The season for floaty dresses and summer will be upon us soon, which means that most gals and guys are out there in the gym pumping weights and doing cardio to sculpt their figures and make themselves leaner. If you’ve been on that track trying to get leaner arms for a few months and are finding that there isn’t a difference in your shape, then something, somewhere is going wrong. It’s important to re-evaluate your workout and eating plans regularly as you shrink down in weight, because things change as your body adjusts to new workouts. There’s plenty that could be going wrong for you, so you should check out these many reasons that your arms aren’t toning as nicely as you like:

Isolated Movements?

Believe it or not, 100 push ups or 1000 lifts with 2kg dumbells won’t tone your arms. You’ll be sore, and you’ll have burning muscles, but you won’t be living the toned arm life, because all you’ll be doing is expanding on the muscle, not working on burning away the fat. You need to do more exercises like pull-ups and multi-joint workouts like these.

You’re Just Doing Too Much.

If you’re a beginner who is checking out the rowing machines in the gym, you’re going to want to learn to row slowly before you can start pulling the same weight as the local racing team. Jumping into advanced shoes as a beginner isn’t just damaging to your muscles, it’s going to end with you giving up far too fast because you just can’t do it. Take your time. Relax and move forward at a pace that’ll suit you, not one you force your body into.

You’re Trying To Spot-Reduce.

A big old newsflash for you: you cannot focus on one body part and expect results. Your body is the sum of all of its parts, and you need to focus on the entire thing, not just one area at a time. Your diet will determine your fat loss, your workout will determine your overall toning of your body. Work on the body as a whole, and the fat will come off the arms as well as everywhere else.

You’re Using Baby Weights.

It’s very easy to grab a can of beans from the cupboard in place of the weights you don’t have, but they’re not heavy enough. You have to get to know the limits of your body, then push against them to see results. You’re only going to tone your body when you put pressure on it, and a part of that will be increasing the weights that you use.

Get a program created by a professional. You shouldn’t trust someone who is Instagram famous for having abs. How do you know that they understand who to progressively and safely get you towards your goal. Seek a qualified online coach like Simon Bergner with proven success!

You’re Sneak-Eating The Cookies.

It doesn’t matter how many reps of any exercise you do if you’re not watching your diet. It’s 80/20 in favour of diet for fat loss, and your arms are no exception. Dial in your diet and you’ll see results.

Your arms are just one area of your body. Look at the bigger picture and then you’ll see the changes you want.

If you need help with your nutrition check out some of my coaching and meal plan options.

xoxo Hollie