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Fram Fram to Fitness: Fighting Flabby Arms

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Emily Anderson Student Contributor, St. Olaf College
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Lucy Casale Student Contributor, St. Olaf College
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St Olaf chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

The hardest fat to burn off – at least, it seems so to me – is that fatty flab under the arms. Arm flab has always made me self-conscious, from wearing tank tops to bathing suits – I just want it to go away! A problem for women everywhere, not just myself, now is the time for arm flab to beg for mercy.

Obviously you burn fat through cardio, but the best way to burn arm fat is by building muscle, so make sure to incorporate some sort of weight-lifting routine into your workouts. My parents bought me some 3 lb., 5 lb., and 8 lb. weights for my birthday last year, and I only need to use them for about 15 minutes a day. Talk about convenience! At the gym, I’ve been working my way up the scale from 7-pounders to 10’s, and increasing the number of reps as well.

Depending on the exercise, I’ll do two sets of each with 8 to 12 reps, and I can definitely feel the burn. I find that it is difficult for me to describe my arm exercises in writing, so I have a few websites for you to peruse and from which to pick your favorite arm movements:
            Top 10 Arm Moves

            20-Minute Arm Workout

            Bob Harper’s Upper Body Workout (from The Biggest Loser) 
           
           Tone Your Arms in Three Moves
           
            8-Minute Arms (Yep, it’s the same guy who brought you 8-Minute Abs. Once again, he’s helped me so                   much. Thanks, dude.)

So while some of my flab persists, it has gone down a lot while my biceps and triceps have noticeably strengthened. And guess what? I’m wearing a tank top as I’m writing this, with the encouragement of some lovely spring-like weather and open windows. I can’t let my arms keep me from getting a nice tan this summer, and neither should you! Let’s shed the winter sweaters with pride, shall we?

*photo credit: (also useful article!) http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Lose-Arm-Flab

Founder and executive editor of the St. Olaf chapter of Her Campus, Lucy Casale is a senior English major with women's studies and media studies concentrations at St. Olaf College. A current editorial intern at MSP Communications in Minneapolis, MN, Lucy has interned at WCCO-TV/CBS Minnesota, Marie Claire magazine, and two newspapers. Visit her digital portfolio: lucysdigitalportfolio.weebly.com