May 17, 2000
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Sleeveless outfits are a
cool choice for women battling warm weather.
But whether it's a flattering
fashion right for all women to bare arms is another story.
"There are various degrees
of sleeve lengths that look nice on different types of women," says Tricia
Tunstall, co-owner of Wicker Park's trendy boutique p.45. "If you've got
lean, toned arms, you obviously can pretty much wear anything. It gets
trickier when the arms are a little flabbier. But women have all sorts
of options that can still be flattering without being too revealing."
For instance, opting for
lengths that hit just above the elbow are a fashionable alternative for
women who don't want to bare all. And while you wouldn't think that a halter
or tank top would work if your triceps aren't comparable to, say, Madonna's,
think again.
"Halters are awesome on
a lot of body types if you don't have very broad shoulders," Tunstall says.
"They complement your upper body even if you're not super skinny. Same
thing with tanks. But what you really need is a simple cut with straps
that are drawn in a little more towards the neck so that you don't create
a square shape around the neckline."
But if you've got your heart
set on slipping into that strappy dress for the Fourth of July, it's not
too late to tone up those arms. Just don't think that it's going to happen
overnight.
"Training is not a seasonal
thing," says Lois Miller, a trainer at Crunch downtown. "It takes about
two months to see some good results. And you need to do a combination of
cardio, weight training and healthy eating habits to get those cut arms.
If one of those three elements is missing, it's not going to happen."
For some women, such as
Angel Harold, 29, it's not an issue.
"My arms have never been
a problem area," says Harold, who lives in Northbrook. "But I also run
with my husband 40 minutes a day, three times each week. It gives me a
really good overall workout."
Mary Schwartz, 39, says
that summer wardrobe woes never spring up on her either, because she works
on her arms year-round.
"I travel a lot and am always
in warm climates, so I just feel better knowing that my arms are toned
and presentable in sleeveless shirts," says the Chicagoan, who includes
a half hour of cardiovascular work in her daily exercise regime. "I also
use the machines [at the gym] that concentrate on my arms, and that seems
to do the trick."
For the rest of us, there's
creative camouflaging. A little material around the upper arm won't cause
heat exhaustion, especially if the fabric allows the skin to breathe. One
hundred percent cotton or silk can't be beat for this.
Try pairing a silk, 3/4-sleeve
cardigan with a matching shell to create a fitted, sexy look. And blouses
with scrunched sleeves also draw attention away from the upper arms.
As for what's a fashion
no-no for 99 percent of the population, Tunstall warns women about cap
sleeves.
"They're coming back, but
I think they're a bad look for women who don't have very toned, thin arms,"
she says. "They're so little that they just accentuate the bad elements
of your upper arm. Also, I'd suggest that women with bigger arms stay away
from sleeves that have elastic bands. The bands tend to sink into the skin,
leaving pinched marks."
Most people's arms are proportionate
to their body size and can get toned by exercise. But for that small percentage
who have normal-size forearms offset by Popeye-type upper arms, surgery
is an option.
"The type of arm that is
best reduced by surgery is that of a patient who has a lot of extra skin,
but not much fat," says Dr. Victor Lewis, a professor of clinical surgery
at Northwestern University Medical School. "This might be someone who lost
a lot of weight. But the downside is that it'll leave a long scar on the
inside of the arm."
Now aren't those scrunchy
sleeved shirts sounding better all the time?
BETTER ARMS
It's not too late to shape
up those arms for summer. Crunch trainer Lois Miller offers these tips
for getting biceps and triceps toned and fit:
* If you go to a gym, hire
a trainer for at least one session. "In order to change the way you look,
you have to vary your workout or your body won't reflect that change,"
says Miller. "A good trainer can work out a program that will help meet
your goals."
* Ladies--don't freak out
about weight training. Lifting won't make you look like Mr. Universe, unless
you insist on bench pressing your body weight every day. "You have to pick
up some heavy weights if you want to show arm definition," says Miller.
``You can't curl a three-pound dumbbell every now and again and expect
to get a hard body."
* Do cardio workouts three
times a week. That can include running, aerobics, or swimming--anything
that will get your heart rate up.
* Can't stand the thought
of a long workout? Then shorten it. "You're better off doing a short 20-minute
cardio workout if you get bored easily," Miller says. "But you have to
make it intense to see results."
The right to bare arms
August 26, 2001
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Think Madonna's got arms
to die for? Well don't die, sweetie. Exercise!
The diva credits her awesome
biceps to yoga. She loves it so much that she even wrote a song ("Shanti/Ashtangi")
based around a chant she used while doing yoga.But some of us would rather
pull our teeth out than strike a yoga pose. With that in mind, we tapped
the brains of some fitness experts to find out what we needed to do to
vogue like la Madonna.
Randi
Whitman, pilates/yoga instructor at the Frog Temple:
"Women can't work out once
a week and expect to get arms like Madonna. Hers are real lean, long and
strong, and that's exactly what pilates delivers. But you need to be consistent
and stick to a workout that builds the upper and lower body at least three
days a week. It's not enough to lift heavy weights. That just builds up
bulk without lengthening the muscles. Pilates is uniform development of
the body and works arms, legs and back muscles."
Ho-Sung
Pak, martial arts choreographer of the Drowned tour:
"Madonna is in great shape
from doing yoga, but women can do a variety of exercises to get their arms
in shape. Take a nice light weight--anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds--and let
it hang down. Bring it up a quarter of a circle until it's parallel to
the floor. Bring it straight back down with just a slight bend in the elbow.
Do about four reps of 20--or start slower if this is too difficult. This
will give the shoulder nice definition. Push-ups are another great exercise
to help with arm waddle."
Tony Espana, personal
training manager at Crunch:
"Madonna combines strength
training with cardio strength training. Arm definition is hard for some
women. They really need to work the muscle groups, use momentum and hit
[workouts] from different angles. They need to target and isolate the three
heads of the triceps--lateral, long and medial--with seated curls, standing
curls and a reverse grip, which works the outer part between the biceps
and triceps."
|
|
 |