My body type....

[teka]

Hello

Our cable company started airing FitTV about 2 months ago. I'm what you would call an upside down triangle. smile. I'm much smaller on the bottom than the top. I have very large arms. Thanks to years of volleyball, bowling, tennis and a gazillion push ups from being in the military. I'm scared to death of any type of upper body workout with weights. My husbands keeps telling me I need to lift weights to make my arms smaller. Is he right? What if I just used very, very light weights. Any suggestions?

 

[kimmie2191]

Mind you I am on the other side of the triangle My lower body is larger than my upper but I have been working my lower body most every day except for taking 1 day off and it appears to be working in making me smaller on the bottom. Maybe if you worked your upper body the same way it would make you smaller at the top but more toned. Just a thought.

HTH

Kim

 

[cjbate]

Welllll.....

I think that it depends on why your arms are big. I obviously can't say for sure but rarely on women are the body parts too big because of too big of a muscle. It is usually fat...just my observation. For example.... I have a few women friends who don't want to workout their thighs with weights because they are "too big". But ...well....they are too big because they have excess fat in that area. So they do endless reps with light weights, do nothing about the excess fat, and nothing really happens.

While working out with very light weights may do something for your endurance level, sports ability (lots of reps til you feel the burn) it is my opinion that it does nothing for your appearance...esp if there is excess fat there, in any amount.

When I lost weight I immediately noticed my upper arms getting smaller/thinner.

If you truly think your muscles are too big on your arms I suppose you could try not working them at all...muscle does atrophy when it is not used.

Just my humble opinion. I am probably going to be shouted down! Perhaps it has a lot to do with bodytype. I am an ectomorph/hard muscle gainer and notice very little change in my muscle in any way unless I lift heavy

Jen

 

[teka]

Jen~
That was a very nice way of trying to tell me I need to lose weight!! Hahaha. I realize this. I have been changing my eating habits-more salads, smaller portions, LOTS more water, cutting out the sugars, trying to eat dinner at least four hours before bed and watching the carbs. After having a baby and a very long time of eating whatever and no exercising, I started walking everyday around Mid March but I really hadnt changed my eating habits. I lost about pounds. Around Mid-May, I found FITtv and started doing more intense aerobics and weights with Cathe. That's when I started changing my eating habits. I've toned up quite a bit and lost lots of inches in stomach/waist area and my legs. (My lower body needs very little attention to firm up) My arms have definitely gotten harder and dont sway in the wind anymore but they are no smaller...

So, if I continue with the light weights 4 or 5 times/wk (as Kim suggests) while working on fat loss-perhaps I will start to see results soon.

 

[cjbate]

You're so funny! It sounds like you are on the right track. I am similar to you in that pregnancies and many years of not really paying any attention to what I ate sort of caught up with me, too. I wish I had changed the eating sooner! But we are all a work in progress!

Enjoy your workouts!
Jen

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Teka! Welcome, nice to hear from you. We all have our trouble spots and unfortunately they are the last that respond to our exercise programs. I read above how you have started making wise changes to your food and fitness program as of mid May. Good for you, that's great. But realistically, that was only 3 to 4 weeks ago. That really isn't that long when starting back on a program after being away from it for a while. Your body needs extra time to get acclimated and respond to all the new changes. You have already noticed a nice change in your legs so your on the right track. As your body continues to shed body fat your arms will eventually slim down too. As I mentioned above, the trouble spots like to stick around longer. For weights, I suggest going moderate in poundage. Select a weight that challenges the arms by the 10th rep. Try doing my CTX Upper Body workout two times per week along with your other weekly workouts. Hang in there, you should start seeing very nice results by week 10 to 12 with the results continuing as the weeks go by. Good Luck!