How to have toned arms like the superstars

Many of us in Bermuda were glued to the TVs on Sunday watching the Oscars.

If you saw the arrivals on the red carpet you were probably really impressed with the stunning dresses and great physiques on display. One body part that was on show more than any other were the arms. Arms are definitely an area that everyone wants to work on and women in particular wish to tone up and lose fat around their arms, especially if they have a special dress in mind.

‘Spot reducing’ is the notion of losing body fat in a specific area with the arms, tummy or bum being the common requests from my personal training clients. So can we just lose the flab around the arms? Is there a way to reduce fat in one particular spot? I am afraid not. Spot reducing is just a myth. When we lose fat, we lose it all over the body and as a result fat will be lost from the arms but we cannot just focus on working the arms in an attempt to burn fat around that area.

Reducing or adding fat is generally genetically controlled. If you look at any family, you will notice that members of that family tend to gain fat in the same areas of the body and this differs from family to family. Although it is genetically predisposed we can still lose body fat and tone up but it occurs all over the body rather than one particular spot.

The most important thing is to get the metabolic rate to optimal through adequate movement. That means moving the body at least 20 minutes a day, even if it means just walking. This will get the body pumping and metabolism elevated increasing our calorific expenditure.

We also need adequate rest and should be getting eight hours of sleep every night and in bed by 10:30pm... If you watched Ben Affleck pick up his Oscar then you went to bed too late!

Organic food

Our food needs to be predominately organic as anything else is nutritionally deficient laden with chemicals and will increase toxins in the body. Toxins in the body are stored in fat but if the body is lacking nutrition then it becomes increasingly difficult for the body to detoxify itself let alone drop the body fat. We also have to remember to drink three litres of water every day to stay hydrated and I recommend bottled spring or filtered.

Lack of movement, sleep, nutrition and water completely stresses the body making it impossible to burn fat. Our body will hang on to every fat cell available as a survival reflex.

In the gym, I always use compound exercises to tone up the arms. Compound exercises are moves that use multiple joints and incorporate several major muscle groups for example, a push up, pull up or row. I also integrate lower body compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts and lunges with a push, pull or lift movement such as a squat with a bicep curl or a lunge with an overhead tricep extension. I choose these types of exercises as they are a lot more metabolically challenging than any isolation exercise like a seated dumbbell curl. Working the major muscle groups all at once will get the heart pumping as well as targeting several body parts in one move, boosting the metabolism and burning lots of calories.

Performing a mini circuit tends to be the most effective and efficient way to drop body fat and tone the arms. Choose five compound exercises and complete them back-to-back with little rest in between and 90 seconds rest after the circuit is finished. Pick a weight so you can carry out 10 repetitions on each exercise and repeat the circuit three to four times. Aim to run through this workout three to four times a week and change exercises every month to prevent injury. Try the sample workout below along with the lifestyle recommendations and your arms will be red carpet ready in no time.

• Step up with dumbbell. bicep curl.
• Squat with dumbbell shoulder press.
• Push up with feet elevated on a Swiss ball.
• Forward lunge with overhead dumbbell tricep extension.
• Barbell bent over row.