Tone the Back of Your Flabby Upper Arms with One Exercise
One exercise will tone the back of your upper arms.
Having trouble toning the back of your upper arms?
Ladies, I have a great exercise for you that will really tone and tighten the flab in the back of your upper arms.
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Should Beginners in Strength Training Do Barbell Squats?
If you’re new to lifting weights, don’t let this stop you from doing the barbell squat, one of the best strength training exercises around.
When I was a personal trainer I had my clients–who’d never before lifted weights–learning to do the barbell squat.
But not before I carefully “screened” them for compatibility with this compound, fat burning exercise.
- In general beginners are good to go with the barbell squat, as long as they understand proper, safe form.
- Many beginners and even more experienced people have poor form.
The squat targets the glutes, upper legs, lower back and abdominals, and can be a major component of a fat burning workout regimen.
Shutterstock/Oleksandr Zamuruiev
Should beginners dive right into a free-barbell squat or first start out with the Smith machine?
This has a two-pronged answer. If you’re just not meant to do free-barbell squats, you can benefit from the Smith machine.
Freepik.com, senivpetro
On the other hand if your body is better proportioned for the free-barbell squat, and you don’t have issues with your spinal column such as stenosis, you can begin with a very light bar — once you feel comfortable doing bodyweight squats.
Some beginners are able to just jump right in and start squatting the Olympic bar (45 pounds).
Rushing into making it heavier, though, will put the beginner at risk for pulling a muscle.
The reason novices need to be careful with the barbell squat free across their upper back is because often, the unsuspecting person will round their lower back.
This increases risk of low back injury.
The novice must also make sure their feet are aligned, not uneven, and that their body is not leaning more to one side while conducting the movement.
One of my clients was a 60-year-old, obese woman who was very lost with her body positioning when just trying to squat the bar — on the Smith machine!
So this is where a case-by-case basis applies. This client did well on the leg press; she was no weakling; but her mind and body just could not connect when it came to even a Smith machine squat.
She’s an exception. There are plenty of older women and men who take to the free-barbell squat — with proper instruction.
Beginner’s Rules for a Safe Barbell Squat
- Keep feet flat on floor, at least shoulder width apart.
- Keep an arch in your lower back.
- Keep head tilted up a little, your eyes straight ahead or slightly upward.
- Keep the chest “puffed out.” Aim to get your thighs parallel to the floor. Past parallel is okay but not necessary when you’re a beginner.
Beginners can start out with a rep range of eight to 12. Rest a few minutes and repeat. Increase weight load with reason over time.
Don’t get ahead of yourself and start piling on plates; you can end up with a lower back strain or pulled area where the hamstring ties into the glute muscle.
Just because few beginners are ever seen at the squat “rack” or “cage” doesn’t mean that this fat burning exercise is reserved only for the experienced.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Diseases that Sjogren’s Syndrome Is Often Misdiagnosed As
Sjogren’s syndrome is usually misdiagnosed several times before the patient gets the right diagnosis.
You may have Sjogren’s syndrome and not even realize this, despite having visited doctor after doctor to uncover what’s been happening with your body.
Sjogren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can affect many different systems of the body, multiple organs and produce a menagerie of symptoms, ranging from annoying to moderate, to severe to life-threatening (though the latter is rare).
Though Sjogren’s syndrome affects two to four million Americans, it stands as one of the most misdiagnosed medical conditions, even though there are a variety of tests that can confirm its presence.
Because Sjogren’s syndrome produces joint pain in 80 percent of affected individuals, physicians who specialize in this condition are typically rheumatologists.
“Sjogren’s syndrome can be associated with a variety of autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid, lupus, thyroiditis, celiac sprue (disease), scleroderma, and even with non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases like autoimmune hepatitis, hepatitis-C, HIV,” says Ali D. Askari, MD, Professor of Medicine – Case Western Reserve University.
“Primary Sjogren’s syndrome (as opposed to secondary SS), however, is not associated with any of these and there are differential points in each case,” continues Dr. Askari, Chief, Division of Rheumatology – University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
“As opposed to rheumatoid arthritis,” says Dr. Askari, “the joint involvement is not symmetrical, nodules are formed less commonly, and destructive changes of bones are seen less likely.”
Women make up 90 percent of patients with SS, for reasons that are unknown.
This condition can affect any age group, but it’s rare in people under age 20. The mean age of SS onset is early to mid-40s.
Dr. Askari continues, “The specific radiologic changes and presence of sub-acute cutaneous nodules are more associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
“In lupus there is more involvement of the kidneys, the central nervous symptom — and although the ANA is positive in both, anti-DNA is more positive in lupus than in Sjogren’s syndrome.
“Although photosensitivity can happen in both conditions, the typical butterfly or malar rash (on the patient’s face) is more suggestive of systemic lupus.”
Celiac disease often leads to skin rashes, but the blood test for this will not show the antibodies for Sjogren’s syndrome. In addition, with celiac disease, diarrhea is far more common.
If you don’t get a celiac disease test, yet you have this condition, and you go gluten-free (completely!) for 30 days, then there should be a marked improvement in your condition.
Disease of the thyroid gland could be associated with Sjogren’s syndrome, says Dr. Askari.
“Conversely, primary Sjogren’s syndrome is associated with more frequent occurrence of thyroid inflammation, so-called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
“Neurological conditions such as MS particularly can be mistaken for Sjogren’s syndrome.
“More so, primary MS is being diagnosed in patients with Sjogren’s. Differential can be achieved by more frequent presence of specific antibodies in the blood in Sjogren’s syndrome and positive lip biopsy, but the lesions on the MRI of the brain are similar to identical in both cases.”
The lip biopsy would confirm a reduced production of the salivary glands (the lips contain your salivary glands), which is a hallmark feature of Sjogren’s syndrome.
“Finally, in some cases of primary Sjogren’s syndrome, the dry mouth and eyes are later manifestations, and some unusual neurological manifestations, cardiac or liver disease may be one of the first findings,” explains Dr. Askari.
“Additionally, the findings of dryness are not spontaneously expressed by the patient and mainly attributed to the age, use of drugs, etc., and they should be solicited.”
Update: As of April 2024, Sjogren’s syndrome is now known as Sjogren’s disease.
Dr. Askari’s special interests include diseases of the muscles, fibromyalgia, general rheumatology, lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/ fizkes
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Wall Climbing for Plus Size Newbies GUIDELINES
These wall climbing guidelines are specifically for fat or plus size women AND men who wish to pursue this very fun sport.
I used to do a lot of climbing, and though not overweight, I learned a lot in the four years I spent, week after week, climbing all sorts of wall routes.
I achieved a strong intermediate level of skill at top roping. This means that I was regularly top roping to completion, on a first attempt, new routes that were rated 5.10 (A, B and sometimes C).
I was able to work some 5.11’s on top rope, getting to the top (but never on a first try with a newly created 5.11 route).
I did lead climbing on some 10’s, a few 11’s. I also did all kinds of routes such as slabs, corners and overhangs.
Basic Climbing Guidelines for Overweight Beginners
First and foremost, don’t say, “I’m too fat to climb.”
If you’ve ever been in a climbing gym, you will have noted that routes are rated with numbers which usually go down as far as 5.4, maybe a little lower.
These are easy, and parents have their newbie children climbing them.
But they are also for adults who are new to this sport.
These easy routes consist of large, comfy hand-holds and foot-holds.
The issue, then, is stamina, even though a very overweight person may have difficulty just making a few successive moves due to their size.
But with grit and determination, it can be done, assuming that you are not so obese that you have difficulty just walking.
Expect to fatigue quickly. Don’t let this discourage you! After all, the human body is NOT designed to ambulate vertically. We are not squirrels.
You WILL fatigue very fast. Simply sit back in your harness and rest, then resume.
It may take an overweight newbie quite a while to reach the top of the gym’s easiest route, especially if it includes a slight overhang.
There is nobody timing you.
There is no time limit on the route.
If you need 20 minutes, then you take 20 minutes.
Consider it a workout routine.
Expect your forearms especially to quickly burn. This is because you’re using them in a way that you’ve never done before. This fast on-fire feeling also occurs to thin beginners.
The main reason you’ll feel your forearms going dead very quickly is because people who are new to wall climbing will invariably try to muscle up a route, especially a route with big hand-holds.
They will attempt to pull themselves up with their arms, letting their legs drag below them. This is not how to efficiently climb a wall.
However, learning the proper techniques will take time. Do not get in the habit of muscling up the route.
It is said that women climbers learn the techniques faster than do men because they lack the upper body strength to haphazardly muscle up the wall.
Body position, including that of the legs, is crucial for efficient wall climbing.
Even how you place your hand on particular hand-holds makes a big difference.
I can go on and on about the many very effective body movements that propel a person up a wall without any muscling-up, but let’s just keep the focus here on guidelines for overweight beginning climbers.
You will need to learn how to propel up with your legs. This will take time. But how strong must your legs be to learn leg techniques?
Chances are, your legs are already strong enough for most of the techniques.
The so-called loading and rocking-on of a leg are probably not one of them, but there are other lower body tricks you can do even if you’re overweight.
Do not try to muscle up the route. Otherwise you will become quickly defeated.
Choose easy routes to start off with, even if only kids are using them. Novice children flounder plenty on easy routes.
During your downtime at the gym, watch the movement patterns of experienced climbers. Compare them to struggling climbers. You will see a big difference.
If your feet are too large to fit into climbing shoes, then wear the thinnest possible sneakers (not running shoes or other athletic-type shoes)—but just the simplest house-type sneakers.
If you’re sketchy about attempting a top rope route, then start out with some “bouldering.”
Bouldering is more of a horizontal (or so-called traversing) style of climbing, where there’s no rope required, and you’re close to the padded floor.
Traversing or bouldering will strengthen your fingers, hands and other muscles, and give the newbie plus-size man or woman an opportunity to hone basic climbing skills.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Why Swimming Can’t Replace Lifting Weights
