Tight upper bodies give a good first impression

Sexy, shapely arms - we notice and envy them on other women, but how often do we target them as a fitness goal for ourselves? I’m going to go out on a limb and say not nearly as often as we target our legs, tummies and buns.

Triceps are the one exception to the rule. These under-arm muscles can become saggy and undefined. As women age they tend to start citing triceps as trouble spots.

Why are arms ignored?

This is no doubt arms and shoulders get left out because of the mistaken belief that strength training programs can be focused on a specific area of the body for targeted results. So instead of overall toning, some women spend 20 minutes doing variations of crunches and the rest of their workout trying to get rid of that extra junk in the trunk. They end up neglecting other muscles, which undermines the work they have completed.

Mismatched - stick thin arms and abs of steel

The only way to lose inches is to lose fat. Consider the scenario of a women trying to lose stubborn belly fat. By the time she tones up her abs and manages to lose the overlying fat through cardio, it’s likely she’ll have lost a lot of fat from other areas too. If she didn’t spend time building other muscles she’ll be unbalanced - with a strong stomach contrasting against twig-like arms. It’s not a pretty sight.

Some women are so focused on one problem area that they fail to see the big picture - if they increase their body’s overall muscle mass they’ll burn more calories and look and feel better. Besides, if spot reduction worked how they wanted it to these women would probably just switch to scrutinizing scrawny or flabby arms after fixing up other areas anyways.

Why you should work your arms and shoulders

To become visibly lean and toned a woman should strive to achieve an even balance in her body by training all the major muscle groups. Think about it this way, a toned stomach looks great in a bikini, but how often do you wear one? The rest of the summer when you’re in t-shirts and tank-tops, you’ll be able to show off your arms if you’ve spent time on them.

How to get great arms and shoulders

Strong, sexy arms and shoulders are defined with three key muscles, the biceps, the triceps and the deltoids. Performing exercises to target each, on at least two alternating days of the week will have you well on the way to tank top arms.

Women with great arms

From the original strong-armed woman, Linda Hamilton (in Terminator 2), to Jennifer Garner, Madonna, Jessica Biel and Jennifer Aniston - it seems the desire for lean, muscular limbs is everywhere. You may never reach (or want to reach) the level of arm definition some of these ladies have, but it goes to show that you do have control over your upper body definition and all the benefits that come with it.