ctina1980 - 22 March 2008 07:24 PM
hey everyone...i’m still working hard toward my goal...i just have this concern lingering in my head...i have big arms still...ever since i was little...now i am doing my cardio and resistance training but i am concerned that i am going to look muscular and i dont want to look like that...i want to have lean arms....if anyone has any tips let me know.......
Hi, Ctina, I’ve been excited about your progress so far! Good job!
If you’ve had bigger upper arms since you were little, it’s probably partly a genetic thing, and partly it’s a nice handy little place for fat to take up residence (like with me.) Remember, you can’t spot-reduce, your body will choose to gobble up the extra fat from where it chooses, so your arms will get smaller with the rest of you.
I don’t think that as a woman you have to worry about having ‘Popeye arms,’ though I joke about the same thing ‘cause I’m lifting weights. Your muscles will give your arm some definition, but not big bulging ones like Lou Ferrigno. I’ve lost a lot of fat on my upper body, and my arms aren’t completely lean yet, but there’s only a tiny wobble under my upper arms, and it’s getting better as the months go by. Now, I’ve gained some muscle mass on the outsides of my arms (deltoids) and my biceps are harder than they’ve ever been, but they don’t look ‘big’ to other people (they do a little to me but I’m just not used to them.) For my frame, having a slightly broader shoulder is actually a bit slimming.
Look at it this way: in the future if your body is lean, and IF you find your arms are more muscular than you want them to be, at that point you could cut down the resistance work on the arms and your body won’t maintain the muscle for long. But, I don’t think there’s any need to worry about it now. On the other hand, make sure that if you’re working with hand weights you work more than the bicep and tricep. You can work the big muscles in the shoulder and upper back as well as supplementing exercises engaging core and legs. Remember, working bigger muscles means burning more calories, though you’ll want to tone all over too.
Peace and joy,
Ann
