A smaller waist, slimmer thighs and pert bottom are just a few of the “I wants” I hear most days, but getting toned and slim arms is quickly climbing to the top of the list! Something about those toned shoulders, and arms that don’t move when you do is getting more and more popular. Here my top 5 tips to getting slim and toned arms!
This is part of my Savoir Flair series all about health, fitness and food!
Or maybe in some cases, a little less food. Truth be told, arms are one of the body’s favorite places to store fat, yet one of the hardest places to shift it. If there is excess fat anywhere on the body, it is base line because one is consuming more calories than they are burning, which in turn promotes fat storage. The best place to start when looking to burn fat is your diet, because as the old saying goes “Abs are made in the kitchen”. The quality of your calories are even more important than the amount, but if you are looking to burn fat, you have to also asses that actual quantity of food (or energy) the body is consuming.
Start by keeping a food diary for 5 days whilst eating normally and simply look at what you are consuming on a daily basis. This will give you a great starting point to see where you can cut back and improve the diet.
2. Boosting muscle mass
How does this sound”¦
I can help you burn more calories sitting on the sofa today than you did doing the exact same thing last week?
Sound like a pretty good deal, right?! Sofa sitting is definitely not my best tip on achieving wonderfully toned arms but increasing your muscle mass is. When your body is more toned and has a higher percentage of muscle mass, it requires more calories (energy) throughout the day just to keep things working as they should. So even 2 x 20-minute weight sessions per week can help boost the metabolism and burn fat much more efficiently. And don’t worry about transforming into Arnold Schwarzenegger, that takes some very skilled training and hours and hours a day of it!
3. Maximise Your Workouts
If you’ve heard that HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is one of the most effective ways to train for fat loss, then whoever you’re talking to is giving some good advice!
A good workout doesn’t need to be an hour long; 20-30 minutes of high intensity training can be super effective for helping you to sculpt gorgeous arms and melt fat away. The idea is to train in a state of maximum capacity for short bursts of time, allow your body a little time to recover, and repeat again.
4. Stick to what you know
The idea behind this is to not get put off by something you think you don’t know. A weight session doesn’t have to require a full set of gym equipment with bells and whistles on. Body weight alone is a fantastic way to increase muscle mass and push it to the limits, especially when you’re just starting out. Press ups, Tricep dips, Walk outs, Pike pushups and Plank sidewalks are just a few of the brilliant strength and muscle building exercises to do without any equipment whatsoever.
5. Make water your best friend
Water is just as important as the food you eat when it comes to losing weight and ridding the body of stored up toxins. Aim to drink at least 2-3 liters of good quality drinking water every day to keep things moving and operating at their optimum. In Dubai with this level of heat I would say I personally drink around 3-4 litres a day. Not only will you be able to train better but water will help the body to get to it’s optimal state, removing all the baddies!
If you have questions about fitness and getting into shape then feel free to comment below! If you’re looking for Personal Training you can email me at info@leanlivinggirl.com.
Carly xx
