Arms
The Trainer
For Sara Shears, owner of Cocoon Athletics (244 E. Broadway St., Vancouver, 604-916-9441, cocoonathletics.com), less is definitely more. She says a 30-minute circuit workout with built-in cardio is not only more convenient than traditional hour-long training, but it can also deliver faster results. “It is hard to change people’s minds on this one, but it is true,” she says. To get your arms in swimsuit shape, the certified personal trainer, who has toned Salma Hayek and Rosario Dawson, advises targeting the horseshoe-shaped triceps and shoulders, not just the more obvious biceps. “You need all three for definition.” Though your arms are leaner than, say, your belly or bum, you may still have enough fat there to obscure the muscle definition you’re sculpting. “It’s really a lot about diet and lifestyle, even for the arms. You could be quite strong and have in-shape biceps, but you might not be able to see it if you carry a lot of fat on your body.”
Overlooked area
“The triceps, or the back of the arm — the chicken wiggle — are more of a challenge because the biceps get a little extra work just in daily life. They’re so much more involved in lifting and carrying,” explains Shears. “The triceps don’t get isolated with regular activity during the day. You have to make a point of working them out.”
Most common mistake
Lifting too little for fear of bulking up, Hulk-style. “A lot of women pick up a five- or eight-pound weight to do their bicep curls, when really they should be picking up a 10- or 15-pound weight and keeping their repetitions lower, around 10 to 12,” Shears says. “If you can do 15 to 20 reps with the dumbbell you’re using, it’s too light.”
Essential moves
For Shears’ own arm routine, two to three times a week, she does two to three sets of various tricep exercises and bicep moves. Diversity is crucial, since “the bicep muscle is made up of smaller muscles, so different exercises hit different parts of it...A great exercise that a lot of people forget about is bicep curls on an incline bench,” says Shears, adding that it isolates the muscle better and allows you to get a peak contraction at the top of the movement, as well as an extra stretch at the bottom.
Signature nutrition tip
If your food habits are flawed, you could be doing everything right workout-wise and still see those extra 10 pounds stubbornly sticking, Shears says. She advises eating five times a day: three meals (each a palm-sized portion of protein, plus the same amount of carbs) and two snacks (each a palm-sized portion that combines protein and carbs, such as an apple with peanut butter). “It’s not a diet. I try to get my clients to stay away from fad diets. This is the proper way to eat. You can basically eat whatever—it has more to do with the portions, incorporating protein into each meal, and fuelling the body throughout the day, as opposed to eating one big meal.”
