Get rid of bingo wings

Everything you need to know about getting rid of those bingo wings

By Ross Edgley, Fitness Model

While it may be true that arms, regardless of shape and size, pretty much all function the same, let’s be honest – everyone prefers a toned pair to a chubby pair. It’s like an Asda carrier bag; it serves the same function as a Prada bag however you just prefer Prada to carry your make-up in. Ross Edgely of LA Muscle shares his tips for lovely bingo-wing free arms.

Training to improve muscle tone

Toned arms are a combination of good ‘muscle tone’ and a relatively low body fat percentage. To improve muscle tone, particularly on the back of the arms, try performing press ups (on the knees if on the feet is too difficult) with the hands placed no more than 8 inches apart. By placing the hands so close together, more emphasis is placed on the tricep muscles (the muscles at the back of the arm) which will mean they become firmer and less saggy. You should be aiming for 20 repetitions (finding the last ‘press up’ very hard) perform this 5 times, 3 times a week and you should begin to see a difference within 1 month.

Nutrition to Reduce Body Fat

To enhance the appearance of toned muscles in the arms you need a relatively low body fat percentage, this can be achieved through following these simple nutritional guidelines:

• Avoid Saturated Fats found in cheese, butter and pastries since these are largely responsible for storing fat on the body. But try to incorporate unsaturated fats into the diet, these are found in avocados, nuts and olive oil and they can aid in the burning of stored fat on the body
  
• Avoid fast releasing, simple, sugary carbohydrates (crisps, doughnuts, snacks) since these cause the body to release a lot of the ‘storage’ hormone insulin, which in turn tells the body to store more body fat. Try to have more slow releasing, complex, low in sugar carbohydrates (rice, pulses) since these don’t release as much insulin into the body and therefore don’t store as much body fat
  
• Have your larger meals in the morning and your smaller meals at night, since your metabolism slows down when you are sleeping so any excess calories consumed before bed will be stored as body fat while you sleep.
  
• Drink a lot of water, roughly 2-3 litres a day – without sufficient water the kidneys cannot function efficiently. If they can’t function efficiently their workload is done by the liver meaning the liver can’t do its job of metabolising stored fat for energy properly thus meaning less fat is burnt.
  
• Try to have a source of protein in every meal since protein requires more calories to digest than any other macronutrient (this is know as the thermic affect of feeding) and studies show it also helps you feel fuller for longer

 

Training to Reduce Body Fat

To lower your body fat percentage you need to not only have a healthy, balanced diet, but your training must also be tailored towards losing fat. A great way of doing this is through a method called High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T. for short.) This is simply where the person performs an interval (30 seconds) of high intensity training, such as sprinting, followed by a period of low intensity training (30 seconds) such as jogging/walking. This is then repeated over a period of 10 minutes. This type of training is very time efficient, only taking 10 minutes and also it greatly increases the body’s metabolism meaning you continue to burn calories long after you have stopped training.