With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, we’ve started kicking our workout into high gear and turned to Cindy Sites, founder of the Figure Method and owner of Go Figure Fitness Studios to show us how to tone our upper bodies to perfection for the big night. It’s Valentine’s Day evening, and you’re sitting across from your handsome date at a swanky restaurant. Your brand-new strapless dress fits perfectly, and you feel like a princess. As the waiter fills your glasses with champagne, you look across the table seductively, preparing to delicately reach for your glass. Then, suddenly, you become self-conscious: it’s been a while since your last gym visit, and do you really want your date staring at your arm as you reach for a sip?
Ladies, it’s time to fight the flab and start feeling fabulous about your upper body – just in time for Valentine’s Day. After all, you do look great – and you can feel even better – in that little black (or red, or pink!) dress. Follow Cindy’s simple upper body workouts to look and feel your best on the most romantic night of the year.
Reverse Push-Up
“Men love beautiful, sculpted arms,” says Cindy, and so do we! To achieve the ultimate arms, Cindy recommends a reverse push-up. They may be strenuous, but they’re worth it to get lean, strong triceps, the part of the arm most women struggle with, according to Cindy.
Instructions: Sit facing upright, legs bent, heels grounded. With your arms shoulder width apart and hands pointed outward, lift your seat off the ground, up one inch, down one inch, bending your elbows and using only your arms to lift and lower. Do two sets of ten slow repetitions. Do one final set of ten fast repetitions.
Rhomboid Press
Slink past your date with confidence – show off that gorgeous back! The rhomboid muscles make up a large part of the upper back and shoulders. They create that sexy, toned look that begs for a show-stopping backless dress.
Instructions: Stand in front of a mirror, earlobes over shoulders, shoulders over hips, and hips over feet. With a 3-pound weight in each hand, raise arms out to the side in line with shoulders, then bend to create an L-shape (as though you’re framing yourself in a window). Begin to press arms back, maintaining the shape of your arms, and squeeze shoulder blades together. Keep pressing back and hold for 20 reps. Rest and repeat once more.
