If you’ve been lifting weights at the gym for months and your arms still aren’t toned, you may be making two common mistakes.
Fitness experts say many gym-goers, especially women, are doing the wrong exercises or lifting too light weights.
Amy Schemper, an LA-based personal trainer and owner of the virtual gym BodyFit Athletic Club who has been working with women’s strength training for more than 10 years, says that spending too much time on one part of the body is a problem that women “That’s the biggest mistake you can make.”
When it comes to building muscle, she says you shouldn’t just focus on your triceps and biceps to achieve super “toned, sculpted arms.”
This inevitably neglects other muscle groups in the body.
“You have to train your whole body to improve your physical strength and cardiovascular fitness, and you also have to pay attention to your nutrition.” she said to the parade.
“If you train just one area of your body and expect fat loss and muscle definition in that area, that won’t actually happen.
“Building muscle fibers throughout the body promotes reorganization throughout the body.”
She adds that building your forearm and grip strength, for example by doing fingertip or plank push-ups, will help your upper arm muscles support more weight.
Similarly, strengthening your core muscles will improve your form during biceps curls, making the exercise more effective.
Basically, the stronger your other muscle groups, the more weight you can lift.
Then comes the second most disastrous mistake. It’s a lack of ambition.
“Another big mistake is being afraid of lifting heavy objects,” he says. schemper. “To build strength and define your arms, you need to gradually load your muscles.”
She says this can be achieved by using heavier weights, higher reps, and changing the tempo.
“But the important thing is to challenge your body,” she added. “If something feels too easy, it probably is. Listen to your body and try to make the first few reps of a set feel easy and the last few reps feel much harder. Please aim for it.”
Other fitness experts recommend starting with about 10 pounds and increasing to 20 pounds and then 30 pounds if that feels easy.
Schemper suggests doing “multi-joint” exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once, such as overhead presses and bent-over rows.
These offer more “bang for the buck,” she says.
“To get toned arms, do a variety of workouts such as aerobic exercise and strength training, and pay attention to your nutrition.”
