In Need of Best Arm Exercises

Due to breast reconstruction after double mastectomy, it is difficult for me to raise my arms very high.  I would like to work on the loose skin under my arms and am looking for any suggestions.  Thanks! 

hi! wow, tough procedure.  i hope you're doing alright.  getting the backs of your arms toned up will be a breeze for you compared to beating cancer!

what do you mean by high?  above your head?  if you can raise them up to your chest, there's still plenty of stuff to do.  even if you can't, you should still be able to build some muscle there. 

a good exercise that doesn't involve raising them at all would be dips.  you should probably start by dipping on a bench, not on the parallel bars.  the easiest way to do them (and probably to learn the basic movement + get used to it) is to just put your arms behind you on a bench with your feet on the ground in front of you (you'll be holding yourself up in a seated-like position), then bend the arms to go down (as far as you can), then press back up.  When that gets too easy, put some weight plates on your lap.  Then you can switch to doing them with your feet on another bench, so you're supporting your whole body with your arms and feet between two benches.  when THAT gets too easy, you also add plates, and at a certain point you may be ready for the parallel bars (although some women are never able to do them that way). 

if you can raise them straight outward but not up,

•  close-grip benchpress;
• close-grip pushup - you'll probably have to start by doing them on your knees
• also, instead of the overhead extensions that most people do with free-weights, you can lie down on a bench, holding up a dumbbell in one arm, bend the arm downwards and sideways towards your opposite breast, then bring back up

there are also exercises to do on a cable: 

       - pressdowns - if these are uncomfortable, play with the different grips + attachments.  if you're using a straight bar, underhanded could be more comfortable for you (i like doing them that way anyways; feels like your hitting something you don't get with the rope).

      - you can do a concentration-type extension using a single-grip attachment on a high pulley.  it's not strictly necessary to kneel if you have weak knees, but if you can, kneel on one leg, keep your elbow glued to your knee or inner thigh, use an underhand grip, and pull downward all the way in the direction of your calf.

tricep kickback (imho, not the greatest tri exercise, but you don't have to raise them very far backwards - to the mid-back or wherever the top of your natural range of motion is; really squeeze the tri as your doing it)

I think I would ask the surgeon for a referral to a physical therapist so they can teach you proper form and techniques to use for your special circumstances.  The last thing you want to do is tear a muscle and you didn't say how long post op you are.  If you just recently had the surgery you need time to heal properly and maybe with time your ability to raise your arms will imporove.  I have a friend who had this done as well and she couldn't shave her own armpits for months.  

oh, i just wanted to add, even tho this isn't about tricep exercises - i don't know if you have scarring that's a major concern to you from the reconstruction + i've never had a breast reconstruction, but i've had other surgeries, including a catheter implanatation that left a 4-inch gash about a centimeter above my breast, and i've had MAJOR success at getting the scars to be nearly invisible (at least if the person looking is more than a foot away) with a few products - the silicone products are amazing, and in my opinion the best one is kelo-cote (way better than the others + can be worn 24 hrs a day + even tho it's pricier off the shelf, in the long run it's cheaper than the silicone strips b/c it lasts longer).  i also used clinique cx rapid recovery cream (someone gave me a free sample of it), which i thought may have helped, but later i found out that it is actually intended for 'cosmetic procedures' like waxing, and is supposed to be used right afterwards, so i doubt it's for real scars.

when my kids wake up, i'll get them to help find some links to pictures or something so you can actually see how they're done (that'll be easier than just hearing a description). 

Thank you so much Erin.  You have been very helpful!!

here are some websites where you can see pictures and videos of how the tricep exercises are done (and see if their arms go too high or if it's ok for you to do it):

http://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/search.a sp?muscle=Tricep

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php ?MainMuscle=Triceps