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Toning arms and boobs.. er, Pecs

Strawberry_lovemuffin

Strawberry_lovemuffin

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Messages
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Location
Melbourne, Australia
Right, there's nearly 12 months until I have to wear my dream wedding dress and I am in fat-loss mode at the moment. But I'm also starting to think about the top half as well - ie. my flabby upper arms and chest. Since this dress is strapless, both are going to be on show and I would really like to tone these areas.

My only issue is I *don't* want to go to a gym. I work out outside (walking, running) and just want a simple weights routine that I can do at home. I'm not going to join a gym if I don't have to. But I've got no idea how - or when - to start.

1. How long does it take to tone your arms? If I start now is that too soon? Or should I begin the upper body toning thing, say, 3 months before?

2. What is a good routine I can do with hand weights and how often should I do it, in conjunction with my regular cardio (4 days a week)

3. What size weights do I need?

4. Are there other items of at-home equiptment that would work better than hand-weights for this purpose?
 
there's a lot of things that you can do to tone up your arms. The most basic of course being curls and presses...curls are essentially when you have your arm hanging straight down then while keeping your elbow in place bring your wirst up basically to your shoulder...i'm sure you've seen this being done before. Presses usually involve some sort of cable or somethingand basically it's the reverse of a curl. But you don't need any fancy equipement to start toning up your arms just do some push-ups and you can get some light dumbells (i don't know how strong you are...maybe 10-15lb?) to do curls with. You should definately notice results very shortly (less than a month). I'd be glad to help you out and answer any questions you have about nutrition...just pm me
 
Definatley go for the resistance excercises first and get the dumbells for bicep curls etc.

There are a few different types of pushups you can do which will work different parts of your upper body.

Few websites to checkout for Pushup/resistance excercises:

http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Begin/exercises.htm
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_11_18/ai_93009061
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/diet/fitness/articles/0,,284557_542526-2,00.html

I generally do 4 x 25 wide 4 x 25 normal (I pretty much cant move my arms after this though heh) and then 5 x 25 double crunches for abdominal muscles (you get pretty good at these after awhile, I only just recently started again).

You might also like to get some light hand weights and do some power walking while using the weights, this would definatley help you to increase your muscle tone. You can always up the weights if it becomes too easy.

Rember that your muscle will generally weigh a bit more than fat and if you're on a diet it can be a bit discouraging to see you've actually gained a bit of weight, so be wary.
 
one step further

>You might also like to get some light hand weights and do some power walking >while using the weights, this would definatley help you to increase your muscle >tone. You can always up the weights if it becomes too easy.

^^well said. furthermore you might consider biting off a bit of physical work indoor or outdoor to be completed over a couple of months. Helps recovery between achy workout repercussions and helps self image in other ways, imho.

:)
 
^All very good tips.

Also, if you want to look really good in your wedding pics, cut WAY DOWN on your salt intake in the week or so leading up to it. A lot of that flab is water retention. Also do a bit of cardio!

good luck and congrats!
:)
 
What your seeking is not related to lifting at all IMO...

cut all your sugar intake to NO refined sugars at all anyday, in 12 months you'll be a totally different person, just from that alone. beleive that!

you'll feel way better too. There is sooo much sugar in the average 'developed' nations diet, its insane. Go get the book Sugarbusters, if your really serious. Its not carbs you dont want, its SUGAR carbs (simple carbs) you dont want. Complex carbs like SWEET potatoes, yams, whole wheat products, are fine! Regular potatoes are no good tho!! Too high of GI response.
 
One thing nobody has mentioned is the "high reps tone and low reps add bulk" myth. Muscle is muscle, you can't really tone it. For muscle to feel more hard and toned you have to diet/cardio off the fat covering it up. But you already mentioned you have that side of the deal covered.

The best rep range for muscle hypertrophy for most people is 8-12. This applies to both men and women. Don't worry about getting too big and muscular, it would take years of dedication to get to that point. And that's assuming you are one of the few women who has the genes to get real muscular in the first place.
 
Arm muscles tend to develop pretty quickly, I dont think it should take you that long to get toned, as long as you work out a couple times a week. Its never too early to start! Id get into a basic routine and maybe step it up a month or two before the wedding if you reaaallly wanna be buff. :)
 
How about before and after pics to see if our suggestions have helped you at all.
 
Here's a link to an article called "7 days to ultimate leaness by the highly respected trainer Chris "Swolecat" Janusz:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=C3C84E4961188824E03FB8642FA2849C.hydra?id=459329



Here is an excerpt (keep in mind this is NOT a long term diet and is only meant to be used for about a week to prepare for one or two days.):

"Techniques Used

1) Carb depletion and loading — Here we’ll take advantage of our muscles' ability to absorb up to one and half times more muscle glycogen after being in a depleted state. Along with our water restriction and skin tightening techniques to follow, this will create very large, full muscle bellies with cuts and striations. We'll carb load with very little sodium, thus ensuring full muscle bellies and literally no subcutaneous water (water between the skin and muscle) to blur definition.

2) Water loading and depletion — Here we'll trick our bodies into expelling excess water to get that paper-thin skin look, thus letting those exploding muscles almost burst through! For the first three days we’ll water load. The last three days we’ll slowly reduce our water while we continue to carb-load in a sodium-free environment. We'll be carb depleting during the sodium loading phase and carb loading during the sodium depletion phase. You’ll understand why as we move along.

3) Sodium loading and depletion — This goes hand in hand with the water loading and depletion. You'll load up on sodium to get the body used to very high amounts for a few days. The last few days when you cut down your water, you'll cut out all sodium. It’s literally impossible to eat zero sodium, so that's the purpose of the sodium load. You'll make a little bit of sodium in the diet seem like absolutely nothing due to the three days of extremely high sodium intake. The result is your body letting go of every bit of subcutaneous water, leaving you dry, paper thin, and ripped to hell! You're also cutting out water as the days progress, but are still expelling it at the rate you were while water loading. This is key!"
 
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SLM: I dislike going to the gym as well just to do my weights...I have 2 sets of weights back home (4 lbs & 6 lbs) and I do my arm exercises at least 3 times a week while watching television at night (sitting position/floor). Just make sure you have a couch/bed handy where you can do the parts that require you to do overheads. I do 3x30 reps for each exercise (You can modify this of course) when I'm feeling particularly productive but it varies.

Here are some helpful tips/exercises to get you started from here

8 Minutes to Get Rid of Your Upper Body Wobbly Bits

Whether it's the little black dress in winter or, for men, stripping down to your shorts in summer, those wobbly bits around the upper arms, chest and back can easily spoil the look. Here's our 8 minute body toning workout to banish the wobbly bits.

Equipment Needed

Any exercise aimed at toning your body needs something to provide resistance for your muscles to work against. Most of the exercises below use hand-held weights to provide resistance: these can be as simple as water bottles (or even tins of food) you can grip comfortably, or dumbbells in the range of 1lb-5lb/0.5-2kg.

Timing and Repetitions

10 reps of each exercise should take about 8 minutes. As with all exercise you should warm-up first. Marching or jogging on the spot for a few minutes interspersed with some gentle stretches will do the trick.

Caution

Body toning exercise can be a pretty painful experience if muscles have lain dormant for a while. The problem is, it's not until 24-48hrs after your workout that you'll realise you've overdone it! Body toning exercise should not be painful while you are doing it - if it is you're using too much weight.

If you've not been exercising your muscles recently it's best to start with a weight that feels "very easy" and build up gradually from there.

The Workout

Exercise 1 - Chest and Shoulders
Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched to the sides. With your elbows slightly bent, lift your arms above your chest until your hands are almost touching. Return to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 2 - Chest and Shoulders
Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched above your head. Grip your weights and bring them over your head and down to your hips, by your sides - a semi-circular motion. Lift back to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 3 - Chest and Back
Sitting with your back straight (preferably supported) and legs straight out in front of you, hold your weights in at your chest with your elbows out to the side (parallel to the floor). Push your arms out straight in front of you then pull them back in. Repeat.

Exercise 4 - Back and Shoulders
Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms by your sides, gripping the weights with palms facing outwards. Making sure your movements are slow and concentrated, tense your shoulder and upper back muscles, then slowly "shrug" them up and down.

Exercise 5 - Shoulders and Upper Arms
Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms raised straight up above your head, grip your weights with your palms facing behind you. Slowly bring your arms forward and down, without bending at the elbow, until level with your shoulders. Lift back to starting position and repeat.

Exercise 6 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back
Standing with feet slightly apart, grasp your weights and bend at the waist until your torso is parallel to the floor. Extend your arms towards the floor with palms facing outwards. Lift your arms out to the side, keeping them straight, until parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Exercise 7 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back
Standing with feet slightly apart, position your arms straight down in front of you almost against your body - with your weights almost touching. Bend your elbows and lift your weights towards your chin, bringing your elbows out to the side, in line with your shoulders. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Exercise 8 - Arms and Chest
The classic push up. With your hands shoulder width apart place your palms on the floor. Stretch out your body with either your knees on the floor, or if you're feeling ambitious, your toes - so you are supporting your body weight. Keeping your back straight and using your arms lower yourself gently toward the floor until you are hovering just over it. Push yourself slowly back to your starting position and repeat. Remember - don't lower yourself to the point where you come into contact with the floor, it'll be much harder to push back up.

Exercise 9 - Arms
In a sitting position with your back straight, relax your arms in line with your body. Grip your weights with your palms facing upwards and curl them up towards your shoulders, then back down again. Repeat. Keep your torso still and back straight, let your arms do the work.

Exercise 10 - Forearms
Holding your weight with your arm outstretched in front of you, tilt your wrist up and down repeatedly. Try doing this with both an overhand and underhand grip on your weight. Do one arm at a time.

Results

The secret of successful body toning is regularity. If you do this exercise sequence every other day you'll start to see results in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

You can choose which exercises you wish to do and just vary them everyday, or you can do all ten if you really want fast results;) I find that doing my weights in front of the television to be a VERY effective way of ensuring I do my exercises at all.... doing repetitious arm exercises in front of the mirror bores me most of the time. Good luck!
 
Wow thanks so much, that's exactly what I was looking for!

Have now lost just over 11kg (nearly 25 pounds) since starting this thread, so that fat-loss alone has done wonders for the look/shape of my arms. Still need to work on the pecs a bit though ;)

4 months to go countdown to the wedding : time to start the toning!
 
Besides the toning (also called definition) exercises, you might take up something like bicycling. One of the benefits is that you will be able to eat almost any thing you want and not have to worry about putting on weight.
 
^^I go spinning 2-3x a week and I definitely am not yet in that "eat anything" stage ! =D can't wait tho .....*sighs and looks forward to that day*
 
Or running :) 1 hour running = ~800 calories burnt (3700 kJ!) per hour.
 
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