Speed Bag for Toned Arms

The cooler days of Fall are coming and we only have a few more weeks of being able to (comfortably) bare our arms.  But before all the sweaters and long sleeve coats, imagine wearing a sleeveless shirt and being able to show off sleek, toned shoulders…this exercise will help you get there.

This week I am highlighting the “speed bag” workout.  Granted, without an actual speed bag to work with, you might feel a bit goofy doing, but I promise you shoulders and arms will feel the burn (in a good way)!

Speed Bag Exercise – (forward)

Start with your feel past shoulder width with your knees bent.  Twist your upper body toward the left (working your obliques (your sides)) lifting both hands in front of your chest.  With your hands in fists, rapidly rotate hand-over-hand in a forward direction.  That’s it!  Easy enough, right?  To maintain proper position, make sure your knees are over your ankles with our belly pulled in, your chest lifted, and your shoulders down.  The biggest mistake people make on this exercise is allowing their shoulders to raise up toward their shoulders; especially as the muscles before more fatigued the temptation will be to shoulders-ears, with no neck in between.  Do not do this!  The only thing it will do it leave your back and trapezius (the muscle between your shoulders and your neck) sore…not the muscles we want to focus on for this exercise.  Instead, periodically throughout the exercise check in with your shoulders and consciously try to relax them down.

Alternate sides (for about 10-30 counts each side) for a total of 1-3 minutes.  Now, spin those arms and spin them fast!