Summer Essential: Toned Arms

One thing I think that enhances my happiness is living a healthy lifestyle. A big component of being healthy is working out! Not just working out but eating healthy. By maintaining a healthy diet you get the maximum results from all of your hard work!

A summertime essential is definetely toned arms! We know it is hot hot hot here in Texas and that means sleeveless everything! Toned arms to me equals being a powerful woman! Like I could take someone down! HAHA JK! But seriously, whether you are picking up kids or carrying groceries, your arm strength is involved. It is so important to train your arms so you can do these activites, and it doesn't hurt to look good while doing them! A workout that I have found to be so effective for toning my arms is from a DVD from Tracy Anderson. Tracy Anderson is a personal trainer to celebs like Gwenth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna! Andersons'
DVD that I love is, Tracy Anderson Mat Workout DVD. You can purchase it on Amazon that is where I got mine and it is $29.95. It trains every area of your body! The whole DVD is about 55 minutes long. BUT, the arm section is 18 minutes! Wowza! Yeah you will feel this workout! The proof is not in the pudding this time it is in the BODY! Here is a picture of your new trainer :)



Also I found some of her expert advice in a PEOPLE Magazine article so you can read her tips for toning your body!



This is the whole article! Enjoy!

"20s
"Hips and thighs start to change," Anderson says; shape them with:

SECOND-POSITION PLIÉS
Stand with feet just wider than shoulders, toes facing out, hands on hips. Squat to knee level, then straighten; do 80 to 100 reps.

BUTT PULSE
Holding the back of a chair for balance, extend one leg straight behind you. Point your toe and pulse the leg up, 80 to 100 times. Repeat with other leg.

FLEX & POINT
Holding the chair for balance, extend one leg to the side, foot flexed. Then point your toe and lift your leg as high as you can; flex your foot on the way down. Do 80 to 100 times; switch.

30s
At this age, "the abs naturally start to separate"; to fight that, try:

DOUBLE-ATTITUDE LIFT
Lie on your back with your legs out in front of you, crossed at the ankles. Do a crunch—but at the same time lift one of your legs (it can be slightly bent) to 90 degrees; holding this position, lift the other leg to 90 degrees. Slowly release the crunch while lowering legs; do 80 to 100 reps.

ADVANCED PIKING
Lie on your back, legs flat and arms overhead, hands holding a dumbbell. As you lift your upper body, raise your legs to 90 degrees, touching the weight to your shins. Lower slowly; repeat 80 to 100 times.

40s
As muscles start to weaken, Anderson says to target arms:

ARM CIRCLES
Stand with feet at shoulder width and extend arms to the sides at shoulder height. Keeping shoulders down, do 40 small arm circles going backwards, then 40 circling forward.

ARM LIFTS
Lie facedown on a mat with arms straight out to the side like a "T" and palms up. Spread fingers and lift arms up as high as you can, then lower; repeat 80 to 100 times.

HIGH "V" SHOULDER TOUCH
Stand with feet at shoulder width, a weight in each hand. Take straight arms up to a high "V," then lower to shoulder level; repeat 80 to 100 times.

50s
The key now? Cardio, for a healthy heart and a healthy weight:

WHOLE BODY BLAST
Do a variety of exercises from each age group at left.

CARDIO SHUFFLE
Create a 30-minute playlist (or try Anderson's workout mix, below). Using the music as a guide, do the following for one full song each: skip, walk at a fast pace, gallop, step-hop-step and then, finally, step with a knee lift and a small jump forward. "



Now back to focusing on your gun show! What I do when I want to work on my just my arms is fast forward to the arm portion and do it. Think about it. For 18 minutes you are doing nothing but ARMS! It is killer. You start by doing 9 minutes of various arm motions. Andersons' method is to make you as long and lean as possible like a ballerina. You do not need equipment for this section. The next 9 minutes you need a set of 3 pound weights. You may think 3 pounds sounds wimpy. At first I did and I was so wrong. I challenge you to finish the whole 18 minutes without dropping your arms! Get the DVD and you will see what I mean! Also for more information on all of Tracy Andersons' methods go to www.tracyandersonmethod.com!
Xoxo