I need to get my arms in shape. How should I do this? Should I use a tape? Any tapes you can recommend? Also- is it true you should only do your arms every other day?
Anniegrl
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Re: Arms
Well, there are a lot of arm exercises, so I'll give you just one for each major muscle. You'll have to gauge what weight is good for you since I don't know your body type.
Biceps - incline biceps curl: Sit on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand and curl the dumbbell up (with palms facing ceiling). On the way down, extend your arms all the way.
Triceps - decline french press: Lie on a decline bench with an E-Z curl barbell in your hands (the E-Z curl bar is the barbell with the wavy bar). Start with your arms straight and pointing at the ceiling. Bend your arms until your fists are almost touching the top of your head. Keep your elbows in; don't let them flare out to the sides. Straighten your arms and repeat. (I don't fully straighten my arms at the top - this keeps a little tension on the muscle).
Shoulders - overhead press (medial delt): Sit on a bench with back support, grab a dumbbell in each hand, hold them at shoulder height with palms facing towards the front of you, and press overhead. Lower and repeat.
Shoulders - reverse flye (posterior delt): Sit backwards on a pec deck machine and grab the handles. Adjust the seat so that your arms are at 90 degrees to your body. You can use 3 different hand positions: palms facing each other, palms facing floor, or palms rotated out (so your palms are out and thumbs are pointing towards the floor). I do a set with each hand position. Push your arms back and squeeze and hold slightly when you get to the furthest point. Release and repeat.
I never really work the anterior delt (front delt) since it gets a good workout on chest days (doing bench press).
Hope that helps! Oh, and I have a million workout tapes but I would never use any of them as a substitute for a gym workout. Legs are another story.... Maybe somebody else could recommend a good tape for you to use if you don't belong to a gym. I personally love the Firm tapes but for me, they do a better job of working my legs and abs than my arms.
Snowboardgirl
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Re: Arms
Hey Annie! Great exercises. I also recomend those!
Anniegrl
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I should practice what I preach! I've only been to the gym like once over the past week. I had to study for my final last week, then me and FH went away for the weekend (and ate like pigs) and now I think I'm coming down with a cold . I'm going to try to the gym today if I feel ok.
Sunny, you could always try the website for Collage Video if you want a workout video.
Sunny
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Thanks ladies!
karen32
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i've been doing the bicep curls at curves for a week and a half and FI swears he already sees some muscle definition.
Snowboardgirl
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Annie, me too. I have been working late and getting only 4-5 hours of sleep this week. I am going later if I feel ok. I try not to get to crazy about it. If I can't go, I can't go. Work comes first. My work outs used to be so important to me, that I lost out on life and my career was suffering.
Snowboardgirl
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Re: Arms
sunny,
I do biceps on one day and triceps another day, both once per week. It all depends on how you train.
Diane
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Re: Arms
I will do my biceps one day, triceps another, chest, shoulders, and back on different days. Sometimes I will do 2 muscle groups in one day. It depnds on how much time I have.
I really need to start working more on my legs.
Snowboardgirl
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Training legs is very important. it is a large muscle group, so if you gain muscle there, you will burn tons of calories per day.
Jenn524
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Re: Arms
Legs are very important to work. I swear that was one of the biggest reasons I just lost so much weight.
For arms, you could also do the old fashioned push-up. It's one of the best ways to work your arms and back. You can also work different parts of your arms by moving your hands in different positions.
Diane
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Re: Arms
I agree Jenn..Push ups are the best upper arm exercise. It works all your muscle groups