Want to reduce muscle mass in arms--how??

[finner]

Hi Cathe.

I feel that I have over-developed portions of my arms and would like to reduce, namely bis and tris--I just look too stocky as I am short and this is not the look I was going for. Should I stop upper body weights altogher, not lift for these boydy parts, increase cardio or what? Would only doing lickboxing keep my arms tons and reduce these muscles. Also, I eat clean, so that is not an issue. Thanks.

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Finner! If you have overdeveloped muscles, you can easily reduce the size of these muscles by lifting less weight with these muscles or less frequently with these muscles or a combo of both. I would never suggest to not lift for these body parts (or any body parts for that matter) because we always want to work on maintaining and improving our bone density.

Sure, you can continue kickboxing as your cardio source but I would not rely on it solely for keeping your arms shapely, unless of course you put push ups and dips into that workout (again, providing a source of resistance to the muscles for extended health benefits).

Basically, you will need to do some experimenting to find the combo that works best for you in reducing over developed muscles, but for now reducing any heavy lifting will definitely be a place to start.

Good Luck!

 

[Dinky Doo]

Hi Cathe, thats a great question from finner! would you suggest stretching as a way of leaning out over large muscles? I have a problem with inner thighsx( when I first started weight training (way back when ) I thought, the heavier the better and, progressed through the weights, now I'm finding it hard to lean out. Hope you can help. Fiona p.s speedy recovery Cathe.

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Fiona! Stretching is great for everybody and promotes flexibility which is one of the major components of fitness. It is beneficial for maintaining fluid movements, better body balance and awareness, limberness, better posture, helps reduce the risk of injury and more.

If you are personally feeling bulky from lifting heavy than chances are that your body type is one that puts on muscle easily. In that case, stretching workouts that challenge your muscles with no additional resistance other than your own body weight are good choices for you since it will help keep your body strong without adding weight/size. Another good choice for someone who puts on more muscle than they desire is muscle endurance workouts since there too, the weight is only moderate vs heavy.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!