armed and ready

Challenging your arms and chest muscles helps you reach a higher power.

› By Angelique Anacleto

It’s no wonder upper limbs are called arms. Like precision tools or weapons, these babies carry out deft, mechanical maneuvers to accomplish daily tasks. Your chest then operates as a gear stick that controls their range of motion. Thus, staying strong with weights benefits individuals all the way into their 90s. As it turns out, lifting dumbbells just might make you the smartest kid in class.

The Bu Starts Here

To begin taking ownership of your strength, Ti any Wheeler, wellness director for the Frank DeLuca YMCA Family Center in Ocala, advises starting small by utilizing body weight to do push-ups and pull-ups.

“The mistake a lot of people make is not sticking with the basics,” says Wheeler. “The average gym-goer completely neglects all of their stabilizer muscles, which keep you steady while other muscles accomplish a movement. Basic exercises like pushups and pull-ups are easy to remember and fit into your daily routine. Give yourself a new goal every day, saying, ‘I’m going to do 10 push-ups,’ and increase from there.

“Modifying can be an excellent starting point where typically some sort of equipment is involved. At the YMCA, we have an assisted pull-up machine. You can also place a long resistance band under your feet and attach to the pull-up bars to support lifting your body weight.”

fat melt-aways

For sculpted muscles to emerge, shrink surrounding fat with these lifestyle changes: snip 500 calories daily, use weights twice weekly and do cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes, five days per week. When setting goals, keep in mind, one pound of fat stores 3,500 calories.

DIY weights

Don’t want to purchase a weight set or join a gym? Use these clever (and maybe a bit o the wall) ideas to MacGyver everyday objects into exercise weights like: repurposed basketballs into medicine balls, paint cans as kettle bells or sandfilled socks for wrist weights, even old fishing vests and du el bags. wikihow.com/Make-a-HomemadeWeight-Set

Super Seniors

It’s never too late to weight train. Strengthening muscles improves walking ability, eases daily chores for independence, prevents fractures by building bone mass, sheds pounds and controls glucose, all of which builds confidence.

Chest Hair Cheers

With omnipresent woolly beards and man buns, there’s now an all clear for waxed chests to creep back toward their former hairy glory. British hairstylist Daniel Johnson had some fun meticulously shaving famous skylines into chest hair. Etchedin man-bikini tops have also humorously made Instagram rounds. For our purposes, perhaps clipping a Tuscawilla Park sculpture design could be a nice change of pace?