Flab is body fat that sits on and around the muscle but arm fat is located on your arms, shoulders, and collarbones (if you have them).
Arm fat is unattractive and can be very hard to get rid of without tedious work.
However, when you start working out, your body will burn arm fat because you have stronger and more toned muscles that were once hidden beneath your flab.
If you have stubborn arm fat, then it’s important to remember that it’s not a permanent problem.
I’ve done all of the exercises below and my arms look much much better than before.
Signs of Arm Fat
The signs of arm fat are pretty obvious, especially if you’ve been struggling with this issue for some time.
You can tell you have arm fat if:
- You can pinch some of your fat in the area and feel that it’s firm or hard. It will feel like a muscle underneath (because it is!).
- If you can see bruises on your arms in the underarm area or by your elbow (this is typical for women who carry more arm fat).
- Your skin is darker in this area.
If you have any of the above symptoms, then you definitely have arm fat. Like I said, it’s not pretty.
Now let’s get on with the best arm exercises for home!
11 Best Exercises To Lose Arm Fat
Here are 11 of the best arm exercises to tone and burn arm fat.
1. Reverse Crunches
Reverse Crunches are one of the most effective exercises I’ve found and they actually target all of your muscle groups at once!
They aren’t done for arms specifically but they work out your upper chest, arms, abs, lower back and shoulders. This makes them a great exercise for your body in general.
The key to doing this exercise right is balance and control. Once you have both of these things down, then the exercise will be a lot easier and fun to do!
✅ How To Do It
- Lie on your back with your hands behind your head.
- Lift your feet up and bend them so they are at a 90-degree angle.
- Lift up your chin slightly and crunch forward, trying not to use your hands or arms for support.
- Go as far down as you can comfortably go without feeling any pain in your lower back.
- Slowly raise yourself back up to the starting position and repeat for 10-12 reps.
2. Seated Cable Curls
Standing cable curls work out your upper pecs and biceps. The great thing about these is that they truly target your arms, back, and shoulder muscles.
You can also do this exercise standing up or sitting down, whichever you prefer.
Since the weight is hanging off the cable, it adds a lot more resistance than doing pulley cable curls at home.
My favorite part about this exercise is just how hard it feels when you first start but then quickly starts getting smooth like butter!
How To Do It:
- Set up your cable station with a cable crossover attachment at the end of each arm and a weight plate hanging from each cable handle.
- Seat yourself on the bench and lift one leg up to the side of the bench so your foot is hanging off.
- Reach behind you and hold the weights at arm’s length, just outside your shoulder.
- With your pinky finger extended straight out, curl the weight up towards your shoulder, keeping your elbow close to your body.
- Slowly lower back down to starting point and repeat for 10-12 reps.
3. Barbell Curls
Barbell curls are an excellent choice for building muscle mass in the arms and can also be used for making fat loss progress!
Since the weight is just resting on your shoulders, you can have a good grip on the bar. This adds a lot of resistance and causes you to work hard to keep proper form!
How To Do It:
- Set up a barbell in front of you and grasp the ends with your hands.
- Hold the bar over your shoulders and set your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bring the bar down until it is in line with parallel with your shins (this is about halfway up) and hold for 5 seconds before slowly repeating for 12 reps.
4. Cable Pulldowns
If you’re looking for a great upper back exercise without having to get on the pull-up bar, the cable pull-downs are the way to go!
These can build shoulder and upper back strength quite quickly.
The cable machine will also allow you to increase (or decrease) weight as you see fit.
This is great if you’re just starting out and want to build up some strength before increasing resistance.
How To Do It:
- Set up a pulley at chest height and grip the machine handles with your hands facing away from each other.
- Lift your arms to shoulder height in front of you.
- Then, pull your elbows out to the sides and back until they are parallel to the floor.
- Lower the handles back to the starting position slowly.
- Repeat for 10–15 reps.
5. Plank
Planking is a common exercise where people lie down on their stomachs and prop themselves up on their toes with their hands outstretched.
How To Do It:
- Get into a plank position on all fours with your arms extended directly above your head.
- With your legs, bring them into a push-up position.
- Then bend forward until you feel your glutes stretch and release into the opposite hip.
- Only go as far as comfortable without feeling any pain in your lower back.
6. Dumbbell Curls
Dumbbell curls are another great leg/arm exercise, although they can be pretty challenging to do if you’re new to them!
I love doing dumbbell curls because they not only target the biceps, but also the front deltoids (the muscles on top of your shoulders).
They are also a great whole body exercise because of their intensity, as well as offering some resistance that makes your muscles work hard to complete each rep.
How To Do It:
- Set up the weights in front of you on a flat surface.
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and hold the dumbbells just above the top of your shoulders with an overhand grip.
- Lower the dumbbells down until they make contact with your upper chest area (just below your nipples).
- Then, press back up and repeat for 10 reps.
7. Push-Ups
The push-ups are my top pick for losing arm fat because it is a compound bodyweight exercise. By that, I mean that you’re using your body as resistance.
It tones your chest, arms, and core. If you do it right, you can even burn belly fat when doing a push up!
If you want to know how to do a push up correctly, then check out this video:
I love this exercise because I don’t have to worry about going to the gym just for my arms. It’s also easy to do anywhere and won’t take a lot of energy.
This is another one of my favorite at-home arm workouts! You can get the resistance bands at Amazon for under $20.
While it may take a bit of time to master the exercise, you will feel great and shed your arm fat pretty quickly.
I can’t tell you how good this exercise is for fat burning. It tones your arms, abs, and back while burning tons of fat!
8. Tuck Jumps for Tight Arms
Tuck jumps are easy to do and don’t require any equipment, which is why I recommend them as the best arm exercises.
However, you need to wear good shoes when doing these because they can be pretty tough on your knees otherwise.
I find that I get the most fat burning from tuck jumps than anything else!
You don’t need any equipment at all to do these and they are great for toning your arms and legs as well as building endurance.
All you need to do is jump with both of your legs while keeping them together and doing a full tuck.
You can modify the exercise by putting your feet slightly apart.
These are great for building endurance, burning fat, and toning your arms.
So if you’re looking for an exercise that will tone you up really fast then I would recommend this one!
9. Burpees
I love burpees! And I recommend it to anyone who wants to workout at home.
They are definitely a lower body exercise but they are also a total body exercise too because it works your arms, legs and abs!
How To Do It:
- So basically all you need to do is squat and then jump.
- And then you do push-ups when you jump up again.
- You can skip the push-ups or substitute them for something else if you don’t have the energy or the strength.
- For example, it’s ok to go from squatting down and jumping up without even touching your toes.
And when you jump up again, you can do a tuck jump by jumping up while bringing your knees in towards your chest.
And then you just continue doing the burpee on a regular basis until you complete the number of reps that you’re supposed to do!
You can do this exercise with or without equipment and it’s an excellent way to burn fat and tone your body so I definitely recommend it!
10. Bent Over Rows
For the last exercise on my list of the best arm exercises, I have bent over rows.
When I say bent over row, I mean the kind that you do with a barbell.
As long as you can do the exercise with an adjustable dumbbell then it should be very similar.
The bent over row is a great exercise for building muscle in your back and arms and you should do this cautiously so as not to cause serious injury to your shoulders or lower back!
It builds great strength in your biceps and triceps while also improving overall posture. When done right it really does look amazing.
11. Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are an excellent cardio exercise that will help you burn fat in your arms and legs.
It’s also a great way to get your heart rate up and improves blood flow, circulation, and flexibility as well.
Jumping jacks work your arms more than you might expect because it requires you to move them back and forth quickly while also jumping up to the side.
It’s important to get proper form with these so make sure that you have a good understanding of how to do jumping jacks before you start incorporating them into your workout routine.
I recommend starting out with low reps and going slow so that you can get correct form.
Then you can start increasing your reps and speed at a later date.
These are also great for working on your balance which will help you to avoid injury while doing other exercise moves!
Bonus Tips On How To Lose Arm Fat
If the above exercises are done correctly, you’re already on the right path to losing arm fat.
But there are a few other things that will help you take it to the next level and create the body that you want to see in the mirror.
Here are 6 tips for getting rid of arm fat which go hand in hand with my top 7 exercises:
Tip #1 – Exercise Intensity
Intensity is everything when it comes to exercise.
If you don’t push yourself to your limits and give it all that you’ve got, then you won’t get any results!
The key is finding just the right balance between too much intensity and not enough intensity.
One of the main reasons why most people fail at losing arm fat is that they don’t push themselves nearly enough.
Once you find the right balance, you’ll be amazed at just how much fat you can burn in a short period of time.
Tip #2 – Maintain Proper Form
Proper form while exercising is very important.
If your form isn’t spot on, then it doesn’t matter how many times you repeat the exercise.
You won’t get the results that you want unless your form is perfect!
Even if you’re doing a lightweight, good form will make sure that all of your muscle groups are working efficiently and giving them a great workout.
Tip #3 – Take Breaks Every 10 Minutes
Most people only allow themselves to do 45 seconds of a certain exercise and then they just keep going. That’s not how it works.
If you take a break every 10 minutes, you can allow your body to recover between sets and also give your heart rate time to come back down from all of the intense exercises that you’re doing.
If you don’t take breaks enough, then your body will become so used to all of the exercise that it probably won’t get as much out of each set as what you’d like and it will start losing its effectiveness.
Tip #4 – Use Proper Technique and Form
Proper technique is very important when you’re doing any type of exercise.
If you want to get the most out of your workout (and not injure yourself), then it’s essential to use proper form when doing any exercise.
Using proper technique ensures that all of your muscle groups are being targeted and that you’re maximizing the results from each exercise.
It also helps to prevent injury. If your form was poor, then there’s a good chance that you could potentially hurt yourself if it wasn’t corrected right away!
So always aim to use proper form on each exercise. A good way to ensure that you’re doing it right is to watch a video on how to do each exercise.
Tip #5 – Workout Often!
No matter what type of workout you choose, it’s important to work out often.
You must make sure that you give your body enough time and space between workouts so that it can recover and also allow your muscles to grow stronger.
If you don’t give yourself enough time or space between workouts, then they will likely hurt more when the next one comes around.
Also, you’re unlikely to get the results that you want by working out often because your workouts will just seem like a waste of time since each one is so short.
So I recommend working out every day if possible or at least 3-4 times per week.
Tip #6 – Sleep At Least 7-8 Hours a Day
Getting enough sleep each night is very important for losing weight.
If you get enough sleep each night then your metabolism will be boosted and you’ll have plenty of energy to workout.
There’s also a good chance that you won’t feel as hungry all of the time since your body will be burning fat all day and will use the food that it has stored to burn off.
Not only that but if you’re eating enough to keep your body healthy, then you won’t have any room for junk food!
Final Thoughts On How To Lose Arm Fat
I’ve been asked by many people how to lose arm fat and built tone arms without bulking up. And in this article I’ve shared my best proven tips.
If there’s anything about this article that I hope people took away from it, then it’s that they need to work out consistently if they want to lose arm fat.
I think that the best way to go about this is to add at least one new exercise into your routine each week and continue doing that until you have all of the exercise moves that you want.
Also, make a commitment to your fitness goals. I know this is easier said than done but it’s definitely possible to stick to them!
If you can do those two things then you are on your way!
If you found any of my tips helpful or have any of your own, please share them below in the comments section! I would love to hear from you.