Written by Kiel DiGiovanni | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Flabby arms, bat wings or bingo arms are some descriptors of loose and baggy skin on the back of the upper arms.
This can be a real problem area for some people and when the hot weather where t-shirts and bathing suits come out of the closet, it gets people thinking, "how can I fix these flabby arms?".
If this is you, then you've come to the right place. In this post we give you 19 of the best exercises for flabby arms, many of which you can do with just your bodyweight. We also give you two sample workouts to fix flabby arms.
With the right diet and exercise routine you can go from flabby arms to fit and toned.
What causes bat wings?
Bat wings or flabby arms is usually the result of three causes; being overweight, old age or weight loss. Being overweight can lead to excess fat deposits in various areas of the body, sometimes in the upper arms. As we grow older our skin becomes less elastic and we suffer from muscle loss which can lead to developing bat wings. If you have bat wings because you lost a lot of weight then resistance training can also help to fill out this loose skin with muscle.
How do I get rid of bat wings on my arms?
To get rid of bat wings you have to do two things; exercise and consume less calories. Try to focus on triceps exercises to strengthen and tone the largest muscle of the upper arms. Your triceps make up about 60-70 percent of the muscle mass on the upper arms so it’s important that you perform some isolation exercises that specifically target the triceps. Alternatively, incorporating a shoulders and arms workout into your routine will help create a wide, muscular upper body.
As for the diet aspect you should be eating at a caloric deficit. Start by determining your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure); there are plenty of online calculators to help with this or you can roughly estimate that it will be 13-15 times your bodyweight.
Once you know your TDEE start be reducing your daily calories by 200. After a week reassess your progress and if you haven’t lost any weight, then lower your calorie intake another 100-200 a day. If you want to set a goal of 1 pound loss per week then your daily caloric deficit should be around 500 calories1.
Note: A more extreme avenue to fix flabby arms is surgery where a surgeon performs a skin reduction surgery.
What is the best exercise for flabby arms?
The best exercises for flabby arms will target the triceps and to some extent the biceps. Most people who experience having flabby arms notice this on the backside of the upper arm where the triceps is located. After all, the triceps make up about 70% of the upper arm.
Therefore, triceps focused exercises will have the best results in toning and shaping this area of the arm.
Can flabby arms really be toned?
Yes, you can tone flabby arms through proper exercise and improved nutritional choices. No matter what you might read on the internet about losing fat in specific areas of the body, it’s not possible to spot reduce fat.
You may have a predisposition to store fat in certain areas2, like the belly, upper arms, back fat or love handles but the only way to shed this fat is to exercise and eat better.
What is the fastest way to get rid of flabby arms?
The fastest way to get rid of flabby arms is to lose fat and exercise. If you combine a cutting diet and some of these exercises for flabby arms below then you could see results in as little as 4-6 weeks.
However, the time it takes to fix flabby arms is largely dependent on your starting point and genetics.
19 Best Exercises for Flabby Arms
One aspect of getting rid of those pesky flabby arms is to exercise. So, we put together 19 of the best exercises for flabby arms. Keep in mind that if you're just starting a fitness routine check with your doctor for the green light. Also make sure to warmup with some dynamic stretches before you start any exercises.
All of the pushup variations below can be made easier by performing them on your knees if you don't quite have the upper body strength just yet to perform them as described. We also provided a few exercises that will help to fix bat wings with the use of resistance bands (loop or with handles), dumbbells and the cable machine.
1. Pushup on Knees
If you’re just getting back into fitness or are starting your fitness journey pushups are one of the best upper body bodyweight exercises you can do. They work the shoulders, triceps and core. To make a regular pushup easier and take some stress off of your muscles, you can do the pushups from your knees then once you can do at least 10 knee pushups in a row you can attempt a traditional pushup with your legs extended behind you.
How to:
- Get on to hand and knees with your hands a little wider than shoulder width apart then bring your knees back and lower hips until your body is in a straight line from shoulders to knees
- Engage your core and glutes then bend at the elbows. Lowering your body close to the floor
- Push up through your hands bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Make sure to keep your core engaged and back straight throughout the movement. Try to move up to regular pushups when feasible.
2. Close Grip Push up
The close grip pushup is a variation of the pushup that puts more emphasis on the triceps compared with regular pushups. The important point to remember is that your elbows should be to your side throughout the movement to take the stress off the pecs and place it on the triceps.
How to:
- Get onto the ground and place your hands on the floor a little narrower than shoulder width apart
- Extend your legs behind you so your toes are on the floor keeping your body straight
- Lower down toward the floor with your elbows tucked at your side until your upper arms are parallel with the floor
- Push through your hands bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: The easier variation of this is to perform the close grip pushups while on your knees. Don’t lock out elbows at the top of the movement.
3. Shoulder Tap Push Up
The shoulder tap pushup adds an extra layer to regular pushups as your balance and core muscles will be tested. Make sure you’ve warmed up properly before doing this exercise to avoid potential shoulder problems when shifting your weight to one arm. Once you’re able to do at least 10 regular pushups you can attempt the shoulder tap pushup.
How to:
- Get into plank position with your hands a little wider than shoulders width apart with your feet hip width apart
- Keep your core engaged then lower your chest close to the floor with your elbows bending and pointing slightly behind you
- Push up through your hands by contracting your chest and triceps until your arms are fully extended
- Lift one hand up and reach across and tap the opposite shoulder
- Perform one more pushup then use your other hand to tap your other shoulder
- Repeat for desired reps while alternating shoulder taps
Note: Focus on performing this exercise properly, there's no need to try to set speed records here.
4. Side Pushup
The side pushup is a unilateral exercise that allows you to focus on working one side of the body at a time which means you can really hone in on the contraction of each triceps. You can also get an ab workout from this pushup variation as your obliques will crunch up with each repetition.
How to:
- Lie down on your side with your knees stacked and legs bent at the knees
- Wrap your bottom arm around you like you’re hugging yourself
- Start with your upper arm perpendicular to your side with your hand on the ground
- Push up through the ground until your arm is extended
- Slowly lower to starting position
- Repeat desired reps
- Switch sides
Note: You can also perform this exercise with your legs extended.
5. Reverse Hand Pushup
This pushup variation may look exactly like a traditional pushup except for one thing; hand placement. By reversing the way your hands are positioned you will not only hit the triceps but at the biceps as well which can aid in toning up the upper arm on both sides.
How to:
- Get into starting position with hands and knees on the ground
- Place your hands on the ground a little wider than shoulder width apart, lower than your shoulders with your fingers pointing towards your feet. Bring your legs out behind you to get into a pushup position
- Lower down until your chest is close to the ground while keeping your elbows tucked
- Push up through your hands until you reach starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: If your wrists hurt you can try to rotate them inwards at a 45-degree angle. You can also make this exercise easier by performing while on your knees.
6. Forearm Pushup
Similar to the kneeling triceps extension, the forearm pushup isolates the triceps more than traditional pushups. Perform this exercise in a slow controlled manner on the way down to accentuate the the time under tension needed for your muscles to grow.
How to:
- Get into pushup position with your hands slightly above shoulder level
- While keeping your elbows tucked, back straight and core engaged lower down to the floor by bending at the elbows until your chest is close to the ground
- Push up through your hands bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat desired reps
Note: To make this exercise easier perform from your knees.
7. Cross Arm Pushup
This pushup variation is another way to hit the lateral head of the triceps which can help to tighten up flabby arms. Start by doing this cross-arm push on your knees until you have the technique down to do it the regular way with your legs extended out behind you.
How to
- Get onto the floor in pushup position with your back straight
- Cross one hand over the other with your hands pointing away from each other
- Lower your body down until your elbows touch the ground
- Push up through your hands until you reach starting position
- Cross your hands the opposite way
- Repeat for desired reps while alternating hand position
Note: Make this exercise easier by performing on your knees.
8. Diamond Push Up
The diamond pushup or triangle pushup is a more advanced version of the traditional push up where your triceps and pec minor will be engaged more. This exercise requires more balance as your hands will be close together and puts more stress on the front delts.
How to:
- Get into pushup position with core engaged and back straight with hands under your shoulders
- Bring hands together under your upper chest making a triangle shape with the ends of your first fingers and thumbs touching, this is the starting position
- Slowly lower your chest towards the ground until you almost touch the ground
- Push up through your hands bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Make this exercise easier by performing from your knees.
Fore more great versions of push ups, check out these 33 Best Push Up Variations!
9. Kneeling Triceps Extension
This is a great bodyweight isolation exercise for the triceps. You can do this exercise while leaning against the wall if you don’t want to get onto the ground. You can also increase the tension on your triceps by leaning more of your weight forward and/or bringing your knees further backwards.
How to
- Get onto the floor on hands and knees with hands under your shoulders a little narrower than shoulder width
- Lower your chest so that your elbows and forearms are on the ground and shift your bodyweight forward
- Push off the ground by extending your elbows bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Keep your elbows tucked close to your body throughout the movement.
10. Plank Up Down
The plank up down is one of our favorite bodyweight exercises as it works muscles in your arms, shoulders, lower back, core, glutes and quads. Plank Up Downs can help to get toned arms in two ways; working the triceps plus burning tons of calories to help reduce total body fat.
How to:
- Get into plank position with your forearms on the ground
- Push up off one arm at a time bringing you into pushup position
- Lower down one arm at a time to get back into plank position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Focus on form and keep your core engaged throughout the movement.
11. Triceps Floor Dips
A perfect introduction to triceps dips this is bodyweight exercise can begin your bat wing transformation journey until you’re able to perform regular dips. Dips are one of the best exercises to work the back of your upper arms.
How to:
- Sit on the floor with knees bent feet on the floor and your hands on the ground behind you with your fingers pointing towards you
- Lift your hips and butt off the ground, from this position bend at the elbows to lower your body close to the floor
- Push up through your hands until your reach starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Keep core engaged throughout the movement.
12. Bench Dip (knees bent)
This exercise can be done on a bench, chair or any other sturdy surface that’s around two feet off the floor. Performing this bodyweight exercise for flabby arms with your knees bent is one of the easier dip exercises that we cover in this post. You will be working your triceps, trap and rear delts with this one. Once you’re able to do 10 reps of the knees bent bench dips then you should be ready to move on to the regular bench dip with your legs extended.
How to:
- Sit on the edge of a bench
- Scoot forward with your feet planted on the floor in front of you while you keep your hands on the bench with your knuckles facing towards you.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together then lower your body down until your upper arms are parallel with the floor.
- Push up through your hands bringing you back to the starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Make sure you know your limits of your shoulder mobility before attempting dips.
13. Bench Dip
This classic bodyweight triceps exercise can be super effective in toning the triceps if done correctly. All you need is yourself and a raised platform to execute this exercise.
How to:
- Sit on the edge of a bench
- Scoot forward then extend your legs out in front of you with your heels on the ground while you keep your hands on the bench with your knuckles facing towards you
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together then lower your body down until your upper arms are parallel with the floor
- Push up through your hands bringing you back to the starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Keep your core engaged throughout the movement and don’t drop too low where your shoulders could get impinged.
14. Assisted Dip
If you find yourself in the gym and you don’t have the upper body strength to do an unassisted dip then you should try to get a few sets in using the dip machine. The dip machine can help take away some resistance as you can add weight to counterbalance your bodyweight. So, if you weigh 150 pounds and can’t do a bodyweight dip try to put 30-50 pounds on the machine so that you will only have to support 100-120 pounds. This also rings true if you use a loop resistance band to help you with the dips.
How to:
- Set the weight amount that will assist you in performing the dip
- Get up onto the knee pad with your back straight and chest up, hold the bars with a neutral grip with your elbows to your side
- Lower down until your upper arms are parallel with the ground
- Push through your hands bringing you back to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: Once you're able to do 10 assisted dips with the least amount of assistance from the machine or resistance band then try to do traditional dips.
Related: Dips Guide: 15 Variations, Muscles Worked, How To, & Benefits
Exercises for Flabby Arms with Resistance Bands
Note: All resistance band exercises can be performed with a loop resistance bands, dumbbells or a cable machine.
15. Band Triceps Kickback
Triceps kickbacks are a fantastic exercise to perform using resistance bands as they provide constant tension on the muscles. You can do this exercise using an anchor or non-anchored.
How to:
- Get into staggered stance then grab the band with a neutral grip, step on the band with your front foot
- Bend at the knees and hinge forward at your hips while keeping a flat back
- Bring your upper arm next to your side then press band back by contracting your triceps
- Slowly return to starting position
- Repeat for desired number of reps
Note: Turn wrists inward/outward at top of movement to target various heads of the triceps.
16. Band Overhead Triceps Extension
In this effective triceps exercise make sure to keep your arms next to your ears while doing overhead triceps extensions and keep your core engaged so that you don’t arch your back.
How to:
- Anchor the band close to floor level stand facing away from anchor point
- Grab the band with both hands using an overhand grip, start with your elbows bent with your hands behind your head
- Keeping your elbows pointing up, push your hands up until your arms are fully extended
- Slowly return to starting position
- Repeat for desired reps
Note: You can perform this exercise without an anchor by standing on the band.
Related: How to Do Overhead Tricep Extensions with Dumbbells
17. Side Triceps Extension
This triceps isolation exercise is tough so make sure to use light resistance to begin with. Often times people will put their arm up in the same way depicted in the image below to see how bad the flabby arm situation is so it's only fitting that we use this same movement to fix the flab and turn it into muscle.
How to:
- Anchor the band at head level
- Stand to the side of the anchor point so there’s no slack in the band and grab the band with an underhand grip with the outside arm
- Starting with your elbow bent and your hand by your ear, extend at the elbow until your arm is straightened out to the side
- Slowly return to starting point
- Repeat for desired reps
- Switch sides
Note: Keep your elbow stationary throughout the movement.
18. Triceps Pushdown with Bands
When doing triceps pushdowns make sure to keep your shoulders back so that you're only pushing the band down with force from your triceps. Keep your elbows tucked and limit any movement in your upper arms.
- Anchor band above head level, grab the band with both hands using an overhand grip
- With your elbows bent and to your side, press down by contracting your triceps until arms are full extended
- Pause at the bottom of the movement then slowly return to starting position
- Repeat for desired number of reps
Note: Turn wrists outward at the bottom of the movement to get full triceps contraction.
19. Battle Rope Alternating Waves
Using the battle ropes for toning flabby arms is killing two birds with one stone. This is great high intensity exercise that with torch some calories while also building muscle throughout your arms and your front delts.
How to:
- Anchor battle rope close to the ground
- Hold both ends of the rope using a neutral grip then bend at the knees and drive your hips back
- While maintaining a tight core bring the rope up with one hand while lowering with the other hand then immediately reverse this motion
- Continue the alternating method in this athletic position for desired time
Note: Make sure to keep your core engaged throughout this movement.
Related: 20 Best Battling Rope Exercises & Workouts
Flabby Arm Workout For Women
Follow either of these workouts or both 3 times a week. Take up to 60-90 seconds rest between each set.
Bodyweight Workout To Fix Flabby Arms
| Pushups (on knees if needed) | 3 sets x 10 reps |
| Side Pushups | 2 sets x 12 reps (each side) |
| Close Grip Pushups (on knees if needed) | 3 sets x 8-12 reps |
| Triceps Floor Dips | 3 sets x 12 |
Resistance Band Workout For Flabby Arms
| Triceps Kickbacks | 3 sets x 8 reps (each side) |
| Triceps Side Extension | 3 sets x 10 reps (each side) |
| Triceps Overhead Extension | 2 sets x 12 reps |
| Triceps Pushdowns | 2 sets x AMRAP |
Triceps Stretches
Many people who have flabby arms are probably new to working out or took a long break from resistance training. With that said, we thought it was important to include a few triceps stretches to help you recover from all those exercises we just covered. Keeping your muscles supple and stretched is important to help prevent injuries and speed up recovery times.
Triceps Wall Stretch
How to:
- Stand facing the wall then bring one arm up above your head and bend at the elbow with your hand touching your shoulder
- Lean gently into your elbow and hold this position for 20-30 seconds
- Repeat for 2-3 reps
- Switch sides
Elbow Extensor Anconeus Stretch
How to:
- Stand facing table place your forearms on the table with palms facing up
- Lean forward shifting your bodyweight into your forearms
- Hold this position for 20-30 seconds
- Repeat 2-3 times
Note: You can also do this stretch and turn your palms face down. Make sure your forearms stay in contact with the table surface.
Reaching Down Triceps Stretch
How to:
- Stand up tall with your back straight and chest up then reach your arms above your head
- Bend at the elbows and bring your hands down behind your back as far as comfortable
- Hold this position for 20-30 seconds
- Repeat 2-3 times
Why do women get bat wings more often than men?
Women have 6-11 percent more body fat than men so flabby arms will be more apparent in women3. More stored fat sitting over the muscles of the upper arms can make the arms seem loose and less defined. They key point to remember here is that there are ways to fix flabby upper arms.
Conclusion
To fix your flabby arm problem you will have to put in the time and effort to tone your arms. There's no magic pill to fix this issue, by performing some of the exercises for flabby arms above at least 3 times a week combined with a daily caloric deficit of at least a few hundred calories you should be on your way to getting those nice tight upper arms in no time.
More Resources for Arm Exercises:
More Resources for Women:
- Building Bigger Hips & Better Waist-to-Hip Ratio
- Reducing Broad Shoulders
- The Ultimate Slim Thick Workout & Diet Plan
- What Exercises Help Reduce Hip Dips?
References:
- Cox CE. Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance. Diabetes Spectrum. 2017;30(3):157-160. doi:https://doi.org/10.2337/ds17-0013
- Our genes affect where fat is stored in our bodies. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190121103400.htm
- Why Do Women Store Fat Differently From Men? ScienceDaily. Published 2009. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302115755.htm
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author