BRIDAL FITNESS: All About Arms

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BEAR YOUR ARMS: Philly personal trainer Brian Maher spills three no-fail moves to seriously sculpt your arms Do ’em to to three times a week for best results.

BENT OVER ROW

• Works: Upper back, back of the shoulder and biceps.
• Form: Holding two dumbbells, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Keeping your chest out and shoulders back, bend over until your back is just about parallel to the floor. Let the arms hang straight. Squeezing your shoulder blades together, slowly pull the dumbbells up to your chest and lower down.
• Count: Three sets of 15 reps using eight-to-12-pound dumbbells.

BENCH DIP

• Works: Triceps.
• Form: Sit on a bench or chair with your hands gripping the edge, fingers facing forward. Keeping your knees bent, scoot your butt off the seat and lower it to the ground slowly by bending your arms at the elbow. Stop when your elbow is bent at 90 degrees, and push yourself back up to the starting position. For more difficulty, straighten your legs and put a weight in your lap.
• Count: Three sets of 15 reps.

LATERAL RAISE

• Works: Shoulders.
• Form: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding two dumbbells with your arms at your sides. Keeping arms straight, slowly raise your hands to eye level and return to the starting position, lowering the weight with control.
• Count: Three sets of 15 reps using three-to-five-pound dumbbells.

GET TO CLASS! Three local fitness classes that keep arms in focus.

• What: Armed and Dangerous
• Where: Ploome, NoLibs
• Why: This class couples cardio conditioning with isometric chest, arm and shoulder work for an all-over burn. You’ll use free weights, ankle weights and small medicine balls to achieve sculpted perfection.

• What: tankLOGIC
• Where: bodyLOGIC, Philadelphia
• Why: Channel your inner ballerina with this arm-focused barre workout. It includes work with an exercise band for tailored-to-you resistance.

• What: Armistice
• Where: Lithe Method, multiple locations
• Why: Three-to-five-pound weights are all you need to blast your core and upper body. The class focuses on combo moves—think static crunches with biceps curls—so you get the most bang for your fitness buck. — Emily Leaman

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