Getting Those Michelle Obama Arms by Josef Brandenburg

Question:  How can I get arms like Michelle Obama?  I don’t have that much time?  Are there secret bicep curls or secret tricep extensions that will cut up my guns?  (we hip people call arms guns)

Men, women looking to get “thighs of steel” or anybody looking to make any part of your body look better, this is the same answer.  Just replace the word “arm” with “cheeks” or whatever.

Answer:

Take a look at this clip.  The lady in the clip is my client Lori.

The news anchor says that she has arms to rival Michelle Obama’s  (I think they look better, but whatever).  Lori has NEVER done an “arm exercise” in the 3 years she’s been working with me, just split squats, deadlifts, SHELC‘s, intervals, push ups, rows, etc.
I have not done a bicep curl in at least 6 years, possibly longer, but like to think that my arms look pretty decent.  (Especially considering I only have about 2-2.5hrs/wk budgeted for resistance work; and 30-45min of that is foam rolling, stretching, etc., and only 30-45min on top of that for interval work.  I am in better shape at what is just months from 30 (!) with about 3hrs of exercise per week vs. very early 20’s with 11+hours per week.)

Making A Body Part Look Better

The same for your stomach, legs, and everything else:
Making a body part look better is about improving your body composition – what is your body composed of (ratio of lean to fat).  To reveal the tone in your arms, shoulders, etc. we need to get you leaner and at the very least keep all of the muscle that you already have, and/or possibly add some.  (Some guys will have more interest in adding more mass.)

Both fat-loss and muscle-building are systemic.  That is YOU get leaner, not just your upper arm, but your upper arm gets toned up as YOU drop fat everywhere.  Or YOU get bigger, not just your upper arms, BUT your arms do get bigger as you get bigger.

So, the question is how do we get YOU to have better body composition so that you can have the more toned and/or bigger arms that you want.

The Hierarchy of Body Composition Improvement (less fat and/or more muscle):

I write for people with careers, lives and stuff.  I do not write for competitive body builders who are eager to invest 16hours per week in training and then weigh and measure each gram of food that crosses their lips.

This is time management applied to exercise and fitness.  There is a finite amount of time and energy available for fitness, therefore you do not have any to waste.  In light of that you need to spend your time and energy ONLY on those things that will yield the greatest return on your time invested.  ONLY invest in lower ROI things when you find yourself with a surplus of time.

90-100% of your results will come from #1, 2 and 3

#1.  Nutrition – eat right and take a few smart supplements  (this is #1 for a very good reason.  No matter what your goal, you can’t out train a crappy diet.)

#2.  Metabolic resistance training – this is what most of our resistance training programs are like (as most people want fat-loss):  resistance training that will massively accelerate metabolism and fat burning internally, and forces your body to hang on to muscle and/or gain some.  (The amount of muscle you have is one of the most important factors that you can control in terms of how fast your resting metabolism is.)

This would shift to a program with more rest and greater loads for a program focused more on muscle growth.  However, all of our male fat-loss clients will put on 10 or so pounds of muscle in their first 12 weeks anyway.

This article has a decent example in it.
(If you only have 2-3hrs/week to exercise, then spend it on #2, as it has the highest return on time invested.  You ONLY move down the list when you have extra time.)

#3.  High intensity interval training -this is intervals of very intense activity paired with periods of rest/recovery (like running extremely fast for 30sec, then walking for 1min; repeat 10 times).
This isn’t that important directly for increasing muscle mass, BUT it does allow you to stay lean while gaining muscle AND gets the job done better in less time AND is less likely to interfere with your muscle building efforts.

This has a metabolic acceleration effect – for 24-36hrs after you do it, your body will be burning extra fat!  Exercise once and get results for many hours to come.

(If you have up to 4 or 5 hours per week, then spend the remaining time on #3.  Don’t move down the list unless you have in excess of 5hrs/week to train.)

0-10% of your results will come from #4

#4.  Isolation exercises – like bicep curls and tricep extensions or traditional “cardio” (as if it were possible to isolate your heart and lungs, just take them out your chest and throw them on the treadmill).

(Luxury time.  This is fantasy world for the most part.  I don’t get people who have 5, 6, 7hrs/week for exercise.  This has the lowest possible return on time invested.  90% of your results will come from #1-3.  If you skip #1-3 and spend your time on #4, you will get virtually no results.  #4.  ONLY matters if you have #1-3 dialed in and going 100%, AND, it still matters to you that you get the last 5%.  It matters to some, but not to most.)

These became popular in the 50′s/60′s when anabolic steroid use became popular in body building.  Exceptional genetics, having 16hrs/week to exercise and drugs change the game a lot.  What a body builder spends 16+hours per week doing does not work at all when you remove the genetics, the drugs and then water it down to 2 or 3 hours per week.  It just becomes a complete waste of time.

Obviously, for some that last 5% is really important and its worth all the extra time, but I haven’t had that client yet.

Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC  Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, The DC Fitness Advisor and the Fitness Expert for the PCOS Challenge TV Show. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a FREE copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.

Josef, Grant, & Lori on TV Talking About and Doing High Intensity Interval Training + How To Get Starting Getting A Better Workout At Home, For Free, Right Now

When I downloaded this from WJLA’s website the file was called “5hitworkout062110”, but the font that the computer used made the 5 look a whole lot like an “S”.

My mom and Grandma called to tell me they saw me on TV.

Lori’s mom called her to tell her that she saw her.  (BTW, I think Lori’s arms look a little better than Michelle Obama’s.  That is without any bicep curls or “tricep exercises” – just “man” push ups, pull ups, deadlifts, etc… same for her stomach, or my stomach – no crunches ever, ‘cuz #1. They aren’t very effective at making your stomach look any better, and #2.  They are SUPER dangerous – one of the worst things you can possibly do for your lower back.)

People at Grant’s office at the Food Bank (donate right here… somebody’s hungry) came in and told him they saw him.

The “How To” Info Got Cut From The Show

I just wanted to post the “get started with interval training at home” details that didn’t fit into the segment, ‘cuz ideas are great, but only action gets results.

So, pick any kind of exercise: if you have any sort of knee, hip or back issues a stationary bike is probably a good place to start, otherwise I think running outside for very short distances will yield great results safely.  (If you have joint issues, go get yourself a Functional Movement Screen and get that stuff taken care of so you can go run fast without pain.)

step 1: warm-up for 5 or so min (preferably some foam rolling involved)

step 2: the intervals:

*Run (or bike) FAST for 30sec (this is a 9 on a scale of 1-10, 10 is as hard as you can work)

*Walk slowly (or bike slowly) for 60sec (4 or 5 on a scale of 1-10)

step 3: repeat this 6-8 times (sounds easy on paper, but is killer in real life)

If you really think you need to, you can stretch this to the 8-10 mark, but, if think you “need” to go beyond 10 it’s because you forgot the INTENSITY part of your high intensity interval workout.

You can workout hard, or you can workout long, but you can’t do both.  That is a physiological definition, not a will power thing.

step 4: cool down – you just revved your metabolism in 20min.

step 5: repeat this in 48hrs

And, if you want more info on interval training check out this, this, this, or this.

GRANT & LORI THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP WITH THIS!!!!!

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Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC  Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, The DC Fitness Advisor and the Fitness Expert for the PCOS Challenge TV Show. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a FREE copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.