Having body fat beyond the ideal percentage is bad for health. It affects aesthetics as well, with many becoming conscious of their physical appearance, leading to confidence and body image issues. Arm fat is one of the many stubborn fat zones in the body. The key to lose arm fat is to work on overall fitness and not just targeting and toning the biceps or triceps muscles, say experts.
What leads to arm fat accumulation?
Many factors contribute to arm fat with genetics being the foremost one. In addition, if your calorie intake is more than the required range, it will lead to weight gain in the form of fat. This gets deposited in certain parts of the body, including the arms.
“All of us have weak spots where our fat gets deposited easily, for some, it is the abdomen, hips, thighs, and the arms. They accumulate fat in these regions because that is where fat cells are formed first [when one gains unhealthy body weight],” says Tanuja Panda, a fitness instructor from Bengaluru.”
High body fat percentage plays a role.
“If you see a woman whose hips and thighs are more on the fatter side, they will also have arm fat,” adds Panda. “This happens because their body fat percentage is beyond the optimum range.”
Ways to reduce arm fat
Spot reduction is a myth, and one cannot target the arms exercise to lose fat. The focus should be on losing overall weight which leads to a reduction in the body fat percentage throughout the body. This can be achieved through a calorie-deficit diet, strength training, and cardio exercises.
Exercises to strengthen the arms
It is important to incorporate strength training exercises while on a weight loss program. When we start losing body fat, the skin becomes saggy. Some lose muscle mass too. Resistance training will help counter that.
Here are some popular arm exercises:
- Barbell curls
- Dumbbell curls
- Hammer curls
- Overhead extension
- Dumbbell fly
- Overhead triceps extension
Compound exercises also help in reducing arm fat.
Takeaways
- There are various factors lead to the accumulation of arm fat – from genetics to body fat percentage and calorie intake.
- Focusing on losing just the arm fat is not possible as spot reduction is a myth. By reducing overall fat and incorporating strength training and cardio exercise one can reduce arm fat as well as tone the muscles in the region, making them look muscular and lean.
