If you’ve been looking to improve the appearance of your arms, it’s very possible to do so with the right exercises.
Your arms are one of the best indicators of your strength and fitness and they act as an accessory to any outfit you wear. To get them looking their best, you want to get them as lean as possible. This means finding the best exercises to get rid of arm fat and bring out more definition in them.
It’s almost instinctive to do arm exercises whenever you see weight as when most people pick up a dumbbell they are most likely to perform some sort of bicep curl with it. It seems to be in our nature to want to strengthen our arms and when they are strong and lean; we want to show them off like trophies.
It will take some work but fortunately, there are 5 different exercises to get rid of arm fat and strengthen your arm muscles.
1. Cardiovascular Exercise
You might think it’s weird to start with something that’s not a specific arm exercise but if you’re looking to get rid of arm fat, cardio is one of the exercises you need to consider. This is to help you burn off more calories and ultimately decrease your body fat levels. When you can drop your body fat percentage, this pays off all over your body and you’ll notice fat loss in your arms among other areas.
The sweet spot for cardio per week is around 150 minutes and we can break this up a few different ways. This can be 30 minutes five days a week, or around 20 minutes each day. You can also do 40-50 minutes three times a week. The main point is to get your body moving to allow it to burn off more body fat and increase your overall leanness.
The cardio can be simply walking, jogging, swimming, biking or any way you like to move and that motivates you to be active. This doesn’t even need to be super intense and there are a few indicators you can look out for knowing you’re in the right range to burn fat. Let’s look at simple walking as an example:
- You should feel warm, not necessarily sweating but a definite warmth and glow to the skin
- You should go at a pace where you’re able to still keep a conversation going. If you can’t, it’s an indicator it may be too intense to be in that fat burning range
- You should be able to hear yourself breathing. Not gasping for breath but your breathing should be audible
- You find yourself licking your lips. This is a good indicator that your body is in the fat-burning zone
2. Bicep Curls
This is a longstanding classic, and it’s existed for as long as people have been strength training with free weights. If you are looking to get rid of arm fat, bicep curls are one of the best exercises you can do – and they are also simple. Starting with a barbell you will stand with feet in a shoulder-width stance and gripping the barbell with your hands just outside your legs.
Starting with the bar at the front of your legs, curl the bar up keeping your elbows tight to your side. When you get to the top, squeeze your biceps. Pretend that you have a walnut you’re trying to crush between your bicep and forearm and then lower the bar -under control – back to the starting position.
Aim for around 10-12 repetitions for 2-3 sets. The last few repetitions you do on these exercises should be just about all you can do and if you can go on for many more reps – with good form – it’s probably too light to be effective. Also, if you can only do 4 to 5 reps, it will be too heavy.
2. Overhead Tricep Extensions
The tricep is made up of three parts and also makes up two-thirds of your arm size so including tricep training will be important for getting them lean. You can do these either sitting or standing and it involves taking a dumbbell that starts behind your head. You will grip the dumbbell with both hands and have it lowered down behind your neck with your elbows pulled in close to your head.
At that lowered starting position you should feel a stretch in the back of your arms. You then will press the weight up towards the ceiling straightening out your arms and then lowering it back under control to that starting position. You can also aim for 10-12 reps here too.
3. Tricep Kick Backs
This is another one of the classic arm exercises that not only help to get rid of arm fat but are a great way to strengthen the triceps. We do this with a single dumbbell and you would start with the dumbbell in your right hand and your left knee, and hand would be on a bench for support. The starting position for the weight is with your elbow pull up lined up with your side and your forearm pointing straight down to the ground.
Keeping that elbow tight to the side you will extend your hand backward so you feel a contraction in your tricep. Think of your elbow as a pivot point and lower it back under control to the starting position to complete one rep. You can do 10-12 for that arm and then switch over to the other side to complete one set and you can do 2-3 total sets.
4. Hammer Curls
This is a great bicep and forearm strengthener along with being a great exercise to get rid of arm fat. You can stand or sit and you will need two dumbbells. You will hold the dumbbells in a vertical position so that when you grip them your palms are facing in toward your body. When you start, your arms will be straight at your side and the dumbbells parallel to the floor.
You will curl them upwards squeezing at the top for a second before lowering them back under control to the starting position. They call these hammer curls as the motion looks like you are hammering a nail. You can do these with both arms or alternate arms but go for the same 10-12 repetitions.
5. Bench Dips
Another great triceps exercise and one that doesn’t need any free weights or bands. You can do this with a chair or on the edge of a sturdy bench or table. If these are new to you-you can start with your feet on the floor in front of you and the base of your hands will be on the edge of the chair. Your elbows will be in close to your body and the starting position is with your arms straightened.
You then lower your upper body – under control – down towards the ground and stop short before your butt touches the ground. You might not be able to go this far down but the main thing is to lower to a level where you feel a stretch in the back of your arm. When you get to that point you will push your upper body up with the base of your hands to that upward starting position.
These are tougher so you should just do as many as feel comfortable. It’s a bodyweight exercise so if you can do 10-12 that’s great, but if you can only do 3 or 4, it will still get your results.
If they get easier, you can elevate your feet up onto something to create more resistance and make the exercise more challenging.
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