kettlebell exercises for 'Oprah arms'??

[krestail]

..was just wondering of the best exercise to quickly tone up lovely flubby arms. (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?

[01gt4.6]

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.

[FutureizNow]

Originally Posted by 01gt4.6

Oprah arms? The only time I saw her arms look decent was when they photoshopped her head on someone body. .

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).

[01gt4.6]

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.

[RunbikeSki]

Originally Posted by FutureizNow

That's the point I think Mike


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).

Actually I suggest the opposite. Fewer reps... heavier kettlebells. You really want to challenge those muscles, not bore them to death . 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 . But the general advise is excellent.

[FutureizNow]

Originally Posted by RunbikeSki

Actually I suggest the opposite. Fewer reps... heavier kettlebells. You really want to challenge those muscles, not bore them to death . 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 . But the general advise is excellent.

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

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?

[krestail]

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

[rmdaly]

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.

[krestail]

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.