Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Arms Race - Summer Ready Triceps

by Kris Pitcher

It's time to bare arms! Uh-oh! What's all that? If you've been under sweaters until oh now, you might be in trouble if you haven't paid attention to your diet and exercise. Welcome to the arms race!

In addition to eating clean and healthy, and doing your cardio 30-60 minutes most days of the week, we need to be toning the muscles of the arms. We'll look at a triceps pushdown today. And go from there.

This exercise works the triceps - on the back of your arms. The exercise can be done in a number of different ways, but today we're looking at a pulley press down.

Remember, strength training strengthens the muscle by recruiting muscle fibers when you lift weights heavier than your normal daily activities (overload principle). Strength training doesn't do anything to the fat on top of the muscle.

When you wave to your friends, and your arm keeps going after you've stopped...that's fat. Eating healthy, and doing your cardio create the deficit in calories to burn the fat. Clear? This is why it's critical to do all in combination.

Another thing to remember,  the only way to spot reduce, is surgically. Our body gains, and loses fat systematically according to our genetics. Unfortunately it doesn't happen according to what we want, no matter how much we want it. So keep your head straight about those concepts and get to work. Visit the American Council on Exercise for a full description of the Triceps Pushdown. Happy pressing! 

Triceps Pushdown - Arms - Get Fit Exercise Library - American Council on Exercise

No comments:

Post a Comment