It’s the start of summer and we all love our strappy sundresses and tank tops! So you slip on your tank top and wave to yourself in the mirror as you get ready to go and have some fun in the sun…but what is that?? THAT wasn’t there last summer! Nooooo, your arms are flapping in the wind like some unattractive angel impression. Bingo wings AKA batwings are no joke! As we age, so do our upper arms and frankly, it’s not a great look! We can’t all have super-toned arms like Jennifer Aniston or Michelle Obama, but there is something we can do to minimise the batwing effect. Your best option (other than sweltering in long sleeves all summer long) is to start doing some arm toning exercises.

Fitness trainer to the stars, Tracy Anderson, recommends that you use light weights or no weights, which will allow you to incorporate more complex movements into your arm exercising regime. She also recommends that you swing your arms at various degrees and angles and vary your routine. She suggests that you add arm raises while you work out on your elliptical trainer and add light weights to your arms when you go out jogging. In no time your arms will be looking more toned.

Here are some other exercises to get you started on those triceps:

Exercise 1

Stand with your arms at your sides with a light weight in each hand.

While keeping your arm straight, extend your arm backwards as high as possible and hold for 10 counts.

Repeat on the other side and try to increase repetitions as you get stronger.

Exercise 2

Sit on a firm chair and grip the edge of the chair with both hands

Move your butt until it is over the edge of the chair. You should now look as if you are sitting on air with your arms supported by the chair.

Lower your butt slightly until you can feel it pulling on your arms which should still be straight.

Hold that position for 10 seconds and repeat . Try to increase your repetitions as you get stronger.

There are also some wonderful products on the market that can help. Nip+Fab have just arrived at Clicks and they have a great product called Upper Arm Fix ( R270)that aims to tone and firm up bingo wings. Another product worth trying is Dr. Ceuticals Firm &Sculpt Arm Gel ( R169), which Beauty Bulletin has just sent me to try, so I will be reviewing it very soon.

Some other helpful tips to get your bingo wings banished:

-Do body brush before you shower and make sure you use a good body scrub and concentrate on your arms.The Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Scrub is fantastic!!

-Eat more protein and less carbs. The aim is to increase your muscle and reduce your body fat.

-Get hold of Piz Buin self-tanning lotion and apply it evenly to avoid streaking. Tanned arms always look better than lily white arms.

-Add a line of shimmer down the centre of your arms, which will make your arms look thinner. The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Shimmer cream is perfect for this.

 In extreme cases, you can also look into surgery. The procedure used is called Brachioplasty where they remove excess skin and tissue. This procedure is very expensive and invasive and leaves quite extensive scarring, so it’s something which shouldn’t be undertaken lightly.

Article Written By: Maryanne Young