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Have you had that moment when you stop waving goodbye but your arms don’t? Ouch. That’s a tough one to swallow. Or maybe you haven’t reached that point yet but you DEFINITELY don’t want to. Flabby arms are such an “old lady moment” and the first time you realize you have them, a new mantra of “long sleeves forever” might come to mind. But don’t put away those tank tops or short sleeves yet. How about trying something to firm up those arms and make your triceps beautiful again? It CAN be done.

First and foremost, let’s stick to science. You cannot spot reduce your arms—or any other part of your body for that matter—by working only that particular muscle. In other words, you cannot do a bunch of upper arm exercises and expect to see results solely from those moves alone, especially if you are carrying extra weight.

Start by having a good clean diet and some cardiovascular exercise. This will help start the fat-burning train, so to speak. That being said, by working your arm muscles and firming the muscles below the skin, your arms will be tighter, more shapely, and less prone to waving on their own. So let’s get started toning up those arms and making you feel confident next time you wave good bye!

Related: Your Anti-Aging Arm Routine

Flabby Arm Workout

Below are the best triceps moves, sprinkled with some cardio moves in between to burn fat while your arms recover! Keep in mind you are working the same muscle group for each strength move, so by the time you get to the last exercise, your arms will be shot!

How to do the Flabby Arm Workout

  1. Do 8-10 reps per arm move
  2. Two minutes of each cardio exercise

The whole routine should take less than 15 minutes.

 Jogging

Jogging-in-Place_Exercise-6-Moves-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

A) Start standing with feet hip-distance apart.

B) Lift one foot then the other to jog in place, working your legs and increasing your heart rate.

 Jog for 1 Minute.

Tricep Push-Up: Right Arm

Tricep-Push-Up-6-Ways-To-Tone-Flabby-Arms

A) Lie down on your left side, stacking your shoulders, hips, and feet. Bring your right hand to the mat directly in front of your bottom shoulder. The left hand will be wrapped around your waist below your chest.

B) The right arm does all the work as you press yourself up and lower yourself down to your starting position. You will feel the tricep muscles of your top arm working.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping-Jacks_Exercise-6-Move-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

A) Start standing with a slight bend in knees, with hands resting on thighs.

B) Keeping the knees bent, open the arms and legs out to the sides. Arms come above the head and legs are wider than shoulders, then close and return.

Perform for 1 minute.

Tricep Push Up – Left Arm

Tricep-Push-Up-6-Ways-To-Tone-Flabby-Arms

A) Lie down on your left side, stacking your shoulders, hips, and feet. Bring your left hand to the mat directly in front of your bottom shoulder. The right hand will be wrapped around your waist below your chest.

B) The left arm does all the work as you press yourself up and lower yourself to the mat to your starting position. You will feel the tricep muscles on the back of your top arm working.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

Butt Kicks

Butt-Kicks_Exercise-6-Moves-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

A) Start standing tall and bring one heel off the floor towards your glutes; the opposite hand comes up towards your shoulder like running arms, then switch to the other side

B) This exercise is working your hamstrings so you should feel this in the glutes and the back of the legs as you pull the heel in.

Perform for 1 minute.

Tricep Dip

Tricep-Dip-Exercise-6-Ways-Tone-Flabby-Arms

A) Start seated with knees bent and feet on the floor. Place hands behind you, directly under the shoulders, with fingers facing your hips. Lift hips to a hover.

B) Bend elbows straight back and use your triceps to press back up.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

Foot Fire

Foot-Fire_Exercise-6-Moves-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

A) Start standing with arms at the chest and hands in fists.

B) Alternate running fast in place between your two feet.  Stay on the balls of your feet and keep your feet low to the ground, moving as fast as possible.

Perform for 1 Minute.

Push-Ups

Push-Up_Exercise-6-Moves-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

1) Begin in a plank position with hands below shoulders, legs long behind you, and body contracted to hold your spine in a straight line.

2) With elbows pointing slightly back, bend elbows and slowly begin to lower your body until you are just above the ground. Keep your gaze over your fingertips and your body in a straight line.

3) As you exhale, tighten your belly and push yourself back up to a plank position. If you need to modify, place your knees on the mat while you perform.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

High Knees

High-Knees_Exercise-6-Moves-Prevent-Saggy-Arms

A) Start standing with feet hip-distance apart.

B) Lift upright knee as high as it will go and raise the opposite arm, then switch quickly so left knee is up before right foot lands. Continue pulling knees up quickly.

Perform for 1 minute.

Tricep Kick Back

Tricep-Kickback-Exercise-6-Ways-Tone-Flabby-Arms

 

A) Start with feet hip-distance apart, engaging your abdominals, and sit back into a slight squat with arms bent at 90-degree angles and dumbbells on the sides of the chest.

B) Press dumbbells back past hips, hugging the side body while working your triceps, and then return the arms back to 90 degrees with control.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

Jumprope

Jump-Rope_Exercise-6-Moves-Saggy-Arms

A) Start with feet hip-distance apart and arms stretched to the sides like you’re holding a jump rope with your hands.

B) Circle your hands like you’re swinging a jump rope, and hop over it to jump rope in place.

Perform for 1 minute.

Tricep Overhead Extensions

Tricep-Overhead-Extension-Exercise-6-Ways-Tone-Flabby-Arms

A) Standing with feet hip-distance apart, holding dumbells straight overhead, keep your spine long and abs tight.

B)  Bend elbows, lowering dumbbells behind the base of the head. Keep your elbows hugging in towards your head and pointing forward. Then extend your arms long, returning to your starting position.

Perform 8-10 repetitions.

READ THIS NEXT: 5 Bodyweight Moves For Buff Arms

About Chris Freytag, CPT

Chris Freytag is an ACE certified personal trainer, TV personality, author and motivational speaker. She has been sharing the message of healthy living for 30 years while teaching fitness classes, writing books, creating workouts and sharing her knowledge in magazines and online.

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5 Comments

    1. Hi Amy! Do 8-10 reps per move and 2 minutes of each cardio exercise. The whole routine should take less than 15 minutes!

  1. I really love your workouts and I know they are effective I lost 25lbs on the first 10lb slim down and told hundreds of people including my husband whom he too lost 20lbs. I recently need to start working out again but am looking for effective cardio and muscle strengthening that would be ok for an injury, arthritis in hips and muscle weakness. I truly
    Believe you are amazing I am
    Hoping that you can refer a DVD of yours or a workout program that you can suggest to start again on my
    Mission to staying healthy and beating my medical problems with exercise

    1. Hi Dee! I have several new programs that will be included in my new membership workout site: we are launching Get Healthy U TV on October 15. Two programs that would be good for you are Definitions which is all strength and the Walk and Tone. Hope you will check it out as soon as its live. Thank you for your kind words and thanks for working out with me!