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My flappy arms
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Posted by
vickij (
My Page) on
Fri, Sep 30, 11 at 15:10
| I have flappy upper arms. I workout at a gym although I am not a fanatic about it. I don't know what to do. I have considered liposuction but I am 63 so I think the loose skin would still hang and flap. I am not overweight but I am so self conscious about this. I live in Arizona and I find it next to impossible to cover my arms in 110 degree heat. Has anyone else ever dealt with this little problem? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: My flappy arms
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| I'm 49 and relatively fit/toned, but the first place I notice any slacking off is in my upper arms. Right now I'm a bit disgusted at myself for having "let myself go" from the shape I was in summer-before-last, when I had positively sculpted arms. No jiggle, no wiggle whatsoever. Now, after almost 9 months of not lifting weights with any regularity, my biceps are still shapely, but the batwing is growing back. My Mom is 72 and works out daily, but she still fights if not so much a flabby upper arm, a crepey-ness that has more to do with the sagging of the skin than lack of good underlying muscle tone. I think it may be something that many women are just prone to as they age. That said, have you ever worked with a trainer at your gym? The times that I was religiously working out under the supervision of my personal trainer (who also happens to be my husband - I hired him, then married him ;-)), were when I was at my fitness peak. It seems to me that I really do have to continually work at it, almost to the point of being "a fanatic", to get the results that please me most. I would really encourage you to set up a few sessions with a trainer, even if you don't want to commit to one long-term. A good trainer can show you how to get the most out of your weight routines. Many women also think that they're lifting and using the machines properly, but either they're flat-out doing them wrong, or they're not getting the full benefit by carrying through with proper form. I'm a bit embarrassed at the shape of my upper arms right now too, and have foregone sleeveless things until I get back to where I want to be. Thank goodness Fall has arrived, and sweaters will soon be more appropriate here than tank tops. ;-) |
RE: My flappy arms
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| Swimming really helps. Mine stay year in and year out I think due to the 6 months of swimming. I also only use free weights. The garden work...edger,pruning.sweeping etc works too. Also free weights give you more bang for your buck than the machines, especially for your triceps. The other thing is what AJ said. If you ever take a break and then try to come back you have to work more than 2x as hard to get it back. Then you have that "age" thing going. I have said it before and it is very true. Every year older means that you have to do WAY more than the year before. Pretty hard to do for most folks as you are now a year older...duh. So you have to reconcile how you look with realistic goals and how you feel and how much time you have and how much it all means to you. Once the triceps get saggy if they were good/great recently you can work really hard and probably get them back. if they were never awesome and/or it has been years since they were awesome and you are of a " certain" age you are not going to get what you perhaps would like. All fitness is to the good and how you feel is the #1 priority. How you look is secondary to the healthy part of this. If they co-incide them great. If not feeling good is the most important. Hope this helps. c |
Here is a link that might be useful: triceps women exercises.
RE: My flappy arms
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| I keep some barbells next to my chair in our tv room and do those periodically. It seems less like exercise if I'm watching tv.... |
RE: My flappy arms
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| Something else to keep in mind is that if you want to see true muscle definition, you've got to really push yourself with the amount of weight that you lift. Trailrunner is absolutely right that free weights produce greater results than machines. If it seems relatively "easy" when you're lifting weights, then you're not going to achieve measurable results. It should be difficult to get those babies up. Not so much that you injure yourself, but you have to push it in order to pump it. That's where a (good) trainer can be a tremendous boon to the weight-lifting novice. |
RE: My flappy arms
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| aj: you are sure right about that. The biggest benefit to free weights is that you have both the + and - movement. In other words you are pressing the weight up and then you also have to control the return for the next rep. On a machine it is much more difficult to get the benefit of the - movement. I used to do " negatives" for just that reason. You have to really work to not be sloppy or relax on the return. One way to get more shapely without the additional weight is very high repetitions. So you use the smaller weight but you up the repeats to very very high numbers. Instead of 12 reps you work up to doing 25 then 50. Takes time. Also you really should only do this once a week or once every other week for your work out and do the higher weights and lower rep the other work outs. One thing that is really important is to vary the workout as far as reps and weight at each gym visit. You are shocking the system , the muscles, as it were. This is a very good thing as it actually promotes more muscle tone...the fibers are surprised and react better. Hope I don't sound too preachy :) This is a subject that I love. I have been lifting since November 1982...so almost my free weight birthday LOL. c |
RE: My flappy arms
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| I workout with a trainer as well and he swears that definition comes from heavy weight/low reps. We do only free weights or the machines where each side moves independently so you still have to control it. Our goal is to do at least 15 reps or to failure (which means your literally can't lift one more time). I love lifting to failure, it actually feels empowering and gives my that nice jello-body feeling when I'm done. Oh, and don't forget to eat a balanced but high protein diet. Unfortunately, I've had a big weight-loss and my skin sag will never go away but knowing I have very toned muscles underneath makes me feel pretty good. |
RE: My flappy arms
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| My daughter turned me on to a nice upper body work out on Hulu, called Tank Top Arms. I notice a difference when I do it consistently, which I haven't done in few weeks. It's only 20 minutes and though it's called Tank Top Arms it really works most of your body, including your abs. The only equipment you need is a pair of dumbells. |
RE: My flappy arms
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| My arms are a wee bit flappy--I've got serious De Quervain's tenosynovitis in my right wrist and haven't been able to lift weights in months. Not worth risking the use of my hand. I still look good in sleeveless tops. (My husband promised to tell me when I needed to stop wearing them.) |
RE: My flappy arms
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| Hi Vicki, I am a trainer in Phoenix. I don't know where in AZ you live, but if you're close, I can certainly show you a bunch of different things to do. Email me privately. If you are not in Phoenix, I will do my best to describe to you some of the exercises. |
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