Hi DM,
What should I do to reduce the size of my arms? By that I mean, arms only (without affecting other areas of my body). I do weights, but it only tones my arms, and the size doesn’t change much, the ‘flesh’ is still there…
Mei
Dear Mei,
Spot reduction my dear.. is a myth. There is absolutely NO NATURAL WAY you can exercise your body so that it releases its fat stores from a particular area. Fat loss happens all over your body, and the places where your bodyfat deposits most easily (for women, these are the hips, thighs) would also be the place where there’s more fat release when you exercise. Perhaps a little similar to the First-in-First-Out principle, where it can then be best described as the region where bodyfat is most deposited on your body would also be the region where it is most easily released. And yes, this simply means that the stubborn places where the fat ‘just doesnt seem to go’.. would be that last to show results… but just keep persevering. You mentioned that you weight train.. so I’m sure you’ll only reveal a more gorgeous you!
I think the reason you’re holding back from a weightloss plan is because you’ve sunk into a ‘comfort zone’ and are happy with how you look every other part of your body.. which is fantastic, don’t get me wrong! But what I’m trying to tell you in your case, is not to be afraid of getting leaner. If you’re unhappy with some extra bodyfat on various parts of your body.. cardio/dieting is the answer. Endless arm exercises or 100 million situps is not the answer (notice how packed the ab machines are at the gym? somebody should tell them they’re better off concentrating that effort on cardio!!).
If you’re in great physical shape/exercise frequently (which I believe you are.. based on the positive way you talk about your own physique) .. i believe there’s no way you can be unhappy with the outcome. Also, remember that your body is an amazing machine… it won’t allow you to lose fat to an extent where you won’t look good. The only thing that can happen.. is that you’ll look how you’re supposed to look like. Now how can that ever be bad? Also don’t be afraid of training too hard, or getting arms that are ‘too muscular’, etc.. just give it your best.. simply because you don’t have the hormones and the genetic capability to look like a freak.
In periods of weightloss, I’ve personally experienced people coming up to me and saying that I’ve lost too much weight that I look sick, and that I shouldnt continue.. but weeks later.. they’d come up to me and say that I actually look much better. The problem with people, and sometimes we ourselves, is that we’ve grown accustomed to the imperfectness that surrounds us. Yes, nobody is perfect, but there is always room for improvement if you only try.
If a friend who was overweight/or perhaps carrying a bit more bodyfat than he/she should be, but is still a healthy person, and if he/she were to ask me - am I fat? I would definitely tell them the truth. You should too, but in a tactful way. Honestly, if a few people from my past never told it to me in my face.. I don’t think I’d be where I am today.
So, my advice to you Mei, would be :
1. Not to neglect your arm exercises, just keep doing what you’re doing and at the same time, don’t get obsessed about keeping count of rep ranges, etc.
2. Bump up your cardio. Always go for a minimum of 40 minutes of if weightloss is your goal. Don’t be afraid of fatloss or that you would lose what you already like about yourself.
3. Watch what you eat! An awesome physique begins in the kitchen.. not at the gym
;)
So, what you’ll be doing is basically maintaining your weight training so that your body will hold on to its muscle mass (you need this for your arms to look femininely good too!), while reducing your calorie intake/bumping up your cardio to trigger fatloss in your body. Do it long enough.. and you will see results. I promise you.
Your friend and coach,
DM
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
Mei, if i may suggest, you could attend all the cardio classes in yr gym like body combat whichi find is fantastic for shaping the upper body.
And you could do pushups on a daily basis. I find pushups an easy and effective upper body workout. Start with chest pushups and expand to include tricep pushups, do enough reps either on the knees and on the toes until you feel the burn in your arms. Body weight is sufficient to tone those arms and build nice shoulders to complement them.
Hi DM!
sunshine: Hey there.. I’ve seen you.. at Wisma Consplant. ;)
no way that could be achieved.
Spot reduction is as miracle as a rock turning into cash.
rahter, good diet and consistent exercise would help reduce your overall body fat, which in turn would help you reduce flabs all over.
i thought i saw you too. but its kinda weird for me to be staring at guys shoes all the time!you know what i mean… pls come and say hi
me already very thin ler…but arms still big…can’t afford to do much overall body cardio like combat, rpm…i find all cardio machines concentrate on the lower body only…maybe DM can come up with one…thanks to all anyway… :P
Mei: Like what DM and Stupe said, spot reduction is not possible. So even you have a cardio machine concentrate on your arms, you wouldn’t be able to lose the arm fats. Fat losing is overall body. If i am not mistaken, the fitness first located in Damansara Uptown has 2 cardio machines concentrate on upper body…. Check out yourself.
i tot resistance machines r to build muscles as well as burn fat???
Agree with DM.
More cardio and at the same time keep on the weight training.
You can try Body Combat or Muay Thai. Muay Thai moves are more extreme and great cardio.
no one seems to be reading me…i’ll just apply slimming cream on the arms while weight training ler… :P
Mei: LOL, maybe they need to see u in person to understand you. How about u go get beer… perhaps this will in turn balance up your arm when your body bulks up muscularly! hmmmmmmmmm
mei: i think what ur trying to say is ur lower body is perfect for u..it juz that ur unhappy with ur arm size..am i correct?..is it the size or the unfirmness that ur unhappy with?..well for upper body cardio..i think rowing machine does the work quite well(concentrate more on arm pulling movement rather than depending mostly on the strength of ur legs) ..if u have free time..i think boxing does wonders as well..but no air punching arr..in terms of wgt training.. any reps above 20-25 can also be consider as cardio as well..(bicep/tricep/shoulder workout) ..only u be using alot more muscle endurance+cardio..u might wanna try functional training as well as it focus more on ur large muscle group thus push ur heart rate..that way u get to increase both ur fitness level n the intensity of ur arms workout..quite a few option.. but kinda agree with all..proper nutrients+proper intensity+proper rest= superb physic!
does any of the sentence up there make sense? :P
dear mei: just do as sunshine says and u will be fine. continue going to the gym with due diligent and u will achieve what u set out for. I wish I could helpbut I am too far away from m’sia. Good luck!
hi Dm
mei: actually, size is relative. how tall, heavy and your arm size pls? then i can have a better picture.
for all you know, your arms are fine, just physcologically( i know this is wrongly spelt, sorry!) you felt/think u have big arms.
Whoa, the white babe in the pic. I always wanted a girl with sexy abs. She’s just so hot!
I see a pattern, pretty much everywhere you look: PEOPLE FREELY GIVING YOU SHITTY ADVICE!
Assume it is true that there is no such thing as spot fat reduction, only overall reduction.
Then clearly, you’d want to train your lower body more than your upper body, so that the muscles (which can obviously spot trained) and size increase in your lower body vs arms.
By the same token, it makes no sense whatsoever to work out the arms, when you are trying to lose overall fat. All you’d get is bigger arms.
So my advice based on some logic is that you should
1) work out lower body only
2) eat protein/creatine to gain bulk down there
3) don’t work out arms at all
Then you should get bigger on your butt and legs, and since the mucles take more energy, it will eat up the fat overall, including your arms.
gosh - heheh, can’t beat the upper body, make the lower body join em eh?
Mei: I understand why you’re confused. Actually, the main purpose of most cardio machines is not to concentrate on the lower body.. but to just make use of your legs to make you perform work, which is the best option simply because the upper thigh muscles are the largest and most powerful muscles in the human body, and since your leg mass makes up about 50% of your body mass - you just cannot afford to avoid leg training. So though the cardio machines seem to be only targetting your lower body.. thats actually not why it is so. Getting your legs to perform work would burn the most calories and get your heart rate up and kickstart everything in your body for exercise. 10 minutes of non-stop arm exercises can NEVER achieve what you can via 10 mins of running on the threadmill… Can you imagine trying to work up a sweat in a cardio session performing endless biceps curls? Its just not practical.
Cardio machines that use a rowing motion do that job pretty well too, cos it uses your entire back which is also one of the largest muscle groups in your body.
Resistance training builds muscles, and muscles in turn - increase your overall calorie consumption - thus creating an opportunity for you to burn fat provided you restrict the calories you are consuming. Did I answer your question?
Amased: Well said.. and hi! whoever you are… :)
Chris: The girl in the pic is Monica Brant, an IFBB Pro figure competitor and a fitness icon. She’s also been privileged enough to be chosen by BSN to be part of Team BSN, joined by 8-time Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman and Mixed Martial Arts Specialist Julien Greaux. Yeah, she’s got an incredible physique.
gosh: Firstly, spot reduction REALLY does not exist. If you believe it does, and choose to remain ignorant to the fact that it doesnt.. let’s see you try perform endless repetitions of crunches, until you reveal rock solid abs. Challenge? By the way, your advice on focusing on lower body workouts ONLY, and consuming supplements to bulk down the lower body isnt really solving the problem, is it? We’re trying to fix.. not compensate. You talk like 15 yr old newbie who’s just read the first few pages of his 1st FLEX magazine.
Ahh yeap. She kinda looked familiar. Maybe because i don’t have pics of her from that angle. I browsed through your site once or twice a few years ago. Just started skimming through it again recently.
hey stupe
i like your comment. If u can’t beat them, join them eh!
Is that eh! comes from canada or….
hi Dm, Iwill be coming home in the near future and would like to meet u in person. Someone who actually know what he/ she is talking about.
I am the guy that were enquiring ’bout the fitness industries in M’sia.
amased - nope, i’m pretty much in UK. Ulu Kelang.
Monica brant, i have her pic back when she was starting to make a name of herself. It was in one of the weider’s magazine back in the mid 90’s.
:) wait see if i could find the pic and snap it to upload to show all!
Amased: Hey bro, I remember you. As for meeting me in person, we’ll no promises alrite? I have my reasons for remaining anonymous. Keep in touch.
Stupe: I’d love to see that pic! I personally think that Monica Brant works very hard and has earned every ounce of the physique that she portrays to the extent that she can now make a living out of her dedication to this sport. Now that’s something I’d like to do.
Why do you have reasons for remaining anonymous? I have quite a few friends who compete in bodybuilding, nationally and internationally. Imagine if you were actually one of them. That would be a shock would it not? Heh.
i know who DM is…
Gosh : ….hahaha gosh…u make me laugh,..big time!…u call other people advice shitty ey?..wonder what u call urs.. anyway couldnt agree more with DM..15 years old newbie..eh boy..there’s nothing wrong with asking question and giving out ur thoughts…but dont dish out other people ey..unless ur facts is solid..
hey DM bro..still no answer yet.. whats the best exercise for ur latissimus anterior?..let me know..cheers~
mei: how’s the arm getting along?
sorry….its suppose to be serratus anterior… silly me..hehe whats the best exercise for ur serratus anterior?…thanks Bro..~
Chris: Nah, I don’t compete, and I don’t think I ever will. Although once, a bunch of Personal Trainers from Fitness First came up to me and insisted that they’ve seen me in a competition before. Of course, they must have mistook me for someone else.
Manju: Yes you do know who I am… NOW do you finally realise how privileged you are? You even get one-on-one telephone consultation, at no cost. Would you like me to autograph your red/green t-shirt tomorrow? By the way.. well done on losing that 3kgs of weight.. it shows.. not only in your physique, but by the proud look of achievement on your face.
HealthFreak: Hey bro, I was looking for that comment but couldnt find it. Since you asked it here.. well honestly, I don’t really know what the best exercise for the serratus anterior is, simply because I personally don’t place emphasis on it. I do know that dumbbell pullovers will hit that muscle to a certain extent. I think sometimes, people get overly concerned with the minute details and spend too much time focusing on them, when in fact, that focus could be shifted to other more beneficial exercises that would have a more overall muscle building effect. I don’t think the day will ever come when I will lift up my t-shirt and say “Hey guys, check out my serratus anterior!!”. The human body has approx 640 muscles.. I don’t plan on looking for specific workouts to target all of them. I just stick to the basics - and give them my 101%. Sorry I cant be of much help to you on this.
DM : Ok. I hear ya. Just curious. Don’t you have any body shots of yourself? Not necessarily full body but like arm pics, or maybe a MM pose in a shirt or something? Since you give pretty good advice, I’m sure your physique must be pretty well developed.
hmmm… u know something, i think i gained back that 3 kgs i lost…
oh btw..chris…DM here is huge! we were playing football the other day..and he happily came to me…pushed me..stood in front of me..and i couldnt see anything after that..ha ha…n he nicely stole the ball from me..aiya..unfair
it seems that everybody assume that mei’s arms are large due to fat. What if she has large arm muscle genetically? : )
hi mei,
try to pinch the skin of ur arms (biceps & triceps areas) to check the thickness of ur skin there. if u have very thick skin (fat), then all the above suggestions r valid. otherwise, just accept ur genetic destiny : P
i 2nd Chris proposal.. DM give us a body shot to inspire us!
Manju, nothing wrong with asking for shots of DM. T+1 is a friend of mine and also a member on a forum which i post at and he has seen my pics on Friendster too. So I don’t think there’s any harm in displaying them.
Hei bro DM…good answer…hehe but that wud be a typical bodybuilder question..i mean..that muscle is super important for the abs anterior pose ey..hehe but i guess this is for more general community..ur right with the dumbell pullover exe too..how about lateral cable woodchop?heh n so on..thanks for answerin..good to hear an opinion from someone who know his stuff..
ps: i heard that comment before.. “hey check my serratus anterior ” ..u know from who?..hehe mr julian underwood @ 2004 .. bet u wouldnt tot he ask that ey? :p
I believe DM is huge as he mentioned that he was 85kg in “Who am I?”. now he should be even more toned after cutting.
DM can still remain anonymous as long as the photo does show ur face.
it will be very motivational to see ur current photo compared to 6 years ago : )
yup, i saw Chris photos. He is huge!
i m 155cm, 42kg…more cardio??? ARMS? NO SOLUTION YET…i think only beauty centres can help…
If DM is huge, then there could only be one guy who fits that criteria, but come to think of it, that doesn’t has his MP3 player on. Damn, I thought I was closer in knowing the real identity of DM. Gonna be weird if you “smile” at every single “huge” guy at the gym. Ayo DM, reveal urself to me lah. You already know who I am, and for heaven’s sake you have my house address!! Arghh!!!!
Manju: I didn’t steal the ball from you.. you gave it to me willingly.. no? :P
T+1: Great tip on the ‘pinch’ test. Thanks.
Hafiz: I think I know who you’re referring to.. and trust me.. I’m not THAT huge, and don’t intend to get that huge either. Or maybe you saw me on a day when my MP3 player batt died on me? Heh heh.
Everyone: Sorry.. no pics of myself! To be honest.. I’m pretty much a perfectionist in everything I do. And my physique is nowhere close to being perfect in MY eyes… so I dont feel comfortable at all in showing pics of myself. Sorry.. thats just me.
Yo yo yo…!
I know who DM is and will disclose it to the highest bidder….
Iv even got photographs of him writing his articles….
Ahem ahem.. since it isnt much of an issue to me…
bidding starts at RM2
Hi DM n everyone,
It’s enjoyable hearing someone calling others Bro. I thought only Black or Afro american and christain priest do that. Maybe I’m
from the old school ‘cos u only refer to your siblings as bro.
hey dm, have a dilema. how do u maintain your muscle mass when u get older? Oh, by the way, is everyone malaysian? Hope I’m not too nosey.
esta la vista!
T+1: Thanks for the compliment, but I’m never happy with my size. I need 5 more kgs to reach my target 100kg but i need to ensure most of the gains are lean mass so I’m on a slow bulk now. I saw your friendster, go update your pics, I’m sure you would have packed on some decent size by now.
DM : It’s cool if you don’t want to post pics. I was just curious that’s all. But you still put up a good site though, so it’s all good. So update it and post more articles mate.
Hey, i recently bought one tub of TruMass by BSN. DM, (Or Jay/Tim) any advice on how to use it? consume 1 serving (ie 3 scoops) b4 sleeping? or b4 workout or start of the day?
And do i take it everyday or only on days that i work out? since it ain’t cheap for only 18 servings.
btw, my obvious goal is to bulk up.
Dood: A bit outta topic.. but i’ll answer it here anyway. The first step to bulking up is to remember to use your mass gainer in ADDITION to what you’re already eating currently. Do not make the common mistake of replacing your meals with Truemass - you need to ADD calories to your diet, and not replace them. This applies for any weight gainer.
I’d say you can consume 1 serving everyday spaced out. Mix with milk for additional calories. So, perhaps try 1scoop+milk WITH your bfast, 1 scoop+milk after your workout, and another 1scoop + milk, at any other time throughout the day when you feel like it (maybe with lunch, dinner, tea-time, etc). I’m not a big fan of consuming high carb meals before bedtime.. so I’d avoid consuming it right before bed. I’d rather go for a ordinary protein shake before bed.
Oh, sorry bout the outa topic. i figured this was your latest article so i just posted here. Shd i just email you for further questions in the future?
I’m actually already eating alot. but i’m guessing its not enough since my weight is not going up. apart from TrueMass, i’m also taking ON’s 100% whey protein for my pre and post workout. Also been using syntha-6 for my b4 bedtime shake.
While i was sorta clean bulking, my weight was stuck at 64kgs.
recently i started to “dirty” bulk by eating mcdonalds and kfc and weight went up a lil.
Just got my hands on the TrueMass so wanted to get some advice on how to make the MOST of it.
Thanks :)
btw, Jay el Ducko, i’ll bid RM2.50 to find out who DM is. :D
Chris: Manju, nothing wrong with asking for shots of DM ? im so lost..enlighten me..
Manju: Old topic. Forget it. Lol.
Chris: i didnt say it WAS wrong to ask for shots of DM. anyway, wise words finally..lets forget it.
Come on children.. stop fighting.
HaHa Mei, hi I know what u mean I have big upper arms too and it’s one of the blessing of having 2 sons….lol….gift from GOD.That was my target areas too when i first joined the gym, and after going for 3 months and doing cardio I lost 8 pounds and my upper arms have grown smaller by an inch. To me that was heavenly. At first u wont see any differences on ur arms, to me it was the bum area that went off first than the tummy and recently the arms. So I say to u is do more cardio and put ur hands together and pray to GOD that todays workout would burn the fats at the arms hahaha.
Reading Gosh’s comment up there, it reminds me of what guys at my previous gym used to label people like this. It’s “mangkuk hayun”
ps: DM, i like ur reply to his “enlighting information” :))
On T+1’s comment on genetics, I agree very much with u. Some women I know are genetically big built, or big framed. U can tell this by looking at ur joins like the knees, elbows or shoulder near the rotator cuff.
The pinch test u suggested is also a very good way to tell if Mei is fit or fat.
Generally, I find most women pretty paranoid about “big arms” :). Relax and dont worry too much about it. Cheers!
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