Why Cheat Meals Aren't Cheating

TOP TIPS TO TONE YOUR ARMS

No matter the season, don't be shy - it's time to show off those arms! Whether you are sporting tank tops or bodycon dresses (or you simply want to feel stronger in your upper bod) we have some great ways on how to tone your arms at home. Follow these simple tips to optimise your exercise and diet to pave your way to a perfectly sculpted and strong upper bod! Whether your goal is to lose weight and tone up, or just get a little stronger - these tips will help get you there!

new year, new you

Exercises

Resistance training is key to developing toned arms. Increasing your lean muscle mass helps to increase the rate at which you burn calories at rest, and helps to increase overall fat loss - therefore allowing you to lose weight and tone up at the same time! By completing 12 repetitions of each of these exercises for 3 sets, 3 times a week you can banish those bingo wings for good!

Exercise Directions
Bicep Curls • Stand upright with a dumbbell in each hand
• Keep elbows close to your body
• Have wrists facing towards the ceiling
• Curl weights up towards your shoulders and return.
Tricep Dips • Place arms behind your back on a bench
• Slowly lower yourself until your upper arms is parallel with the floor
• Push back up again until your arms are straight
Shoulder Press • Hold dumbbell in each hand and raise arms to shoulder height with wrists facing forwards
• Straighten your arms, pushing dumbbells together above your head until they slightly touch and return back down
Lateral Raise • Pick up dumbbells and hold them by your side, wrists facing in
• Raise the dumbbells out to the side to shoulder height and return to your side
Push Up • Place hands on the ground shoulder width apart
• Keep back flat and lower yourself keeping elbows close to the body
• Draw shoulder blades back and down and keep core engaged
• When you are a few inches from the ground push back up to start position.
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Cardiovascular Training - Incorporating high intensity cardio into your workout routine will help to reduce your overall body fat and increase weight loss. This is ideal to include if you not only want to tone up, but also lean down! Cardio is easy to fit into your lifestyle as it can be done at the gym (on the treadmill, rower or bike) or be completely cost free with the freedom of the outdoors! Run outside in an open space (or up a hill) to get some fresh air and also soak up some Vitamin D from the sun! You can choose the timings of the intervals to suit you. This could be an all-out effort for 20 seconds followed by easy for 20 seconds. Repeat this for 5 minutes, have a 1 minute rest, and repeat this 4 times. The same could be down with 30 second or 1 minute intervals.

Diet

As you get older, sarcopenia (age related loss of skeletal muscle) can result in an increase in overall fat mass in the body. This can make it harder to tone up - hence the 'bingo wings' come out to play! This is why it’s imperative to include lean proteins in your diet to support muscle growth and reduce this loss of protein in the body. Good foods include chicken, turkey or our Slender Blend. Avoiding processed food, sticking to complex carbohydrates (eg. brown rice and quinoa) and eating healthy fats (eg nuts and seeds) when combined with a variety of fruit and vegetables will help you reduce your body fat. All the better to show off those beautiful toned arms!

Although toned bums and abs may seem like the craze at the moment, having a strong upper body is just as important. Full body muscular balance is key so let’s make biceps the new booty!

new year, new you


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