Hot weather calls for the lightest, breeziest outfit possible with not a sleeve in sight – which can present a problem is you’re one of the many women who worry that their upper arms are too wobbly to reveal. Even the super-toned Abbey Clancy has admitted to wanting more sculpted arms for summer – and she’s also revealed how she does it.

Abbey, 40, is married to former England striker Peter Crouch and was one of the original 2006 WAGS (‘wives and girlfriends’), alongside Victoria Beckham, Coleen Rooney and Cheryl Tweedy. Abbey and Peter married in 2011 and now have four children and a popular podcast, The Therapy Crouch, which offers listeners a hilarious look inside their family life. It was in one episode aired last year that the couple discussed her fight against ‘bingo wings’.

‘So I’ve got this exercise,’ said Abbey. ‘So you go like, you have to push. You push your arms back. Put your thumbs far down, and you can feel the tension in that muscle.

‘And then if you do it the other way, you can feel the tension in your bicep, and it just tightens everything. So if you do that for like 10 minutes, and your arms are on fire… You have to push. The improvement in my arms has been incredible.’

She added: ‘I want to have a sensational body this summer. Because every year, I start my beach body three days before I go away. I want to turn up on it.’ As well as arm exercises, Abbey turns to horse-riding to tone up. ‘I ride for like over an hour, just over an hour, because I’m building up my fitness.’ She continued: ‘I need to fit in the gym as well because it’s a different type of fitness. I was doing my bingo wing exercise today.’

Abbey’s favourite arm-toning move appears to be a simple isometric exercise that doesn’t need any equipment. To do it, hold your arms straight by your sides, and push them backwards with your thumbs pointing down until you feel the muscles at the back of your upper arms (the triceps) engage. You can then rotate your arms so the tension shifts to the front of the upper arms (the biceps), and alternate between the two positions while maintaining the muscle contraction. Start with one minute and work up to three-five or even 10 minutes like Abbey, to see results.

‘The human body has an amazing ability to store excess fat wherever it fancies… and the back of the arm is as good a place as any!’ says Kim Hawley, GH fitness expert. ‘The ‘bingo wing’, as it is often unflatteringly named, is simply a build of adipose tissue like any other. This happens more as we age, because we lose muscle mass plus collagen and elastin in the skin structure itself.’

So what does she recommend for anyone wanting tauter, toned arms? ‘For an exercise that really targets your triceps, try the ‘tricep kickback’,’ says Kim. Here’s how to do it:

  • Place your right foot on a step and rest your right forearm on your thigh for stability.
  • Hold a weight in your left hand and raise your elbow until your upper arm is level with your body, keeping your shoulders square to the floor
  • Extend your forearm until your arm is straight, imagining you’re pushing your little finger towards the ceiling.
  • Pause briefly, then slowly bend your elbow to return to the starting position, keeping your upper arm lifted throughout.
  • Repeat for 10-15 repetitions before switching sides.

Or try a ‘dip’:

  • Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair, sofa or step with your hands right beside your hips, fingers pointing forwards.
  • Slide your bottom off the edge, so your arms are supporting your weight.
  • Keeping your knees bent and directly above your ankles, slowly (dip) lower your body by bending your elbows.
  • Push back up to the starting position.
  • Aim for 10-15 repetitions, or as many as you can manage with good technique.

To make the exercise more of a challenge, lower yourself a little further down or move your feet further away from your body.