My arms are impossible... any advice?

[andrewxk7]

I've been working out since jan 2020 3 times or 4 times a week (as much as I can, I try to do it 4) and after a year an a half, I got good results! My muscles are toned and I like how I'm looking... but... my only problem are my arms?

I do streng exercises, I lift weight and I focus a lot on my triceps -then my biceps

. But my arms are still chubby? just looking strong when I force them to show muscle.

One of my friend's told me I should do cardio as well. I started doing it, but my arms still are looking big and so chubby. It's like, I have an extra piece of skin...? LOL

Extra data?: I do arms training 2 times per week. I only eat seafood (pescatarian?) and I drink protein (SAVAS weight down) after my workout.

My arms lol:

pic1: https://ibb.co/hVd4Qzd

pic2: https://ibb.co/ChYyGJ8

ps: sorry if my English is weird... is not my mother language

 

[lvmangione]

@andrewxk7 Your arms look fine! My arms don’t look muscular at all when they’re just resting and like other posters have said, in different positions they’ll look different- maybe “bigger” or “smaller.” In the end, it might just be your body and that’s perfectly ok.

 

[obinnanicholas]

@andrewxk7 Workout your shoulder - Arnold press, Viking press.
Also bench press once a week.
Bicep and tricep are actually very small muscle compared to your shoulder and chest. Once your shoulder are on track, they will make your overall figure looks much better!!
To be honest, every muscle counts. Don’t neglect your back either.

 

[genenco]

@andrewxk7 You've gotten a lot of super positive comment but I want to offer a realistic perspective. I kinda get where you're coming from. I kinda struggle with that mindset too bc in my mind when I think of someone who exercises I think of a lean athletic physique.

Obviously like others have pointed out though, this isn't really realistic for everyone. You can't control genetics and where your body wants to store your fat. It's something that I still struggle with having to accept sometimes, like you know that's the logic but whenever you see someone with that "arms goal" you can't help but feel a bit jealous lol.

I do find it helpful to remind myself that like others have pointed out, you're NOT the only one with this experience! And most people don't really pay that much attention anyway so as long as you're happy, that should be all that matters.

Also even if you somehow do get your BF% down to where you get your dream arms, it will be so hard to keep up. And this is ignoring how, like others said, other parts of your body will probably look even smaller which is not necessarily a good look, like your ribcage might stick out more or your chest might look really bone-y, etc. Maintaining a low BF% requires some sacrifices! Like think of the food you won't get to enjoy

It might be a bit negative but it's what I tell myself, like it's kinda pointless to feel bad about this you know? Just want to share because I know for me it wasn't as simple as "oh everyone says this is normal, now I feel totally good".

 

[andrewxk7]

@genenco Thank you! what you say is true. I don't workout with the goal of look very athletic, but it was nice to shape up some parts! It was a bit confusing that I couldn't see much results on my arms but I am not an expert on the topic... xD

Thank you again n.n

 

[alycat]

@andrewxk7 It looks like you may be pancaking in your photo, leaving a little space in your armpit will change it. Pancaking is when you squish/rest your arm against your body and it flattens out. It's kinda like sitting down in shorts and expecting your legs to look the same standing.

 

[lovefor3va]

@andrewxk7 There’s nothing wrong with your arms, FYI

 

[jdvelez]

@andrewxk7 My arms are similar to this. They looked like this when I was slim and fit, and now they’re bigger because I’ve gained weight. I was self conscious about my arms in high school. One of my friends who was very muscular (with similar arms as you and me) and did water polo told me something I still think about:

“It just means there’s muscle under there.”

Sounds like you’re fit and active. Bigger muscles come with skin to store it in, and depending on how fat hangs out on your body, some areas might look bigger even if toned.

 

[greek_faith]

@andrewxk7 Just my two cents, your arms look good and aren’t big. Your waist is super thin and they look good together like that, like there’s a balance there that wouldn’t be there if you had little stick arms.

But I get it. Mine are also like this. They always have fat on the bottom. They will gain visible muscle fast, but that just makes them bigger all around, to the point of not fitting in shirts well. They do get smaller if I don’t work out and lose weight to the point of being skinnier than I want, but working out has never gotten rid of the fat on the underside.

And in case you’re thinking of trying for stick arms, just in case it helps, I’ll add this. My sister, I suspect, has these arms too but is pretty underweight and so yeah, she probably managed to get rid of her arm fat but that’s just because her body doesn’t have any fat left. It doesn’t look good—her hands stand out and look oddly large, as does her head. She only runs, doesn’t lift, and has said she does not want to gain any muscle, so I assume she likes her body that way. But I think generally speaking if genetics has landed you a feature that only drastic measures can counteract, it’s probably not worth it.

 

[rparrott]

@andrewxk7 First, as everyone is saying your arms don’t looking chubby, they look nice. My question would be how hard are you training arms, because you will gain a lot more muscle if you train close to failure. I would make a few suggestions.

1. Add in a side lateral raise to help your shoulder definition.

2. Take the last set of each arm exercise to failure, all previous sets (assuming your using the same weight) should be within 2-3 reps of this set.

3. This is optional but you could add in one or two more arm days. If you did this I would do 3 sets for each biceps, triceps and side delts each day. These muscles recover really fast.
4. Loss weight, it will make you look leaner and more muscular

 

[greengrace]

@andrewxk7 I am the same. If you think you'd like it try keto, the fat storage falls straight off you, I'm much leaner now and building/retaining muscle faster/better

 

[velvety777]

@greengrace That's not how keto works

 

[dawn16]

@andrewxk7 Apart from the great fitness-related advice, I just wanted to point out that if you're posing with your arms right against your body they will look "bigger" no matter what. I notice this with myself in photos, when I seem like I have huge arms when in fact they are pretty normal. It's just that when you keep your arms in this position you make your arms look wider than they really are because the skin/muscle/fat gets compressed into a flatter shape (I don't know how to better explain it, I hope it makes sense).

 

[dawn16]

Then how to make them look thinner in poses?

 

[dawn16]

Hand on your hip/in your pocket or just simply keep the arm slightly away from your body

 

[bevinluvwithjesus]

@andrewxk7 Your shoulders look like they are rolled forward a bit, I recommend doing face pulls and rows, side dumbbell extensions.

 

[ayryil]

@andrewxk7 Your arms look perfectly fine!

You mention working bis and tris a lot. What about shoulders? Those are actually a big part of getting that toned look in your arms.

 

[andrewxk7]

@ayryil I see... I don't train much my shoulders. I will look up for some exercises to try on..! thanks =)

 

[iammelchizedek]

@ayryil I think this is the key, the shoulders are a big part of it. Also lifting heavier.

 

[debarktango]

@andrewxk7 I think your arms look slim and proportionate.

Could you show us a flexing picture?

When you have a lot of muscle, but it’s relaxed, then that area of your body can sometimes look just “big” (especially if you’re not used to it).

Otherwise, like the others are saying, you may just genetically tend to carry more fat in your arms. You could try to lose fat (burn more calories than you eat) but you don’t need to! You look fantastic, arms and all!