arms

[Mom]

Slm,how are u?
I have 3 kids.. I am on mercilon.. I have a huge problem with my upper arms! Its fat and flabby, even if I lose weight everywhere else! I always had slim arms, this problem started when I gave birth to my 2nd baby... Could it be hormones?

[Dr Faatima Ahmed-Akoon]

No,it is not hormones. It is simply a matter of a combination of genetics as well as a lack of toning. All women have genetic predisposition towards the shape they will take as they age and when hormonal imbalanced. if you do not resist this shape during times of increasing or decreasing weight i.e pregnancy, menopause, extreme sports,etc then you will take the shape you were destined to be. That is why toning is incredibly important. Women always require toning exercises to be a certain shape, losing weight simply with dieting or doing cardio results in fat loss but no muscle tone and gives you flaps of skin and a poor shape. In order to change your problem with your arms you will need to do weight training with weights of above 4kg or more (the heavier the weight the quicker the result).

[Faaizah Asmal Dietician]

Fatima, I have heard that to strengthen and tone, women are recommended to use lighter weights but more reps. Is this a myth? Will using high weights cause me to bulk up?

[Dr Faatima Ahmed-Akoon]

thank you Faaizah for that question. when it comes to arms and exercise for women it is quite simple actually.
1. we do not have the hormone testosterone like men do so we will never get big bulky arms no matter how hard we gym or how much weight we push.
2. to get to visible, bulky muscles one actually has to lose the overlying fat so general weight loss is the first step to having nice arms
3. while losing the weight generally women MUST do toning exercises using weights to actually get definition and not just let muscles hang and be weak and flabby. for women, an ideal weight should be about 3 kilos to do arm exercises if you want that nice toned defined biceps, triceps and forearms. from 4 - 6 kilos you will get a lot ore definition but you will do less reps. so the simple exercise concept of lighter weights means more reps and heavier weights means fewer reps.
i hope that helps.
women are always afraid to lift a weight thinking they will get arms like madonna...it will never happen trust me (unless you are lifting 10 kg weights in each arm and at least 20kg - 30kg on a bar.