Get rid of the fat and do the cross-elbow lift exercise

You want to wear a well-cut T-shirt to show off your body curves in the summer, but what should you do if you find that your arm muscles are loose and weak and stuck in the cuffs? Physical therapists say that if you want to tighten your arm muscles quickly and easily, you only need to sit on a chair and practice the "cross-elbow raise exercise" diligently. You will feel the results of your arm muscles shrinking within a month, and your arm sleeves will no longer get stuck when you wear a fitted T-shirt.

By raising your hands horizontally, you can observe whether your arm muscles are too loose and droopy, and detect whether you have developed butterfly sleeves.

Physiotherapist Dr Ho Chi-yiu of Tong Hospital pointed out that most people keep their arms hanging down in front of the body when they are working or in daily life, and rarely have the opportunity to move the triceps on the upper side of the arm. If the muscles in this area are not used for a long time, the muscles will become loose and sagging, which is commonly known as "butterfly arms" or "butterfly sleeves".

The triceps are loose and droopy. Practice stretching frequently to make them firmer.

The self-test method to determine whether your arms have accumulated into butterfly sleeves is very simple. Just stand with your hands raised horizontally, and you can see obvious drooping skin wrinkles near your armpits. This means that there is too much arm fat and loose muscles. If you want to make your arms firmer in a short period of time, you need to stretch your triceps every day.

Physical therapist He Zhiyao explained that when the arms are raised or extended, the tendons and muscles of the triceps can be stretched. You can sit on a chair in the office or at home and spend about 10 minutes doing the cross-elbow raise exercise twice a day. This is a form of rehabilitation and is also suitable for people who want to sculpt their arm muscles but don't have time to exercise, as a simple and quick "lazy skin beauty exercise."

The action of clasping your hands together and lifting your elbows up can train the triceps on the outside of your arms and increase muscle firmness. (Photo by Zhou Fumei)

【Cross-arm elbow lift exercise】

1. Find a chair with a backrest and sit down, with your buttocks fully seated on the chair and your back lightly leaning against the backrest at a 90-degree angle to your body.

2. Tuck your chin in, raise your hands and cross them around your elbows.

3. Keep your hands hugging your elbows, lift your arms toward the ceiling, and maintain this position for 10 seconds without moving.

4. Repeat the above steps 15 times as one round, and do it twice a day.

Tips: When doing this exercise, you can feel a noticeable stretching and tension from the triceps on the outside of the arm to the shoulder blade. As long as you continue to do this exercise patiently, after about 1 month, the muscles of the upper arm will look tighter and the lines will be better looking. But be careful not to do it too many times or too hard because of your eagerness to achieve good results, so as not to over-exercise and injure the muscles.