Everyone wants to find the best exercises to lose weight, especially underarm fat. But is it easy to lose weight and burn fat in a targeted way that can melt underarm fat? Underarm fat is common even among the most beautiful people in the world. Do you know that celebrities and models have their excess arm fat, also known as back bulge, digitally edited from magazine covers?
Unlike belly fat, the extra flab on the underarms aren’t linked to serious diseases like diabetes or heart problems, so there are no health risks. However, back bulge might lead to body image problems or cause discomfort for people who hope to lose weight so their clothes fit better. So, here are four recommended exercises that should help burn fat around the underarm and back area.
How To Lose Weight Under The Arms With 4 Exercises
“You have to make the decision to lose weight in your head, not your stomach.” – Jean Nidetch
1. Start By Doing Cardio Exercises.
According to nutritionist and trainer Lauren Simmons via Women’s Health magazine, losing underarm fat doesn’t come with natural simple solutions. In order to burn the flab in this part of your body, you have to generally lose weight first, hence she recommends that you start by doing calorie-burning exercises.
Cardio workouts, however, can be a complicated process because the results vary with every person. Factors like age, gender, genetics, and your current weight could impact the results. So, while others burn fat and lose weight faster with cardio, you may take a little longer before seeing any great results.
However, don’t lose hope; keep a positive mindset. If you keep the habit of doing cardio workouts at least three times a week, then you’re on the right track to lose that flabby underarm fat. With regular cardio exercises, you’re building up your core to be able to withstand more intense cardio programs when the right time comes.
Aside from the workouts, you might want to also add swimming, biking, and running in your routines. These cardio activities not only help you lose weight, but these are also fun to do with a group of friends.
2. Move On To High-Intensity Interval Training (Hiit) Exercises.
If your body is quite used to cardio exercises, then you can move on to high-intensity interval training (HIIT). This consists of a series of short but really intense cardio movements that last from 10 seconds to four minutes per routine. These involve a lot of bodyweight work – such as push-ups – and could subsequently involve weights. A typical workout can be over within 30 minutes but its intensity depends on a person’s fitness level.
A study published in the Journal of Obesity indicated that HIIT exercises are more effective than regular or basic cardio exercises. Celebrity trainer Rob Sulaver also told Self magazine that all types of exercise and physical activities burn calories, but HIIT routines burn fat more effectively.
HIIT, however, puts more pressure and stress on the body hence it’s not advisable to do this every time you do cardio. It’s best to pace yourself and let your body rest as well. Only increase the intensity of your workouts to the level you’re comfortable. The most important thing to consider with HIIT is to give your body time to recover.
3. Do Muscle-Building Exercises.
From basic cardio to HIIT, you can then move on to muscle-building exercises. These routines are also called strength training exercises, and they complement cardio exercises. If you’re successfully burning fat and losing weight with cardio, you also need to tone your muscles to keep leaner. Muscle toning is how you lose arm fat in the best way possible.
Strength training, as the name implies, also makes your body endurance stronger since you’re building muscles. Your metabolism improves as well because it actually takes more calories to build and tone the muscles than to burn fat. According to the National Council on Strength and Fitness, gaining a pound of muscle burns at least 30 to 50 calories.
Most strength training routines target your back and upper arms but ideally, you must also tone every muscle group in your body, so you could build up overall strength. Switch up your routines every few weeks and do take breaks as needed. Some of the muscle-building exercises you can do include:
- Curls
- Push-ups
- Dips, on the bench or on the machine
- Squats and lunges using weights, dumbbell, and kettlebell
- Step-ups, with or without weights
- Deadlifts
- Chest press and rows, with a dumbbell or a barbell
4. Continue With Weight Management Exercises.
Now that you’re slowly shaping your body muscles and losing that underarm fat, focus on maintaining a good weight management routine. This way, you continue to avoid developing excess fat that goes directly to your underarms and back.
Some effective weight management exercises include walking, Zumba, jump ropes, kickboxing, and power yoga. Supplement these exercises with a good diet and healthy lifestyle so that you’ll maintain overall wellness.
Final Thoughts
As you age, you raise the risks of developing underarm fat, back bulge, and saggy arms. This is because older people begin to lose muscle cells more quickly than when they’re younger. Geriatrician Jonathan Wanagat told NPR that stem cells don’t respond the same way in older people compared to their younger years, hence muscles can easily turn to fat.
For this reason, he recommends regular exercises and muscle-building routines like weight-lifting for older people. While positive thinking is a start to lose weight, if you’re looking for answers about how to lose arm fat, these exercises will definitely help!
