How to tone upper body without affecting lower body?

[Anonymous]

When I started losing weight, my arms were the first one to go, then my belly followed. My legs got a little thinner but still not proportion to my skinny upper body. So I continue to lose weight, now I achieved my goal size for my legs but my upper body got freakishly skinny it's not even attractive anymore. I seriously look scary and I don't even want to wear revealing clothes anymore, so my friends and family would stop freaking out about my bod. I want to gain a few pounds but I'm kinda scared :( how can I healthily improve my upper body? I want a little meat on my arms. I was thinking of going to the gym and lift weights but I doubt I can lift anything in the gym. Any suggestions?

[WeaponZero]

It sounds like what you want is to add muscle mass. This can initially be done by undergoing a higher intensity resistance training regimen. However, unless your diet is configured for gaining, you will only get so far in your quest (and it may not even make a noticeable impact).

I recommend starting with the weightlifting (and yes you CAN lift in the gym, they have weights for all sizes). Feel free to contact me for more info if you like. If you notice your progress staggering before you reach a point you're satisfied with, you'll need to make adjustments to your diet.

[martyfellow]

You can add muscle to the3 upper body with aerobics and sports such as tennis. Using weights in addition would speed the process. You can't spot , but working out can 'spot add; since the muscle doesn't develop unless it's being worked out.

But watch how much you're eating,or you'll regain all the weight you lost everywhere else.

[Anonymous]

I have buff man arms... I do a lot of gardening, turning the compost pile every other day is a good arm work out. Also whenever I get a burst of energy I do pushups... its a habit... Sometimes my energy feels uncontrollable so doing that calms me down. If you can make the gym a habit go for it, for me it is too boring to stick to. Also I am poor and its not worth it to drive to. So my advice is to start a compost pile (if you have the space for it), save the environment and get buff!

[confugirl]

The only way you could compensate is by training the muscles of the area you want to be bigger. But you can't gain or lose fat locally, it doesn't work that way. If you diet, you will lose fat over your entire body, not just one area. Same with gaining fat.

To tone your upper body, you should do a lot a exercises laying down. That way, you won't involve your legs in the exercise and they won't get bigger.

[syrick]

sound slike you ate to little when you dieted. sorry. well all I can say is your SOL. there is no way to tone upper body and not afect lower. even push ups there known for targeting upper body but they still affect the lower. pull ups is al I can think of that might od it and curls. good luck. I'm working on losing weight now.

[Charley]

light weight and high reps. also the rowing macing works wonders. By the way a gallon of milk (or water) weighs just under 8 pounds great for curls and presses for most people. yoga is also a great workout to tone your upper body.