No Big Secret

I know, ladies. They may look like shopping bags but these babies are hardly filled with goodies. The jiggle like jello and bounce like basketballs. They constantly remind you that they’re there, shaking at your sides with every move you make and every step you take.

The temperature is a smoldering 110 but you insist on wearing long-sleeve shirts anyway in an attempt to seclude them in public.

It’s that dreaded underarm dilemma.

This one, unfortunately, can’t be cured from a few swipes of Secret antiperspirant.

Those bags of sag that droop loosely from your arms, the ones that have you covering up like a White House scandal, you can’t seem to rid yourself of them.

Believe it or not, there’s something hiding underneath those unwanted jelly rolls. They’re called triceps and with a little bit of work, you can be tri-umphant in your quest to lure them out.

So try these exercises to make your triceps so they’re not so flabby and not so shabby:

DUMBBELL KICKBACKS: Try these standing. Place one arm on your knee at a slightly bent over posture. With your free hand, take the dumbbell (a manageable weight) and hold it to the side of your hip, perhaps a little low (your upper thigh). Your elbow should be bent and in alignment with your body. Then, slowly raise your arm behind you and in an upward motion. As you do this, your elbow and arm straighten out. Raise your arm until it is parallel to the floor and your arm is completely straight. Squeeze your triceps during the contraction for a second or two, then slowly bring the weight back down to your side. Repeat the motion for 3 sets of 10-12 reps on each arm.

ONE-ARM CABLE EXTENSIONS: Hook a square-shaped handle up to the top pulley of the cable machine. Make sure you are facing away from the cable, grasping the handle with one hand so that your hand is facing away from your torso. Your elbow is bent at a 90-degree angle so that your upper arm and lower arm form a perfect right angle. Slowly bring the weight forward in a downward motion, extending the arm and straightening out the elbow. Squeeze tight before allowing the weight to reverse the motion. Let your upper arm pull backward, back to the 90-angle that you started with, as you squeeze during the negative. Once your back at the right angle, repeat the motion. Do 3 sets of 12 reps.

PRESSDOWNS: Clasp a small straight bar to the upper portion of the cable machine. Placing both hands on the top of the bar, lock your elbows into your sides at a 90-degree angle. Slowly extend your arms downward, squeezing as the bar is pulled down to your waist. Let the contraction last for a 2-count before slowly letting the weight pull your hands halfway back toward your chest. Once the arms form a 90-degree angle, repeat the motion. For great toning, try 3-4 sets of 14-18 repetitions at a tolerable weight.

Of course, triceps are like any other body part that you train. All the kickbacks, pressdowns, and extensions in the world won’t carve them into the shape you desire, not without the proper exercise and diet to supplement them.