kettlebell exercises for 'Oprah arms'??
 

..was just wondering of the best exercise to quickly tone up lovely flubby arms.:o (hopefully without doing pushups-ugh!) I've started using a 10lb kettlebell and doing 10 skull crushers every other day. Is there something else/different I should be doing?

Oprah arms? The only time I saw her arms look decent was when they photoshopped her head on someone body. AS far as kettlebells, I've never used them but have heard great things about them.

That's the point I think Mike :)

Those "wings" are a constant complaint for women, and I'm not sure there is any real fix.

Regarding kettlebells, using them like that would be the similar as using
a dumbell. That's a good exercise for the arms, triceps primarilly and shoulder I would imagine.

If there is excess intramuscular fat there, then lots of low intensity reps might help burn it. You might want to try a variety of arm exercises, like 100 reps a day, but light weights and controlled motion. While it's true spot reducing is somthing of a myth, it is a fact that intramusclar fat is burned locally (whether it replenishes later might vary).

lol, that went right over my head. I guess that I can blame it on the fact that I just woke up and I'm in pain so I'm not thinking straight. :cool:

Actually I suggest the opposite. Fewer reps... heavier kettlebells. You really want to challenge those muscles, not bore them to death :rolleyes:. It is the building of muscle tissue that will really help reduce the batwings, and that requires really pushing your muscle to the limit.

There are a bunch of demos here:
CrossFit Exercises
Don't get freaked out by the testoserone overload on some of these videos :eek:. But the general advise is excellent.

Muscles don't get bored people do :D A poor attention span requires seperate treatment. :rolleyes:

Seriously, I agree that working at a high intensity can be beneficial, though using heavy weights without good technique can be risky for the joints. There is a time and place for both types of training actually. Starting easy and building up is generally recommended.

Edit: If the problem is loose excess skin then that is one thing. If it's soft undefined arm muscle, that is another. Which is your issue?

thanks so much for the responses... it is undefined arm muscles -- and not loose skin..my arms are pretty weak. and I have never been more than 138 lbs so I can't see it being loose skin. I think I'll make my goal 100 reps a day with 5lb weight skull crushers; increase amount and then increase the weight to 10 once that's easily achievable. Thanks to all :)

Its not clear from your note what kind of weights you have access to, but there are all sorts of things you can do for your arms.

-- You can do the skull crushers 2 ways, with the arms bent or straight. Bent will target the triceps and straight will target the lats.

-- Do forward and side straight arm raises.

-- Do shoulder raises with the arms at 90-degrees at your ears.

-- Do other shoulder raises with the weights down and lifting to your shoulders.

-- Do bicept curls and hammer curls.

-- Do chest press and butterfly press while lying on a bench or a ball - this will help chest, but also some arms.

-- Kick backs with the arms.

-- Do butterfly while standing and leaning over. This helps mostly back and shoulders, but will also help with the arms.

-- Do pullups on a bar with hands both forward and back.

-- Sit on a step and lower yourself with your arms off the step.

-- Planks will help the whole body.

-- Finally, pushups and tricept pushups.

hi...I have one 10lb kettelebell and some hand weights..2.5 lbs, 5lbs, 10lbs. Right now I'm trying the skull crushers with 2.5lbs x 50 and will work my way to 100. I plan to increase my weights once I can successfully do 100 without much effort. I'm not overly fond of the way big lats look - so I don't want to do that one..so I'll be doing the skull crushers with bent arms. I don't have the equipment for chest press and butterfly presses. I'm not a fan of push ups or planks only because I like to feel successful after I do any kind of work out - and with those I just don't...and I give up. Corny reason - but you'll have to humour me here. I will try the skull crushers ;forward and side straight arm raises; Kick backs with the arms. After I've progressed a bit more I might add pushup/planks -- Thanks for the great tips.