The Best Underarm Exercises for Women
If you refer to your underarms as bat wings or bingo wings, know that you are not alone. The common complaint of flabby underarms led the American Council on Exercise to sponsor a female-only study in 2011 to determine which exercises best tone the triceps. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, studied different exercises and ranked the results based on the triceps' exertion.
A woman is standing with her hands in dip rings. (Image: Ammentorp Photography/iStock/Getty Images)Triangle Pushups
Step 1
Do the exercise the study ranks as the most effective exercise for challenging the underarms. Triangle pushups also strengthen the chest, abdominal and lower back muscles. Kneel on all fours and place your hands on the floor, under your shoulders.
Step 2
Bring your hands together, forming a triangle with your thumbs and forefingers. Extend your feet behind you and lift onto your toes. Tighten your abdominal muscles, aligning your shoulders, lower back, hips, knees and ankles. Don't sag your back or hips during the pushups.
Step 3
Slowly lower your upper body toward the floor, bending and flaring your elbows as you descend. Stop before your chest touches the floor, push through your arms and lift your body to the start position. Drop to your knees to make the pushups easier. Complete 12 to 15 repetitions, stopping when your muscles fatigue.
Kickbacks
Step 1
Include the study's second best exercise in your workouts. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, stand up straight and stagger your stance: left foot forward, right foot back.
Step 2
Point both feet forward, lean forward 45 degrees and place your left hand on the top of your left leg. Press your right arm against your right side, then lift your right forearm parallel to the floor.
Step 3
Slowly push the weight behind you and straighten your arm. Bring the weight back to the start position. Complete 12 to 15 repetitions, stopping when your arm fatigues. Switch sides and do 12 to 15 reps with your left arm.
Dips
Step 1
Do dips, the exercise ranked third most effective for training the triceps. Sit on a workout bench, place your hands next to your hips and wrap your fingers around the edge of the bench. Straighten your wrists and tuck your elbows by your sides.
Step 2
Relax your shoulders, tighten your stomach muscles and walk your feet forward 24 inches. Lift your hips off the bench and position them directly in front of it.
Step 3
Lower your hips slowly toward the floor, bending your elbows as you descend. Don't let your elbows flare -- tucked elbows keep the emphasis on the triceps. Stop when the back of your arms are parallel to the floor, push through your hands and lift your hips in front of the bench.
Step 4
Complete 12 to 15 repetitions, stopping when the back of your arms fatigue. Lift one foot off the floor to make the dips harder.
Things You'll Need
Dumbbell
Workout bench
Warning
Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
