8 Minutes to Get Rid of Your Upper Body Wobbly Bits
Whether it's the little black dress in winter or, for men,
stripping down to your shorts in summer, those wobbly bits
around the upper arms, chest and back can easily spoil the look.
Here's our 8 minute body toning workout to banish the wobbly
bits.
Equipment Needed
Any exercise aimed at toning your body needs something to
provide resistance for your muscles to work against. Most of the
exercises below use hand-held weights to provide resistance:
these can be as simple as water bottles (or even tins of food)
you can grip comfortably, or dumbbells in the range of
1lb-5lb/0.5-2kg.
Timing and Repetitions
10 reps of each exercise should take about 8 minutes. As with
all exercise you should warm-up first. Marching or jogging on
the spot for a few minutes interspersed with some gentle
stretches will do the trick.
Caution
Body toning exercise can be a pretty painful experience if
muscles have lain dormant for a while. The problem is, it's not
until 24-48hrs after your workout that you'll realise you've
overdone it! Body toning exercise should not be painful while
you are doing it - if it is you're using too much weight.
If you've not been exercising your muscles recently it's best
to start with a weight that feels "very easy" and build up
gradually from there.
The Workout
Exercise 1 - Chest and Shoulders
Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of
your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched to the sides.
With your elbows slightly bent, lift your arms above your chest
until your hands are almost touching. Return to starting
position and repeat.
Exercise 2 - Chest and Shoulders
Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of
your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched above your
head. Grip your weights and bring them over your head and down
to your hips, by your sides - a semi-circular motion. Lift back
to starting position and repeat.
Exercise 3 - Chest and Back
Sitting with your back straight (preferably supported) and
legs straight out in front of you, hold your weights in at your
chest with your elbows out to the side (parallel to the floor).
Push your arms out straight in front of you then pull them back
in. Repeat.
Exercise 4 - Back and Shoulders
Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms by your sides,
gripping the weights with palms facing outwards. Making sure
your movements are slow and concentrated, tense your shoulder
and upper back muscles, then slowly "shrug" them up and down.
Exercise 5 - Shoulders and Upper Arms
Stand with feet shoulder width apart and arms raised straight
up above your head, grip your weights with your palms facing
behind you. Slowly bring your arms forward and down, without
bending at the elbow, until level with your shoulders. Lift back
to starting position and repeat.
Exercise 6 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back
Standing with feet slightly apart, grasp your weights and
bend at the waist until your torso is parallel to the floor.
Extend your arms towards the floor with palms facing outwards.
Lift your arms out to the side, keeping them straight, until
parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and
repeat.
Exercise 7 - Upper Arms, Shoulders and Back
Standing with feet slightly apart, position your arms
straight down in front of you almost against your body - with
your weights almost touching. Bend your elbows and lift your
weights towards your chin, bringing your elbows out to the side,
in line with your shoulders. Return to the starting position and
repeat.
Exercise 8 - Arms and Chest
The classic push up. With your hands shoulder width apart
place your palms on the floor. Stretch out your body with either
your knees on the floor, or if you're feeling ambitious, your
toes - so you are supporting your body weight. Keeping your back
straight and using your arms lower yourself gently toward the
floor until you are hovering just over it. Push yourself slowly
back to your starting position and repeat. Remember - don't
lower yourself to the point where you come into contact with the
floor, it'll be much harder to push back up.
Exercise 9 - Arms
In a sitting position with your back straight, relax your
arms in line with your body. Grip your weights with your palms
facing upwards and curl them up towards your shoulders, then
back down again. Repeat. Keep your torso still and back
straight, let your arms do the work.
Exercise 10 - Forearms
Holding your weight with your arm outstretched in front of
you, tilt your wrist up and down repeatedly. Try doing this with
both an overhand and underhand grip on your weight. Do one arm
at a time.
Results
The secret of successful body toning is regularity. If you do
this exercise sequence every other day you'll start to see
results in a few weeks.
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