Target Arm Fat And Build Muscle With These 8 Moves

May 23, 2018 by apost team

Who doesn’t want fit arms? For women, the goal might be definition. For men, the goal might be adding lean muscle. Some may be seeking a healthier body. Others may be doing it for looks alone.

Heck, you may just not want to jiggle in sleeveless shirts. 
 

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Whatever the case, there are some very easy and basic arm moves that almost anyone can do to add muscle and reduce fat.

Of course, nutrition is a key component of any body change. The following eight moves are designed to target arm fat, sculpt, and build lean arm muscle. Keep in mind that the arm exercises are discussed as a single rep here; you’ll need to establish a rep and set schedule for each move based on your fitness level. 
 

Take a dumbbell in each hand, with palms facing outward. Stand up straight. Shoulders should be back and feet should be even with shoulders. Tuck your elbows near your sides. Keep your core tight. Alternate raising each dumbbell straight back toward your shoulder. Alternatively, you can use exercise bands, a barbell, or cable machine to complete biceps curls.

Cable machines offer the most accurate range of motion and muscle activation for the biceps, but any option will work so long as you ensure proper form. 
 

It’s important to focus on muscle proportion. In other words, you wouldn’t want huge, chiseled, strong, and otherwise fit biceps and have puny, fatty, weak triceps. Not only does it look odd, having disproportionate strengths within muscle groupings is one of the top causes of muscle strains and injuries. 

Dumbbell in right hand. Place your left leg forward, assuming an even-weighted, split-stance. Core tight. Brace yourself with your left hand on your left thigh as you lean forward to be almost parallel to the floor; your head and spine should be aligned. Pull your right shoulder down and back and bend your elbow to a 90-degree angle so that your forearm is vertical to the floor. Without moving your upper arm, extend your elbow for the upward phase. Slowly lower your arm for the downward phase. 
 

Upright rows are great for delts and traps and some mid-back. Feet shoulder-width apart. Core tight. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand with palms facing inward. Raise the kettlebell to shoulder level slowly and then slowly lower it back to your side. 

A word of caution - You’ll often see people jerk the kettlebell up and raise it past their shoulders. This isn’t good form. It can cause shoulder impingement from going past the natural range of motion and muscle strains from the jerking. 
 

You’re engaging your entire upper body with push-ups. To really target the chest area, try incline barbell push-ups, which are done on an incline. Set your barbell on a squat rack. Feet should be right next to each other. Lean forward to the bar and begin doing push-ups off of it. 
 

These exercises give the tips of the arms that ‘capped’ look and give the arm the leverage strength for heavy lifts. Feet shoulder-width apart. Core tight. You can start from the ground to ‘clean’ the bar up, or you can set it shoulder-height on a rack before loading your weight. 

Grip the bar shoulder-width apart and lift overhead in front of your face all the way up and slightly backward so that it becomes vertically aligned with the top, back of your head. Hold for a few seconds before slowly lowering it back down to shoulder-level. Note that it’s important to find a weight that you can control for proper posture and do at least five reps. 
 

Place the kettlebell at your feet. Core tight. Knees bent with butt out and back straight. Feet shoulder-width apart. Basically, a good squat position. Grip the kettlebell with palms facing you. Pull it to your stomach, pulling high enough to flex the elbow. Pause before slowly lowering. 
 

This is an ideal exercise for midsection and rear end work, but it also forces upper back work that can help slouchy shoulders and chests. Trainers often call it the 99 problem exercise since it’s so useful for so many areas. 

Begin by standing over the kettlebell with feet shoulder-width apart, hips back, and shoulders down. Grip the kettlebell with both hands; palms should be facing you. Swing the kettlebell between your legs and back up to chest height. Drive with hips and heels as the bell goes backward to forward. Remember to always control the velocity and pick a manageable weight that allows for at least 12 reps per set. 
 

By diet move, this isn’t some notion of elimination or fad food eating in mass quantities. Instead, it’s about consistency, good nutrition, and portions matching needs. Whatever your diet may be, make sure that it’s an eating and nutrition style you can maintain for the long-term. It also comes down to smart choices and balance - the right amounts of the right types of proteins, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and carbohydrates to match your energy expenditure. 

Novice exercisers begin to workout and develop muscle. As they don’t see the scales back-peddling, they often assume they must be doing something wrong exercise and/or nutrition wise. But, in reality, muscle weighs heavier than fat, meaning that building muscle often shows as a weight gain despite the person losing fat. Did you know that creating lean muscle actually boosts metabolism and your ability to burn fat? 

Do your arms need some toning and trimming, or have you used any of the above steps to already gain sleeveless-worthy arms? If so, tell us your story by showing this article to your friends and family!