2
Open your arms wide to do wide-stance push-ups. Place your hands facing forward on the floor at a distance just greater than the width of an exercise mat. This will be greater than shoulder-width apart. Do this on your knees or your toes. Bend your arms and allow your elbows to do out to the sides as you inhale and lower yourself toward the floor. You should always keep your neck and spine straight. Exhale as you push back up. Work up to two sets of 20 to 40 reps.
Step 3
Move your hands closer together at a distance narrower than shoulder-width apart. Your fingers will still face forward and your palms are still flat on the floor. Do this on your knees or your toes. Bend your elbows but let them point behind you so that your elbows will brush the sides of your body as you lower yourself toward the floor. These are sometimes called tricep push-ups. Straighten your arms and exhale. Work up to two sets of 20 to 40 reps.
Step 4
Perform these three exercises together every day of the week, except one, as recommended by fitness expert, Ellen Barret. Take a day off to rest and recover. You may need to do these every other day when you start if you have never done push-ups before because your muscles will be sore.
Tips and Warnings
- Ellen Barrett, lead instructor of FIT TV's "All-Star Workouts" program, says that push-ups are the best exercise for flabby arms, but they should be done along with "at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day to burn fat and strengthen the heart." Keep your neck in line with your spine throughout the push-ups. Look down at the floor so you don't take your neck out of alignment by looking up or tilting your chin down.
Things You'll Need
- Exercise mat
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