Most of us would love to have better looking arms. So what exercises should we do to make our arms look leaner, tighter, and less flabby?
We need to perform the exercises that burn the most fat in our arms.
But, there’s just one problem.
No such exercises exists.
YOU CAN’T SPOT REDUCE, BUT YOU CAN SPOT PRODUCE
Despite what many marketing gimmicks have tried to sell you, you can’t use certain exercises to spot reduce fat on certain parts of your body. For example, doing crunches isn’t going to help you burn body fat around your tummy. The same goes for arms, doing an absurd amount of bench dips isn’t going to reduce body fat on the back of your arms.
You can’t spot reduce. Unless you get some sort of liposuction or other procedure, of course.
In order to understand why this is the case, let’s talk about the fundamentals of fat loss and fat gain, which comes from a difference in energy balance.
Our bodies use the calories from the food we eat as energy. When we burn more calories than we eat, that is called a calorie deficit, and we lose weight. When we eat more calories than we burn, that is called a calorie surplus, and we gain weight.
When we gain body fat, we store it in different areas depending on genetics, sex, hormone profiles, and more. Women tend to gain body fat easily around their hips, thighs, butt, and upper arms. Men tend to easily gain body fat around their midsection. The areas we tend to gain it first are the areas where we tend to lose it last. These are usually called our “stubborn” areas.
When we are in a energy deficit and we are telling our body to lose weight, our body will get rid of fat wherever it wants to. The stubborn areas are the last places where fat leaves. Continuing a protocol for a period of time to finally lose that stubborn body fat is challenging, and marketing companies know this. Therefore, they aim to sell on the idea that they finally have the exercises and equipment for those stubborn areas. But they don’t.
You have what it takes, though. And it’s just a matter of whether or not you really want to commit to doing what it takes to lose that body fat even in the most stubborn areas.
So, if you are in a state where your body is losing body fat (lifting weights, eating enough protein, and being in a calorie deficit), the fat on the back of those arms will finally leave.
But before you worry about trying to lose the most fat possible, you need to focus on something else that I believe is far more important.
And that, is muscle.
There’s a saying in the fitness space that goes like this: “You can’t spot reduce, but you can spot produce.” This means that although you can’t use certain exercises to lose fat in specific areas, you can use certain exercises to build up the muscles in those specific areas. And that is what will help you get that tighter, leaner, sexier look.
Underneath the fat on your body is muscle, and muscle is what gives your body great aesthetics. Muscle is what makes your arms look better. Muscle is what makes your butt pop. Muscle is the chisel to the marble that is your body.
The more muscle you have in your arms, the more shape and definition they will have. You can lose as much fat as you possibly can, but if you don’t have muscle underneath to show off, you’ll just look like someone who hasn’t eaten in the past two years. I’m not even talking about an absurd amount of muscle. No, you don’t need to look like a body builder. Even a little bit of muscle can completely change the way your arms look. Even small increases in muscle on your arms can be the difference between flabby Abby and lean Jean.
So before you even think about losing tons and tons of fat on your arms, prioritize building muscle to show off first.
You may not be able to use curls and dips to burn the fat on your arms, but you are most certainly able to use curls, dips, and more to build muscle on those arms of yours.
EXERCISES TO SPOT PRODUCE
Here is a list of some of the most beneficial muscle-building arm exercises:
Biceps
Chin-Ups (this exercise is primarily for your back, but heavily involves the biceps)
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns (this exercise is primarily for your back, but heavily involves the biceps)
Barbell Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Triceps
Dips
Bench Dips
Narrow Grip Bench Press
Barbell and Dumbbell Skull Crushers
Cable Tricep Extensions
Although the biceps and triceps are the main muscles involved in the look of your upper arms, the shoulders help highlight the biceps and triceps. So here are some great shoulder exercises you can use:
Shoulders
Barbell Overhead Press
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Barbell and Dumbbell Upright Row
Dumbbell Reverse Fly
If you incorporate some of these exercises in your routine, it’s likely you’ll see some improvement in your arms, given you incorporate them into your routine properly.
Although the exercises themselves are important, I would also argue that the way you perform the exercises is even more important. Doing bicep curls is great, but just doing them doesn’t mean you’re going to build muscle on your arms.
In order to properly utilize the above exercises, I recommend performing them in a 6-12 rep range for 3-4 sets, with 60-90 seconds rest in between sets. As you perform the exercises, focus on feeling those muscles squeeze as much as they possibly can. Think about flexing your muscle in order to move the weight, rather than just moving the weight with your arms and hoping you feel something in your muscles. Focus on moving as much weight as possible while maintaining good form, too.
If you are performing the exercises as described, eating enough protein and food in general, you may likely see muscular improvement in your arms.
Once you’ve found the importance and effect of building muscle on your arms, it’s time to prioritize losing body fat.
If you have more muscle, your arms will have more definition even at higher body fat percentages. But, it’s still important to focus on fat loss so you can really make those muscles pop. The more muscle you have, the lower body fat you have, the more that arm definition will show.
While focusing on losing body fat, make sure you are still lifting weights and focusing on your strength. The fat loss will come from changes in energy balance (nutritionally), so don’t turn your lift into a cardio session. Make sure you’re eating enough protein (.6-1g/lb of body weight for relatively lean individuals, .3-.6g/lb of bodyweight for overweight and obese individuals). If you’re eating a decent amount of food, you can slowly taper your calories down each week. If you’re already eating very little, you need to continue focusing on building muscle and slowly adding calories (50-150) to your daily intake each week. It’s important that you lose as much fat as possible from increasing your steps, and changing your nutrition before you even think about adding cardio in. Cardio is extremely effective, but only in the short term. The more you do chronic cardio, the more it can impede your fat loss goals. Use cardio as a last minute fat loss boost for about 2-3 weeks at most.
Remember, you can’t spot reduce, but you can spot produce.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Your body will lose fat wherever it wants to. Doing extra reps of tricep dips won’t equate to more fat loss from the back of your arms.
You can’t spot reduce but you can spot produce. Focus on building muscle, then start to lose body fat.
When focusing on muscle, perform your exercises with the right intent.
When it’s time to focus on fat loss, get the most amount of changes from increases in your steps and slight adjustments to your nutrition. Get the most results with the least amount of change. Use cardio as a last-minute boost for 2-3 weeks at most.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.
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