Ask and ye shall receive! I was asked for more upper body sculpting in the July challenge….however there was a lot of dislike for the June Challenge push ups (which are a fabulous upper body workout!) So, despite the fact that I have been trying to keep these workouts as “prison” workouts (i.e. you need nothing more than your own body to make them happen), we will be stepping it up this month and we need to use dumbbells for this one, so use whatever weights you are comfortable with (2lb-6lb to start) and then increase as you feel comfortable throughout the month. We want to strengthen our triceps and biceps, to make the upper body, shoulders, and arms looked toned and taught. In conjunction with the planks, squats, push ups, and bicycle crunches we’ve been doing, our bodies should be rocking right now!!
We will we focusing on two main exercises:
Bicep curls: Tone your upper arm muscles AND make activities of daily life easier, like carrying kids, groceries, lifting various items, and you will look better in sleeveless outfits! hold your dumbbells, with you feet shoulder width apart, palms facing forward, shoulders and back straight, elbows in to your sides, and squeeze your biceps to pull the dumbbells up, then slowly go down to the starting position.
Starting point
Chair Dips: Helps to get rid of arm jiggle and tone, strengthening those
Ending point- Bicep Curl
triceps! How to do it? Sit on the edge of a chair, while sitting on the chair, grasp the side of the seat, move your butt off the edge of the chair (with your legs straight in front of you), keeping your back straight and shoulders at a neutral position, lower your self down as far as you can go, then pull yourself back up in a slow controlled motion.
For everyone who has been doing the previous challenges (April, May, and June) , I encourage continuing with 75 crunches a day, 5 minutes of planks, 50 bicycle crunches, and 25 push ups….and some cardio (at least 15-20 minutes of brisk walking, running, biking, etc) then we are adding these on top! This is starting to get REAL 🙂
The July Challenge Schedule:
1: 5 Chair Dips and 10 Bicep curls
2: 10 Chair Dips and 20 Bicep Curls
3: 15 Chair Dips and 25 Bicep Curls
4: 15 Chair Dips and 30 Bicep Curls
5: 20 Chair Dips and 35 Bicep Curls
6: 20 Chair Dips and 40 Bicep Curls
7: Rest Day
8: 25 Chair Dips and 45 Bicep Curls
9: 30 Chair Dips and 50 Bicep Curls
10: 30 Chair Dips and 55 Bicep Curls
11: 35 Chair Dips and 60 Bicep Curls
12: 40 Chair Dips and 70 Bicep Curls
13: 45 Chair Dips and 80 Bicep Curls
14: Rest Day
15: 50 Chair Dips and 90 Bicep Curls
16: 60 Chair Dips and 100 Bicep Curls
17: 70 Chair Dips and 110 Bicep Curls
18: 75 Chair Dips and 120 Bicep Curls
19: 80 Chair Dips and 130 Bicep Curls
20: 90 Chair Dips and 140 Bicep Curls
21: Rest Day
22: 100 Chair Dips and 150 Bicep Curls
23: 100 Chair Dips and 160 Bicep Curls
24: 110 Chair Dips and 170 Bicep Curls
25: 120 Chair Dips and 175 Bicep Curls
26: 125 Chair Dips and 180 Bicep Curls
27: 130 Chair Dips and 190 Bicep Curls
28: Rest Day
29: 140 Chair Dips and 195 Bicep Curls
30: 150 Chair Dips and 200 Bicep Curls
Remember if you are having pain or discomfort, focus on your body positioning, and you may need lower weights, or just to take a break. I have added in a break every 7 days, but listen to your body and if it needs it, take a break; you will be sore, so drink plenty of waters to flush out the lactic acids, but if you feel more than sore, and you feel pain, then reassess and take a break, if you need to. And, as always, if you have a medical condition, please check with your Healthcare Provider (HCP) that it is OK to be a part of this challenge.
*And don’t forget to join our Facebook group for added tips and group support!
Yours in Good Health
B
