Yoga & Exercises to Slim Your Arms

There are many individuals who have their upper arms as a problem area, especially the triceps portion at the back of the upper arms. This area is easily neglected, because compared to the biceps at the front of your upper arms, it is less visible. In order to make your arms your best accessories, you need to reduce fat from your entire body and also slim down your arms as well. Yoga, strengthening exercises, bodyweight exercises, and pilates etc. can help you greatly in slimming down your arms. Read below to know about some of the ways to slim your arms. This would surely be beneficial for you.

Both, yoga and pilates are known to offer some excellent, challenging movements and poses that will offer your arms a wonderful workout. Some of these are explained below.

1. Downward Dog:

   This is one staple exercise in any serious yoga practitioner’s routine. Here, you need to start from a push up position and then thrust your hips up and backwards making a hinge pose. You need to hold the downward dog position for a period long enough to be challenging.

2. Upward Dog:

   One more yoga pose is the upward dog. This is an exercise that is seen in both, yoga and pilates programs. The upward dog pose provides a good start to an arm workout.

   Simply lie facing down on the floor and then push your upper body up whilst keeping your lower body anchored to the floor. This would make a nice arch in your back and put enough tension in to your shoulders and triceps.

3. Chaturanga Pose:

   Chaturanga pose is a great pose to lower yourself in to from a downward dog pose. From the push up position, simply lower yourself towards the floor, tucking your elbows in to your sides. This would result in a type of lever position that is incredibly challenging to the arm musculature. You need to hold this position for some time.

4. Resistance Band Curl Holds:

   Resistant bands, which are often used in pilates routines, offers a great way to create muscular tension without weights. With a challenging resistance band, under your feet, curl the band so that your hands are at the top of the movement. Hold this position and then lower to the halfway point and hold the position once again. Keep the tension in your arms for a time and then release.

5. Pilates Biceps Curls:

   Pilates biceps curls is one more move you can perform to slim your arms. Simply extend your arms in front of you at a shoulder height and palms facing up, in a standing position. Keeping the upper arm still, curl your hand towards you and try to touch your shoulders. Contract the biceps hard at the top, then lower and repeat.

It must be mentioned that the finest secret to firm muscles is strength training. Stronger muscles are denser and tighter without necessarily being larger. Below are some of the exercises we will talk about that can help you in the long run for slimming down your arms.

1. Dumbbell Curls:

   Dumbbell exercises are one of the most beneficial exercises for arms, as they aid in keeping the arms moving in a natural path. Straight curl is the king of all biceps exercises and can be a great addition to your workout routine to slim your arms. Begin with your palms facing forwards, hands resting on your thighs. Curl the weight up until you achieve a firm and tight contraction of the biceps at the top of the movement. Then, slowly lower and repeat the same.

2. Hammer Curls:

   The hammer curls are a great variation on the curls, which makes use of the forearms more and places a different emphasis on the biceps. In order to perform these curls to slim your arms, simply begin with your thumbs forward with the dumbbells at your side. Curl the weight up as normal, but make sure to keep the thumb at the front of the movement.

3. Cable Pushdowns:

   There is one more strength training exercise which can greatly help you slim down your arms. Pushdowns can create a lot of tensions in the triceps. To do his exercise to slim your arms, simply stand in front of a cable pull down machine with bar dangling at the shoulder height. Grab the bar with hands about 12 inches apart. Then push the bar down using only an arms straightening motion. Also note to minimize the involvement of the shoulders and the chest here.

4. Triceps Kickbacks:

   Triceps kickbacks are one more types of exercises which are known to be one of the best triceps builders, as per a recent study done by the American Council on Exercise. For doing this, bend over 90 degrees and place your left hand on a bench, beside the left leg. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, with your arm bent at 90 degrees and hugging the side of your torso. Then, straighten the arm so as to raise the dumbbell which is the kickback movement. Finally, by bending the arm back to 90 degrees, allow the weight to lower back to the starting point.

5. Overhead Triceps Extensions:

   Overhead triceps extension is another exercise you can do for slimming down your arms. Simply, hold a dumbbell directly overhead with a stiff arm and hands facing forward. Now, lower the weight by bending the arm so that it comes to rest behind your head. Then, straighten the arm back to the starting position so as to complete one rep.

6. Dumbbell Overhead Press:

   Dumbbell overhead press is done by holding the dumbbells besides your shoulders and pushing them towards the sky to full arm extension. After this, lower and repeat.

Bodyweight exercises also help in slimming down your arms. There are some real classic exercises which you can do that will strengthen your biceps and triceps. Try these out to slim down your arms and get them in a shape.

1. Triangle or Diamond Push Ups:

   One can increase the effectiveness of the push-up to strengthen the triceps by bringing their hands close together so that the thumbs and forefingers of both the hands form a triangle or a diamond shape. Place the hands directly beneath your chest and keep your body stiff all throughout. This is the Triangle or Diamond push up.

2. Bench Dips:

   You would require a sturdy chair or bench or couch for doing this exercise. Using a chair, start from a sitting position and slide off the front of the chair, so that only your arms support your weight. Here, your hands will be behind you slightly. Then, lower your butt to the floor, thus bending your arms. Make use of your arms to push yourself back to full extension.

3. Reverse Grip Pull Ups:

   Biceps pull-ups or reverse grip pull-ups is one more useful exercise which you can perform to slim your arms. Perform a pull up using your hands facing back towards you. Then, by sliding the hands closer together (with 12 inches width), increase the emphasis on biceps.

4. Pike Push Ups:

   Pike push-ups can be a useful addition to your workout to slim your arms. Place your feet on a chair or a bench and place your hands on the floor. With the body bent at the hips and with head facing down the floor at an angle; lower your face to the floor and push yourself back to the top. Make sure that you maintain a stable hip angle all throughout.

Step 1: At first, plan on creating a deficit of at least 500 calories every day. One pound of fat has 3500 calories. So, you will lose one pound of your weight every week. Avoid drastic measures that promise to make you lose weight in a rapid way; because in the long run, these are hard to maintain and can make you feel drained, sluggish and sick. Moreover, speedy weight loss is often the water weight and muscle tissue and not the fat.

Step 2: The second step you need to follow is of making small changes to your diet so you eat fewer calories. Just for instance, instead of whole milk, drink low-fat milk; eat fruits and vegetables instead of chips or cookies. Eat from smaller plates and bowls and make use of smaller drinking glasses and cups. Also, strictly avoid depriving yourself, as this can result in binges- if you are really craving a cookie then have it, but just do not have the entire box of cookies. It is also essential for you to aim at developing healthy eating habits that can become a part of your healthy lifestyle.

Step 3: Go for cardiovascular exercises so as to burn calories. Exercise at least for 30 minutes every five days in a week. If you cannot do the 30 minutes exercise session then break them up to three, 10 minutes of exercise sessions spread over each day. You can also perform some yoga and pilates for the best of your healthy habits. Try brisk walk, swim laps or exercise on an elliptical machine. Activate your arms really by pumping them back and forth during the exercise.

Step 4: Strength training on at least 2 days of the week is essential. This is because it maintains and builds muscle tissue, which in turn enhances your body’s metabolism even after finishing your workout, and thus resulting in more of the calories burned. Do 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise and 2-3 sets. Target your chest, arms, shoulders, hips, abdomen, back and legs.

Step 5: The final step you need to follow for slimming down your arms is to work your arms with targeted exercises. As per the American Council on Exercise, Triangle pushups or the pushups during which your thumbs and index fingers form a triangle on the floor, triceps kickbacks, dips etc. are the most effective exercises to target the back portion of your upper arm. All the three exercises can be done easily at home. Dips can be done with your hands on the seat of a chair. If you do not have dumbbells for doing kickbacks then use water bottles or even a thick book.

So, above we talked about some of the best ways to slim your arms. If you are worried about how to slim down your arms then you can try out these exercises and yoga poses. However, it is always better to consult with an expert fitness or yoga trainer and follow the trainer advices on exercises or yoga moves accordingly.