Women have a tendency to store fat in their arms, particularly their triceps area. This fat storage can lead to "bat wings" -- the flap of skin and flab that hangs below your arm and jiggles when you wave or move your arm around. To tighten up your arms and keep them toned, add triceps exercises to your fitness routine.
Triceps Dips
Sit on a bench and grasp the front edge of the bench with both of your hands, keeping your hands close to your body. Extend your legs in front of you, placing your heels on the ground with your toes pointing upward. Lift your buttocks off the bench while pushing on the bench with your palms, shifting your torso forward in front of the bench. Bend your elbows and begin lowering your body toward the floor. When your elbows form a 90-degree angle, press through your palms and extend your elbows while lifting your body. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions.
Overhead Triceps Extension
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a 10- to 15-pound dumbbell over your head with both hands. Grasp the head of the dumbbell closest to the ceiling, with both palms pointing toward the ceiling. Keeping your elbows close to your ears and your upper arms steady, bend your elbows and lower the dumbbell behind your head. When your elbows form a 90-degree angle, press upward and straighten your elbows to lift the weight. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions.
Triceps Kickback
Choose a lightweight dumbbell between 5 and 10 pounds. Kneel on a bench by placing your left palm and left knee on the bench, with your right foot on the floor and your right hand holding the dumbbell. Start the exercise with your right upper arm held flat against your right side with your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle, the dumbbell in your right hand hanging down toward the floor. Keeping your upper arm steady, straighten your elbow, pressing the dumbbell backward toward your hip. When you've straightened your arm fully, reverse the movement and bend your elbow, lowering the weight back to the starting position. Repeat eight to 12 times before switching sides.
Biceps Exercises
Balance out your arm workout by performing one or two biceps exercises. Choose from a dumbbell biceps curl, hammer curl or reverse curl. The difference between these exercises is the position of your wrists and hands during the exercise.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand, your arms hanging at your sides. For all curl exercises, keep your upper arms flat against your sides as you bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells up to your shoulders. To perform a traditional curl, start with your palms facing away from your body, pulling the dumbbells up until your palms face your shoulders. To perform the reverse curl, start with your palms facing toward your body, pulling the dumbbells up until your palms face away from your shoulders. To perform a hammer curl, start with your palms facing in toward your thighs and lift the dumbbells while keeping your palms in this inward-facing position.
Perform the exercises with both arms at once, or isolate each arm individually. Perform several sets of 12 to 15 repetitions with lightweight dumbbells of between 5 and 12 pounds.
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