Arms with Abs

This Thought of the Week is all about finding your arms!m bringing you through some of my favorite targeted strength training moves throughout Jan. This week, we're talking arm and shoulder strength using just your bodyweight!

WHY: You can get a serious workout for your upper body without using any props! Because you are using your bodyweight, however, form and alignment are key to working muscles without straining joints.

Your shoulder joint is a ball-in-socket joint and moves in a fully circular range of motion. Because of its flexibility, your upper body and core have to work extra hard to stabilize in order to work your arms without involving the neck, wrists, and other joints.

In this week's TOTW, I have some tips to relieve your joints and get a better burn in your triceps, biceps, and under-arms!

Key Cues For Class

• Upper Arm Position

  • You almost always want a little bit of external rotation of your upper arm bone in your shoulder joint. Why? It takes more work into your under-arms and out of your neck. Try:

    • Palms facing each other when your arms are in front of you

    • Biceps spiraling away from you when on Hands and Knees

    • Head in line with spine for neck

• Shoulder Blade Position

  • The goal is for the shoulder blades to sit as flat as possible on your rib cage. Most of us have some structural limitations to making that happen (injuries, tight muscles, etc...) but try these thoughts to help when weight bearing on hands:

  • Push down and out through palms and pull armpits to hips at the same time

  • Imagine ripping your mat in half from your armpits. Really! It works!

Want more? Try in a mini-workout with me on my Instagram page!