Heavy upper arms
Posted by Carol
I am 5'5" and weigh 119 pounds. Although I train regularly with weights, follow a healthy diet and do cardio, I can't seem to slim down my upper arms. I am assuming that it is genetic as I have had this problem since my teens.
I include triceps in my workouts although I do avoid bicep exercises as I do not want my upper arms to look any bigger. The only time my upper arms shrunk down in size was when I was running six times a week and was down to 108 pounds. Everyone told me I had lost far too much weight so I cut back on the running.
I am a vegetarian except for a weekly sampling of chicken and fish. I make sure I get protein from other sources including Whey protein powder, eggs and soy products. I eat lots of fruit and vegetables and very little bread. I do make an effort to eat organic cereals that contain a variety of grains. I don't eat processed food or junk food and rarely indulge in sweets.
I do full body workouts 3x week. I tried high repetitions with light weights 3 sets 15 to 20 reps but it did not make much of a difference. I changed to 3 sets of 10 reps which has helped me gain some lean body mass. Triceps routine includes tricep kickbacks. tricep pulldown and tricep extensions. Cardio involves jogging outside or treadmill indoors 3 times a week for 40 mins.
I hope that someone might be able to offer some advice. Tx.
Re: Heavy upper arms
Posted by TJ
Carol, The first thing I would do is check my protein grams per day and reduce carbs.Make sure you`re getting .5-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.If you cut out fruit & bread and cycle your carbs by going low for 3 days followed by 2 slightly higher days.Try to eat a meal that`s high in protein every 3 hours or so and increase your cardio to 5-6 days walking on an incline for 30-45 minutes at a time.Avoid dairy products and calorie dense foods.Of course I don`t expect you to eat like this all the time but I think if you did this for 4-6 weeks you would notice a remarkable change.The amount of reps you do has very little effect on fat loss.Fat loss comes from a "clean" diet and cardio routine.Good luck!
