Pardon me whilst I have the MOST SHALLOW WHINE EVER.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

The picture below was taken last September on my 54th birthday. It was my avatar for awhile. My results were from a combination of bodyweight circuits, kettlebell circuits, and a combination of both. I'll take pictures on my birthday this September. I've added TA's work, and I do think that my triceps are even a bit tighter:

Debbie, I think we are pretty close to the same age. I'll be 56 in November. You look amazing! No doubt about it. Your arms are great for anybody, any age, not just for 54.

I have that tricep cut like you do, but I just don't have the size in my arms that you have. My arms are probably 3/4ths the size of yours in tricep/bicep circumference (maybe half). I'll never have that size arms. But to be honest, even though getting arms that size would reduce the skin flap, they would look out of porportion to the rest of me.

I guess we all deal with whatever cards we are given. I'm not unhappy by any stretch, but there's always room for improvement!

[fit44]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

I have my mother's triceps. It's the Portuguese. Like a lot of you, it will hang like a mass of nothing if I don't work it hard. I mean really hard. Isometric exercises like the arm work for Callenetics and TA's unweighted arm work helps quite a bit, too.

Susan, you can lift quite a bit more for triceps than biceps. In fact, you should lift pretty closely to what you can for bench presses.


The picture below was taken last September on my 54th birthday. It was my avatar for awhile. My results were from a combination of bodyweight circuits, kettlebell circuits, and a combination of both. I'll take pictures on my birthday this September. I've added TA's work, and I do think that my triceps are even a bit tighter:

Debbie, how do you work the isometric in with heavy lifting?
Your arms look fantastic!
My biggest complaint is saggy skin above the elbow.
What's that all about?!

[cherimac]

I do a lot of planks and pushups~one my toes. I think that is what keeps my tris looking good, even without lifting heavy. And I do TA type stuff as well.

Debbie~you are one smokin' woman.

[boukilisa]

Meh. I've just decided to deal with it. It's natural and genetic for me too. Plus I don't just have the batwings under my arms. I've got the whole batcape - where there's extra padding on my shoulder blades too. That makes for quite the spectacle in tank top weather. It does look better since I'm in better shape, but it's still there. There are just some things genetics make my body do no matter what I do about it. I accept it as a gift from my ancestors.

[Indy]

Wear sleeves. I'm skeptical about anything working.

There is a picture of me at my wedding - I have never been thinner or in better shape - and I'm doing the YMCA - all I can see are these "bat wings" - I could have took off flying. I think I'll burn that pic.

Part of dressing yourself is recognizing your figure flaws. Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions - and say "NO!" - I won't wear anything that shows the upper arm (and I currently do this). This isn't really a sacrafice for me. I also don't wear shorts - my legs aren't flabby - but my knees always looked odd. Why worry about it - I just cover 'em up. Last rule for me is no peep toe pumps. My 2nd toe is longer than my big toe and it sticks out of a peep toe and that just looks funny.

[lovemykid]

Me too, Susan p. I need to lose some weight now, but even when I was 20 lbs. lighter, I had the same problem. I feel your pain.

[Sophia]

If it's skin, no amount of exercise is going to make it smaller. As it ages, it sags more. That's life. What about plastic surgery? Do they even do plastic surgery there? They seem to be able to do it everywhere else. If something were really bothering me that much, I'd look into it.

[acescholar]

Originally Posted by fit44

Debbie, how do you work the isometric in with heavy lifting?
Your arms look fantastic!
My biggest complaint is saggy skin above the elbow.
What's that all about?!

I agree on both counts -- Debbie S.'s arms look fantastic and I hate my saggy elbow skin (I solve it by keeping my arms bent as much as possible)!

ETA: I also love 3/4 sleeves and think they often look really chic!

[Debbie S.]

Thank you!

Jahra, I used to do T-Tapp, and I agree, the arm work that you described works really well. Tracy Anderson does a similar move, and I also sub that exercise in during some of TA's shoulder work. So I definitely still do her arm workout.

Susan, we were in the same Firm check-in 10 years ago. I was doing T-Tapp at the same time. Time has gone by very quickly.

fit44, you can add isometric arm work anytime, even after your strength work. Tracy Andersons mat arm workout is on Youtube. It's a burner. I also really like Callanetics arm work. That's the isometric work that I used to do during my natural bodybuilding days. For the area around the elbows, I would concentrate on your lower biceps and your lower triceps. Concentration curls, and a reverse grip triceps extension is great, and so is lying triceps crossovers.

Jeanne, in all fairness, I started lifting heavy weights when I was 16 years old, so my overall muscle mass is from years of training. So for me, my body is proportioned, even when I had more muscle mass back in the early 1990s.

My two sisters have never lifted a weight in their life, and they have perfectly toned arms! I have always felt cheated! One sister is heavier and her arms look great. It is definitely genetic.

I have always been self conscious of my arms, and they will never be perfect. I will always have a bit of loose skin, BUT they are so much improved. There's only so much you can do, but I do think that you can improve what your mom gave you. I LOVE 3/4 length sleeves.

Even though Tracy Anderson says some whacky things, she is right in a way when she says be careful about adding muscle mass, because it will create loose skin when you get older. It's too late for me, but it is something to consider.

Again, I do have to work my arms hard. I can work them everyday and not have any negative effects. For bodyweight work, I do a lot of big boy push ups, triceps push up, pull ups, and chin ups. For weight work, I lift as heavy as I can. To give you an idea, I use 35 lb. dumbbells for triceps presses. This is a tad lighter than what I use for chest presses. Triceps kickbacks are the only exercise where I lighten up, because if I use heavier weights, my back comes into play.

[momof10]

Originally Posted by acescholar

I agree on both counts -- Debbie S.'s arms look fantastic and I hate my saggy elbow skin (I solve it by keeping my arms bent as much as possible)!

ETA: I also love 3/4 sleeves and think they often look really chic!

LOL on the saggy elbow skin!!! I keep my arms bent as much as possible, too. I am 56 and have very defined arms like Debbie. They keep getting better and better. I got them from TA on all fours and now doing Horizontal Conditioning for 10 weeks now. But I do notice that even Cathe when she is waving her arms, her triceps move. My arms look good for my age and I am proud of them. I agree about the older skin and having that extra skin, though.

Debbie, you look awesome!!!

Cheryl