07 March 2007

Wednesday, March 07, 2007 - 1 comment

All About Arms! Working Out Wednesdays!

Yup I'm late getting this up...but here it is!

So how many of you went to your local health food shop and picked up some supplements?? Did you get some fish oil?? I sure hope so!

This week is going to be all about arms. Many of us out here in cyber land are gearing up for carrying around bundles of joy in our arms, so we've gotta get those arms in shape! Also, many of us, okay well me, have this extra "flap" of skin as I call it that waves when I wave. I HATE THAT THING!! IT is a thing right?? Well whatever it is, lets get rid of it!

The proper name for our under arm flap(b) is called the tricep. Here are some great workouts for just the triceps:


Kickbacks

Hold weights in hands and bend over until torso is parallel to the floor. Bend elbows and pull them even with back.Straighten arms behind you, squeezing the triceps and slowly lower back down.

Tricep Extension

Sit or stand and hold a dumbbell with both hands, elbows bent behind the head to 90 degrees. Straighten the arms, squeezing the triceps.

Tricep Dip
Sit on a bench with hands right next to hips. Bring hips in front of bench and bend elbows to no lower than 90 degrees. Push back up without locking elbows. If you have wrist or shoulder problems, skip this move.

So now that your feeling those triceps, lets work on your biceps! Strong biceps are gonna insure you've got stamina to hold on to that little bundle for longer periods.

Bicep Curls
Hold weights in hands, palms facing out, elbow slightly bent. Keeping abs tight, bend the elbows and bring the weights towards the shoulders (don't touch the shoulders), keeping elbows from moving back and forth. Slowly lower back down, but don't straighten the arm entirely--keep tension on the muscle throughout the movement. If you find you're swinging the weights to get them up, lower the weight and slow down.

Keep your elbows next to your torso but don't prop them on your waist to help you lift the weights. That's called cheating.

Concentration Curls
Kneel on floor or sit on a bench and grasp a dumbbell. Place the back of the upper arm on the inner thigh and lean into the leg to raise the elbow a bit. Raise dumbbell to front of shoulder and then lower until arm is almost fully extended.

This variation puts your arm at a difficult angle, so you may find you'll need less weight than in a traditional curl.

Hammer Curls

Hold chosen resistance, palms facing each other, elbows slightly bent. Keeping abs tight to steady the torso, bend the elbows and bring the weights towards the shoulders (don't touch the shoulders), taking care to keep the elbows from moving back and forth. Slowly lower back down, but don't straighten the arm entirely--keep tension on the muscle throughout the movement.

Changing your hand position adds difficulty as you target both the biceps and the forearms.


For ALL exercises:

Beginners: Choose 1 - 2 exercises, 1 set of 14 - 16 reps
Intermediate-Advanced/Muscle Building: 3 - 5 exercises, 3 or more sets of 6 - 8 reps
Intermediate-Advanced/Muscle Endurance: 2 - 3 exercises, 2-3 sets of 10 - 16 reps. Use enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps--the last one should be difficult, but not impossible.

So now we've got our arms hurting! And also a little bit warmed up for holding babies! If you keep up with these exercises for your arms, you'll not only have HOT arms, you'll have buff arms to boot! I work my arms out 2 days a week, sometimes 3 if I'm at the gym more than 5 days. Remember to always listen to your body and don't over do it.

Next week lets talk about cardio....I promise not to be late getting the post up!

See you then!

1 comments:

So convicting.