Matt Espeut’s Fit For Life: How To Get Michelle Obama Arms
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Curls works the biceps muscle, and you can vary curl patterns with either dumbbells, a fixed bar or cable curls, as Torey van Ahnen is doing here.
In April, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons released its cosmetic and reconstructive surgery statistics. $11 billion was spent in the US last year on cosmetic procedures alone. But here’s the shocker – 15,457 patients (98% women) had liposuction on their arms. An upper arm-lift starts with an incision from the armpit to the elbow. Twelve years ago, only 300 women in the entire country opted for this – that’s a 4,378% increase. Poll data shows we are paying close attention to the arms of entertainers, newscasters, and yes, our icon of health and fitness – First Lady Michelle Obama.
Our genes leave us with different areas for excess fat to accumulate, and for some women, that is the upper arm. But choosing surgery and a visible scar over doing your very best in the gym and with good nutrition, is just crazy. Any woman – any person – can tone and firm to acceptable, and admirable levels.
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So, this week – with the help of my friend, Torey van Ahnen, I’m offering you a plan just for your arms. Note that Torey is not “ripped” or “bulked up” – something women are often fearful of. She has a long lean arm – and it matches the rest of her body, which is healthy and firm.
Put vanity to work for you – is it that sleeveless dress? But dedicate yourself to health as a goal. And remember, a great looking body doesn’t come with exercise alone – you can’t be working out in a gym, and then driving through a fast food restaurant – good nutrition is essential.
Your arm has Triceps, a three headed muscle that covers the posterior 3/5 of your upper arm, primarily used for pushing moves; and Biceps, a double headed muscle that covers the anterior 2/5 of your upper arm, primarily used for pulling movements. Both act as either an agonist or antagonist during elbow flexion and extension. This means that one is moving while the other is stabilizing.
There are 3 good exercises for triceps – the cable push down, the lying press or skull crusher, and dumbbell kickbacks. These are my go to exercises because they stress the triceps in different planes of motion.
For biceps, since the elbow bends only one way I generally pick these exercises. I vary curl patterns with either dumbbells, a fixed bar or cable curls. Perform three working sets for each exercise. Use weight heavy enough to do 8-15 reps per arm, but not too much that you can't perform 8 clean perfect reps. Do not over train arms because they are used in just about every other upper body exercise.
Matt Espeut has worked as a personal trainer for almost 20 years with clients ranging in age from 14 to 86. His focus is on overall health, strength, and functional conditioning. Holistic health and nutrition is the cornerstone of all his programs. Matt works in private and small group training available at your home or office location or at gym facilities. Matt offers his services to everyone wanting to be more fit and healthy, overweight young people, youth/collegiate athletes, and seniors. Matt has worked and continues to train at several facilities in the Providence area including Gold's Gym and CORE Studio, and he believes continued education is a must in his field. Email Matt: [email protected], check out his website at www.fitnessprofiles.net or on Facebook at Matt Espeut or on Twitter @MattEspeut.
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