If you look all over the internet for some so-called ‘solutions’ to bingo wings, the vast majority of what is available is quite misleading. 99% of articles you will find online will tell you that you need to do exercises aimed at the tricep (back of your upper arm) to lose those droopy folds of skin.
This notion isn’t totally wrong – if you build up the muscle in your upper arms it will help somewhat, but it won’t solve the actual problem. The problem that causes the extra fat on your arm is just that – excess body fat. You can build up all the muscle in the world but if you don’t burn off some of that fat, then you’re never going to get rid of the excess fat.
How do you burn off excess fat? A tailored combination of weights, cardio and a good balanced diet is the most effective way of doing this.
Unfortunately the solution isn’t that simple. As mentioned in the previous two articles regarding weight loss, varying parts of your body will retain fat for different dietary reasons. The main issue is hormonal imbalances, whether it is over or under production of the hormone in question. In this case of your bingo wings, the hormone at issue is testosterone. An under production of testosterone will lead to excess fat building up at the back of your arm. If you build up your levels of testosterone, combined with exercise and a good diet, your bingo wings should fly away into the distance, leaving behind a toned, lean arm.
So the million dollar question is this – how do you build up your levels of testosterone? There are several ways to do this, with both dietary and exercise methods playing their part. Below is a relatively simple and straight forward list of different techniques to help build up your levels of this essential hormone.
Dietary
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- Zinc
Zinc works by stopping the enzyme aromatase from working. Aromatase basically converts testosterone to oestrogen. Zinc itself also actually converts oestrogen to testosterone, doubling the effect on levels of testosterone.
- Garlic
Garlic contains an active ingredient known as allicin, which has been proven to simultaneously raise levels of testosterone and decrease levels of cortisol, a hormone that supressed levels of testosterone.
- Omega 3’s
Healthy fats, in particular fish oils, are the king of testosterone boosters. Testosterone, like most other hormones are fat based, meaning they need adequate levels of fat to efficiently be used by the body. It also spikes a hormone known as CCK which helps to burn stored body fat.
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- Vitamin D3
A healthy level of vitamin D is essential for your pituitary gland to produce all hormones. However, men also have testosterone producing ability in the testis, meaning that adequate vitamin D will help these glands to produce more testosterone.
- Raw Nuts + Seeds
Raw nuts may act as an aphrodisiac, spiking your levels of testosterone as a result of the increased libido. They also contain healthy fats, therefore having similar effects as the omega 3’s.
- Eggs
Eggs contain zinc, healthy fats and protein – 3 of the essential cogs to build up your levels of testosterone.
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Exercise
- Super sets
Super sets are an exercise technique aimed at building more muscle than your standard weights routine. Check out Vasco Pita’s article on super sets.
- Interval training
Interval training works on a similar basis to super sets, short intense exercise sessions aimed at building muscle, burning fat and spiking testosterone. Check out Garry Ward’s article on interval training.
Written by Maurice Walsh, BSc of Exercise and Health Studies
About the author
Maurice works as a personal trainer and lifestyle transformation coach at The Gym, Rathgar. He also works as a physique model. To get in contact with Maurice regarding training and nutrition go to www.facebook.com/totaltransformationfitness
To follow Maurice on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/maurice.walsh87
