Beat back those bat wings!

Hello and welcome to your weekly dose of workout wisdom!

There is some bad news in this segment, so brace yourself. “The clients that come to us and grab body parts and say ‘I want to lose this…’ it cannot be done.” That’s the message from personal trainer Gigi Filer, but she also shares some good news … you can change your body with a holistic approach to health and fitness.

This week we’re back to workouts suggested by our colleagues but the person who asked about blasting the “bat wings” is choosing to remain anonymous. You know who you are. "The big triceps thing is all this flapping," says Gigi and we know that you know what she’s talking about! Fighting the flapping requires a multi-pronged approach. "I like to do a compound set,” she explains, “so we’re targeting one muscle group with two different exercises.”

Weightlifting is an important part of the plan and Gigi's showing us how to target those tiny muscles on the backs of our arms. "More weight isn't always best. Executing proper form is what's most important." Triceps kickbacks are first and this trainer makes sure there is no cheating! There’s also no rest between exercises... we go straight into skull crushers, again concentrating on form and fatiguing the muscle. If you're feeling ambitious, you can do four exercises in your compound sets. Triceps dips are a great option and all you need is a chair or a set of stairs. Follow those with triceps push ups and this little muscle group will really be fired up. Another bonus – no equipment needed and that means no excuses.

There are other elements to beating back bat wings and Gigi is quick to remind us about them. "If you're not doing cardio and not nourishing your body, you're still going to have what's left over and that's body fat!!!" And if you fail to slather on sunscreen, no one’s going to see those muscles you’ve worked so hard for because they’ll be hiding under sagging skin - so wear SPF 30 or higher when you bare those big guns!

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com