I’m a 52-year-old woman and I’m very upset over the backs of my arms. Like my mother and grandmother, I’m beginning to get that turkey wing effect. I’m so self-conscious about it that I don’t even want to wear a short-sleeved shirt anymore! Being that I live in Tampa this isn’t much of an option though. Joe, what can I do??

That “turkey wing” you refer to is your triceps, or at least fat that is collecting behind your triceps muscles. You say your mother and grandmother had the same “problem” which makes me think this is a matter of genetics. The back of the arm is a place where women in your family seem to put on adipose tissue.

All is not lost, however. There are two ways we can counter your situation. One is by getting lean – all over. When your bodyfat is low it will decrease in even the most stubborn of areas. The other is to tighten the muscles underneath, which will pull everything above them in closer to your humerus, or upper arm bone.

I don’t know whether or not you consider yourself overweight, so I won’t recommend a diet. But I am including a simple routine you can do at home each morning upon waking to strengthen and tone your triceps. Give it eight weeks and you should notice a difference.

Joe’s Home Triceps Program
Exercise	Sets	Reps
Chair dips*	1	10
Knee push-ups**	1	10
Towel pulls†	1	10 each arm

* Sit in an armless chair with your hands holding the front edge of the seat. Walk your feet out in front of you until your butt is in front of the seat. Dip down below the seat and raise yourself up.

** Perform push-ups whith your knees on the floor.

† Twist a bath towel and hold it overhead with one hand. Reach behind with the other and resist the upward motion of the top hand with the bottom hand.