The season\u2019s hottest accessory isn\u2019t a pair of high heels \u2014 it\u2019s a pair of buff arms. <\/p>\n
As seen on Madonna<\/a>, Michelle Obama and Katie Holmes, these \u201ctrophy arms\u201d are enviably tanned, toned limbs<\/a> that instantly confer strength, status and most importantly, hotness.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And as wealthy New York women get obsessed with their right to bare arms, they\u2019re going to extreme lengths \u2014 lifting too-heavy weights, popping peptide pills, even injecting themselves with testosterone cocktails \u2014 to achieve the most loaded guns on the Upper East Side.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trophy arm is the new luxury,\u201d said 37-year-old Park Avenue internist and longevity expert\u00a0Dr. Amanda Kahn.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Dr. Amanda Kahn shows off her biceps in midtown Manhattan. EMMY PARK<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone can lose weight,\u201d she scoffed, citing rampant GLP1 use among celebrities and socialites. Building visible, toned muscle, she said, indicates \u201ceffort, dedication, strength.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Just as slim strivers have supplemented their Pilates classes with GLP1s, those hoping for ultra-toned arms have employed an army of influential surgeons, trainers, and even longevity experts to do the heavy lifting.\u00a0<\/p>\n All these cosmetic procedures, fancy workouts, peptide-stacking and supplements can strong-arm desperate clients into spending over $20,000 in a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kahn visits Dr. Darren Smith, whose arm-sculpting procedures have risen 25% in popularity. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be a lot of money,\u201d Kahn admitted. But to her well-heeled (and subtly muscled) clientele, it is worth it. \u201cI\u2019m on the Upper East Side, and now I\u2019m seeing women who want [their arms] to be quote-unquote \u2018shredded.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That includes Kahn herself. <\/p>\n The so-called \u201cpeptide princess,\u201d who famously charges $50,000 a year for primary\u00a0and\u00a0longevity care, stacks peptides, takes testosterone, and strength trains.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, it wasn\u2019t enough to get Kahn what she considers the \u201cperfect\u201d arms \u2014 so last April she went to Dr. Darren Smith for a minimally invasive arm-contouring procedure<\/a> that combines radio-frequency skin tightening with liposuction.<\/p>\n Kahn showing off her \u201ctrophy arms.\u201d EMMY PARK<\/p>\n \u201cThe back of my arms \u2014 no matter what I did, they really bothered me,\u201d she said, calling the fat-sucking procedure \u201ca tiny incision\u201d and insisting that two days after the appointment, she was back to bowling with her 8-year-old son.<\/p>\n Dr. Smith told the Post that requests for arm-sculpting procedures have shot up 25% since last year.\u00a0 <\/a>\u201cEverybody\u2019s having a facelift\u2026[they] want their arms to match their rejuvenated face,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Madonna is known for having strong arms. WireImage<\/p>\n The procedure is not just for 40+ patients. Mikal Daniel, 24, admits that she\u2019s always been \u201ca little self- conscious\u201d about her upper limbs, often obsessing about their appearance \u201cfrom the side\u201d in social media photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last winter, the PR executive took matters into her own hands \u2014 and shoulders, too. <\/p>\n Katie Holmes recently stepped out with enviable arms. Getty Images<\/p>\n She bought weights and searched YouTube for arm workout videos. She strapped 2-pound Bala Bangles to her wrists while lounging in her Chelsea apartment<\/a>. <\/p>\n She signed up for sculpt classes through ClassPass. She even went to a cosmetic dermatologist, who recommended a noninvasive treatment called the PHYSIQ 360.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nadia Tuma-Weldon, a New Yorker living in Paris shows off her arms.<\/p>\n Daniel said the machine felt \u201clike a massage gun,\u201d which uses lasers and pulsing nano-currents to reduce fat and tone muscle. The treatment typically costs around $1,000 for five sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n But for the Gen Z professional, spending the equivalent of a Balenciaga bag on an arm zap is \u201cdefinitely\u201d worth it, citing the confidence that having toned, sporty limbs has given her.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing healthy\u201d \u2014 or at least looking healthy \u2014 \u201cis sexy nowadays,\u201d said Dr. Pooja Gidwani<\/a>, a Los Angeles board-certified internist and longevity expert. She said that buff biceps are a top concern among her female clients, especially those who have lost muscle mass through GLP1 use.\u00a0<\/p>\n Personal trainer Sarah Cucuzzella of Aussie Fit NY poses to show the muscle definition in her arms at Independent Training Spot\u2019s Bryant Park. Kim Max for NY Post<\/p>\n Gidwani helps to adjust her clients\u2019 weight loss drug doses, then adds supplements such as creatine and testosterone<\/a> into her patients\u2019 diets to promote muscle growth. \u201cFinally,\u201d said the doctor, who estimates between 40 and 50 percent of her patients are bicoastal between New York City and Los Angeles, \u201cthin arms are not better: strong arms are better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The proof is in the Equinox training studios, where \u201carm whisperer\u201d Sarah Cucuzzella<\/a> leads packed classes that specifically focus on the triceps, biceps, lats and forearms, often pushing her clients into a guided \u201cmuscle failure\u201d that gets extreme results \u2014 after extreme soreness, that is.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty traditional,\u201d Cucuzella told The Post. \u201cI love the basics and good form, and progressive overload,\u201d or steadily increasing the amount you lift. Some women arrive to class with Instagram photos of 2000s-era Madonna, citing her as their arm-spiration. One woman told her, \u201cI want Miley Cyrus arms<\/a> for my wedding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n New York fitness studios have seen a spike in requests for arm exercises, even in classes like spinning where the focus is usually on the glutes and legs. <\/p>\n \u201cArm whisperer\u201d Cucuzzella trains New York socialites and executives daily. Kim Max for NY Post<\/p>\n According to Progressive Pilates instructor Savannah Jade Dobbs, clients are \u201cincreasingly interested in building bone density and maintaining muscle mass\u201d because they\u2019ve gotten weaker through GLP-1 use or because of perimenopause.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI know this sounds kind of dramatic, but [arm workouts] genuinely have completely changed my life,\u201d said Jessica Lanzon, 37, a marketer who lives on the Upper West Side. <\/p>\n Lanzon said she is \u201cno longer afraid\u201d to wear tank tops, a mercy during heatwaves in New York and Europe. \u201cIt\u2019s been very freeing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Former First Lady Michelle Obama is often cited by clients of Smith and Cucuzella as a reference. Ron Sachs \u2013 CNP for NY Post<\/p>\n Likewise, 44-year-old Nadia Tuma-Weldon has turned from designer jackets to plain cheap T-shirts after ten months of lifting weights for her arms. A New Yorker currently living in Paris, she noted that her fitness routine has curbed her appetite for luxury fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI always laugh that once you build muscle, you kind of don\u2019t care about designer clothes anymore,\u201d said Tuma-Weldon, who works in advertising and writes the wellness newsletter Nouri Paris<\/a>,\u00a0told The Post. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re just like, \u2018I look great in a white T-shirt and jeans.\u2019 You can just go to whatever restaurant in a tank top and feel like the most glamorous person, because you have these arms.\u201d<\/p>\n Many clients show pictures of Miley Cyrus\u2019 arms as inspiration for their surgeons. PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n