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If you want to actually build muscle with strategy — not random reps — this is where it happens:
Hello hello. Today we’re talking about ladies’ triceps — you know… the moment you wave and something waves back. 🙄
And what makes it extra annoying is this:
You can be training hard.
And still… the back of the arm starts looking a bit loose.
Then you look at your husband / boyfriend / random man in Costco and his arms are like:
✨ tight as a drum ✨
Rude.
So what’s going on?
Is it just aging?
Not exactly — because I see this in women in their late 20s too. Aging is part of it, but it’s not the whole story.
The real answer is layered. And once you understand it, it becomes way more solvable.
When women say “loose triceps,” they’re usually describing a combo of:
1) Less muscle thickness underneath
So it’s rarely “just loose skin.”
It’s a structure issue.
And structure can be improved.
Women tend to carry more subcutaneous fat in places like:
hips, thighs, lower abdomen… and back of the arms.
That’s not bad. That’s biology.
A big player here is a fat-storage enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) — it influences where fat likes to settle. Hormones shift its activity around the body, which is why fat patterning changes across life.
And here’s another huge detail most people don’t know:
Some women store more fat inside the muscle (intramuscular triglycerides).
If you’re lucky enough to store more inside the muscle, you can look “firmer” even at a higher body fat.
If you’re more subcutaneous (hello, my fellow “pinchable” girls 🙋🏻♀️), arms tend to show it more.
Now men?
They tend to hold more fat viscerally (deeper in the abdomen), not as much in the back of the arms — which means their arms can look tighter even when they’re not particularly lean.
Again: rude.
Midlife adds a few extra ingredients:
✨ Estrogen decline
So if muscle drops a little, fat stays the same (or creeps up a bit), and skin recoil isn’t what it used to be…
The triceps become the little truth-tellers of your physiology. 😅
They’re basically waving like:
The triceps are a large muscle.
And I’m sorry, but:
Light kickbacks + tiny dumbbells + 20 reps forever
As we get older, we need:
✅ progressive overload
Men maintain triceps thickness more easily because they press heavier, carry more upper-body mass, and hit triceps hard through compound lifts without even trying.
Women often avoid heavy pressing because:
they fear bulky arms
they worry about shoulders
they focus almost exclusively on lower body
they “sprinkle in” upper body like seasoning
And then wonder why the back of the arms look… soft.
You can’t spot-reduce fat.
💪 increase muscle thickness
And if you’ve dieted hard in the past or lost weight quickly without maintaining muscle?
Not because your body hates you.
Because muscle is the scaffolding under the skin.
Lose the scaffolding… and everything looks less “held up.”
Women are judged more harshly for arm appearance.
We notice it.
And it’s easy to think:
To an extent, bodies change — and we don’t need to be at war with ourselves.
But also?
This is physiology.
Which means: it can get better.
A lot better.
These podcasts are a preview of the conversations we’re having inside the program.
Muscle Month is not a bulking program. (I would rather lick a gym floor.)
📅 Starts March 29
If your arms (or glutes… or knees… or metabolism) are giving you “feedback”…
And I’ll show you exactly how. 💪✨
By joanne lee cornishIf you want to actually build muscle with strategy — not random reps — this is where it happens:
Hello hello. Today we’re talking about ladies’ triceps — you know… the moment you wave and something waves back. 🙄
And what makes it extra annoying is this:
You can be training hard.
And still… the back of the arm starts looking a bit loose.
Then you look at your husband / boyfriend / random man in Costco and his arms are like:
✨ tight as a drum ✨
Rude.
So what’s going on?
Is it just aging?
Not exactly — because I see this in women in their late 20s too. Aging is part of it, but it’s not the whole story.
The real answer is layered. And once you understand it, it becomes way more solvable.
When women say “loose triceps,” they’re usually describing a combo of:
1) Less muscle thickness underneath
So it’s rarely “just loose skin.”
It’s a structure issue.
And structure can be improved.
Women tend to carry more subcutaneous fat in places like:
hips, thighs, lower abdomen… and back of the arms.
That’s not bad. That’s biology.
A big player here is a fat-storage enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) — it influences where fat likes to settle. Hormones shift its activity around the body, which is why fat patterning changes across life.
And here’s another huge detail most people don’t know:
Some women store more fat inside the muscle (intramuscular triglycerides).
If you’re lucky enough to store more inside the muscle, you can look “firmer” even at a higher body fat.
If you’re more subcutaneous (hello, my fellow “pinchable” girls 🙋🏻♀️), arms tend to show it more.
Now men?
They tend to hold more fat viscerally (deeper in the abdomen), not as much in the back of the arms — which means their arms can look tighter even when they’re not particularly lean.
Again: rude.
Midlife adds a few extra ingredients:
✨ Estrogen decline
So if muscle drops a little, fat stays the same (or creeps up a bit), and skin recoil isn’t what it used to be…
The triceps become the little truth-tellers of your physiology. 😅
They’re basically waving like:
The triceps are a large muscle.
And I’m sorry, but:
Light kickbacks + tiny dumbbells + 20 reps forever
As we get older, we need:
✅ progressive overload
Men maintain triceps thickness more easily because they press heavier, carry more upper-body mass, and hit triceps hard through compound lifts without even trying.
Women often avoid heavy pressing because:
they fear bulky arms
they worry about shoulders
they focus almost exclusively on lower body
they “sprinkle in” upper body like seasoning
And then wonder why the back of the arms look… soft.
You can’t spot-reduce fat.
💪 increase muscle thickness
And if you’ve dieted hard in the past or lost weight quickly without maintaining muscle?
Not because your body hates you.
Because muscle is the scaffolding under the skin.
Lose the scaffolding… and everything looks less “held up.”
Women are judged more harshly for arm appearance.
We notice it.
And it’s easy to think:
To an extent, bodies change — and we don’t need to be at war with ourselves.
But also?
This is physiology.
Which means: it can get better.
A lot better.
These podcasts are a preview of the conversations we’re having inside the program.
Muscle Month is not a bulking program. (I would rather lick a gym floor.)
📅 Starts March 29
If your arms (or glutes… or knees… or metabolism) are giving you “feedback”…
And I’ll show you exactly how. 💪✨