Half Hour Power Hour

Five Steps to Toned, Bare Arms and Shoulders

Every summer shoulders, arms and backs are exposed to sunlight, moonlight and starlight. Tanned and toned shoulders and arms are exquisitely beautiful in sleeveless, strapless and backless dresses. What will the light on your bare and naked arms and shoulders say in the coming season?

Granted, a few specific exercises will not do all the work in a few short weeks. You will need to pay some attention to the correct diet, consistent cardio and strength training with enough regularity to cut and carve the muscles of your body. Don’t fret though, this five-step routine is the work that needs to be used to get the job done. All you will need to do is make it a habit, at least 3x week to start having your body take form and shape.

Start with the Back

The muscles of the back are the largest ones in the upper body. They are made up of the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius and house the upper body musculature of the trunk core. These are capped by the shoulders and then the smaller muscles of the arms extend from the trunk of the body. The best exercises for the back are Lat Pull Downs, Pull-Ups and Lat Presses with either stack loaded weights or resistance bands.

A Bent-Over Row, for the upper back with either resistance bands, dumbbells, a body bar or lower pulley cable will fire up the rear shoulders, trapezius and rhomboids. These are the muscles that shape and carve the shoulder girdle, hug the ribcage and sidelines of the torso.

Always start with the back, as the largest muscle group and work through to the smaller muscles secondly when building the routine.

Second, The Chest Area

The chest, a crucial part of the trunk and core cannot and should not be ignored in shaping and carving the back and shoulders. In fact, the chest and back are synergistic muscles supporting the upright posture and carriage of the body. Frontal Support Plank Poses and Push Ups using your own bodyweight can create incredible muscle strength, tone and structural postural training. Add additional instensity with the use of Body Bars, Dumbbells or plate loaded machines for Chest Presses and Pec Flyes.

Third Focus is on the Shoulders

Targeting the shoulders with Dumbbells, a Body Bar or Resistance Bands for a Shoulder Press followed by the use of lighter weight for Frontal and Lateral Raises. These are crucial exercises for shaping, toning and carving the shoulders. They will shape and define the caps of the shoulders, clavicle and help to delineate the shoulder from the front and back of the arm, our next area of focus. To target the anterior deltoid, (front of the shoulder area) I like to perform the overhead shoulder press with a slight forward press of the weights (if using a dumbbell or bodybar, for example), as if pressing the weight diagonally in front of your nose, versus directly over your head. Consider combining the Frontal and Lateral Raises with no more than 5 or 7lbs of resistance while maintaining a stable grounded footing through all your repetitions.

Fourth Area is the Tricep

Kickbacks, Cable Press Downs, French Press and of course more PushUps followed by Dips are all the ways to burn, shape and carve the muscle of the tricep. The kickbacks and presses can be done with cable, dumbbells or resistance bands; the push ups and dips are bodyweight exercises that are frequently performed in combination to fire up the tricep muscle. Dips can easily be performed off the edge of a bench.

Push Ups can also be performed on a bench, just be sure to place your hands directly underneath your shoulders to provide the strongest base of support. Lower your body to the bench and exhale deeply to press away from the bench. Take the push up to the floor to increase the intensity of the exercise and try to lower yourself completely to the floor and fight gravity to push up away from it.

Lastly, Carve the Bicep

For the final muscle group, you can still use the resistance bands, dumbbells, a body bar or low pulley cable for your Bicep Curls. Yes, a pretty basic exercise, however it must be performed with the correct form to gain the maximum benefit. Specifically, it is important to target the full belly of the muscle and perform the curl in a controlled manner through the full range of motion. Use a mirror and watch the alignment of your elbow. Think about “pinning” the elbow to your waistline. Don’t let the elbow move from that point while you lower the resistance to the floor (lengthening the muscle) and then slowly curl (contracting the muscle) the weight/resistance toward your shoulders, all the while, keeping the elbow “pinned” at the waist. Perform 12-15 repetitions this way for a minimum of 2-3 sets to carve the fat out of those arms for your summertime nights out.

Visual images of these exercises, along with video of the correct execution are available for review at my websites as shown below.

About the Author

Gina Jackson, MBA, CPT, holds Advanced PFT recognition as a member of the International Association of Fitness Professionals (IDEA); is certified as a NY Power Pilates Teacher and a proud Business Member of the Pilates Method Alliance.

Gina made a conscious career and lifestyle change to fitness in 2000 and assists clients in lifestyle fitness training programs; she is the Fitness Consultant, creator and energy behind the successful stories of a myriad of clients featured at www.FitnessByGina.com, www.Pilates4Fitness.com and www.Prescription4Fitness.com, all of which provide fitness resources, tips, articles and MP3 downloads designed to assist all realizing their fitness goals.

Please Note: You are granted permission to republish this article on your site only with maintenance of the credits, links and author’s bio intact.

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