One of the most hated parts of womens bodies as they age tends to be that skin, that flap, that area under their arms. It tends to sag, hang, get big, whatever as women age. Well I am here to help! The good news is that trouble spot actually is a muscle that just needs to be worked underneath. With the proper exercises and diet (yes diet) you can get that all toned up no matter how old you are! HELLLOO sleeveless tops just in time for summer!
This area is actually called your triceps (not tricep) , it is a 3 headed muscle that runs along the back of the arm. Technically it is named the “triceps brachii”, meaning 3 headed arm muscle in Latin. It is responsible for extension of the arm at the elbow joint. It can be targeted and worked with both isolation and compound extension movements. I am going to give you some examples as well as a good workout to start with! Again, you must not be afraid to pick up a weight if you really want to get this area firm and toned up!
Exercises:
-
Rope pushdowns : These are when you attach a rope high on a cable machine. You then grip the rope palms down and push through palms NOT fingers keeping elbows by your sides and push the rope down creating extension in your arms.
- Reverse grip rope pushdowns: Same idea as above but grab the rope with palms facing up, this targets the medial muscle that often does not get as much attention in typical triceps exercises.
- Nose crushers: Lay on a flat bench with a barbell extended straight overhead, so arms are perpendicular to your body. Slowly bend arms to bring barbell towards your nose (i.e. nose crushers) and extend arms back up.
- Overhead extension with dumbbell: Grip one dumbbell with both hands and extend arms overhead, then slowly lower dumbbell behind your head keeping elbows close. Extend arms up, so they are straight overhead then slowly contract and lower them back behind your head again. This can also be done with a cable attachment.
- Triceps kickbacks: gripping a dumbbell in each hand, keep elbows at sides, start with arms bent then extend arms straight back. Then bring back to bent starting position.
- Dips: You can do these using a dip machine or bench or chair whatever, grip the edge of a bench perpendicular to the floor feet flat, and lower yourself towards the ground. Then push through palms and extend arms so you are back up hips even with the bench.
- Close grip push-ups: Laying flat on the ground, place hands close together flat on the ground. Slowly push your body up so arms are extended only lifting upper body then slowly lower back down. You can also do a full pushup bringing entire body up, but starting out I recommend upper body only.
- Close grip bench press: Layiing on a flat bench grip either dumbbells or a barbell close to body. Keep a close grip and press up extending arms.
There are many variations to the above exercises you can do, but always get comfortable with the basic fundamentals before trying something new!
Beginner triceps workout (do this 2x a week on nonconsecutive days) :
- Triceps kickbacks 4 sets of 10
- Close grip bench press 4 sets of 10
- Overhead extension 4 sets of 10
- Close grip push-ups 4 sets of 20
And always make sure you are sticking to a healthy protein enriched diet to help build these babies and burn the fat surrounding them effectively! You gotta have both to get real results!!
Happy training! Let me know how it goes J
CANDICE C FITNESS 