Are There Exercises that Get Rid of Side Boobs?

Side boobs are usually an unwanted and unflattering addition to your figure. Most often composed of soft tissue located to the side of your chest and under your arms, side boobs can be difficult to mask and cover with typical undergarments. You may be tempted to try exercise to reduce your side boob appearance. However, there is little research that suggests you can target this area alone. Understanding the factors that can affect your side boobs will guide you in addressing your figure concerns.

A mature woman is exercising on the beach. (Image: Purestock/Purestock/Getty Images)

Natural Predisposition

You are genetically designed to distribute fat and other body tissues in a certain way, and your chest and side boobs are no exception. All women have different chests. Your side boobs may be the result of breasts that are further apart, resulting in increased tissue under your arm. You can combat this appearance by wearing a sports bra or standard bra or lingerie with high side wall straps to help smooth and control this side boob tissue.

Tissues That Make Up Your Breasts

Your body distributes fat according to your genetic makeup and the aging process. When you are younger, your breast tissue is made up more of glands and hormones than fat. However, as you age, your breast tissue begins to switch to include a higher amount of fat with less glands and hormone tissue. Thus, overall weight loss can help you to reduce the appearance of your side boobs, especially if you have begun the process of menopause. Remember that all hormonal changes, especially pregnancy, can affect the appearance of your chest and are a normal part of the progression of a woman's life.

Myth of Muscle

While many may claim that chest exercises such as chest presses and push-ups can help to lift your breasts, this claim is unfounded, and this stands true for addressing side boobs as well. While you can lift and tone the muscles underneath your breast tissue, you cannot actually exercise your breasts because they do not contain any muscles. Consider adding aerobic exercises to help increase your heart rate and metabolism, which may help you to burn off fat overall and could potentially help reduce your side boobs.

Side Boob Exercises

While there are no exercises that can eliminate your side boobs, you may find that you are more pleased with your appearance if you tone the muscles that lay under them. Exercises that involve the muscles to the side of your chest or in your abdomen below your arm may be effective, such as a seated medicine ball trunk rotation, jammers with torso rotations or side crunches. Also, try lying on your left side with a dumbbell in your right arm and starting with your hand at your hip. Lift your right arm away from your body up towards the ceiling and then up over your head and parallel with the ground. Bring your arm slowly back through the progression, repeating all of the exercises 30 to 50 times, to encourage building lean, toned muscle. For the resisted exercises, use light weights so you can avoid bulking up.