Curve Appeal

Body Muscle Journal Volume 8

By: Julie Lohre
IFBB Fitness Pro
More about Julie

You know that woman, the one that has the perfect silhouette. She just seems to have natural curve appeal and exudes femininity. A few women are blessed with a tiny waist and wide, toned shoulders giving them the perfect figure for bikinis and suit jackets. Then there are the rest of us… who have to really work hard at build ing a beautiful V shape. Aside from having less on the backside, the question I have been asked most often is, what is this V-Taper everyone is talking about and how can I get one!?!

The sought after V-Taper has become a top priority for every fitness and figure competitor. It is really a dimensional difference between shoulder width and hip width. The wider and more rounded and toned your shoulders are, the smaller you waist appears. Over the next six weeks, try this incredible arm and shoul der program and watch as your waist seems to become smaller and smaller. We may be coming up on winter, but by the end of this program, you will be dying to wear sleeveless shirts – no matter how cold it is.

Julie lateral raise

Over the next six weeks, incorporate this workout into your lifting routine twice a week.

Shoulder Circuit for Definition: Using a challenging weight, do the following exercises
consecutively, resting only when you have completed all three for one set.

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Tri-Set
A. DB Lateral Raises	4	10
DB Front Raises	4	10
Bent Over DB Raises	4	10
Rest for 2 minutes between each tri-set by performing crunches
B. Shoulder Press (DB or Machine)	4	10

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
C. Inverted Pushups (weeks 1 & 2
(weeks 3 & 4)	3	10
Streamlining your Arms:
Super Set Biceps/Triceps
A. Biceps: Cable Curls	4	10
Triceps: Cable Pushdowns	4	8
Challenge yourself with higher weights each week
B. Barbell Curls	4	10

Getting Started: One of the best styles of training is known as a split training program where you focus on one to two specific muscle groups during each training session. Since we want to focus primarily on shoulder and arm development, over the next six weeks, incorporate this workout into your lifting routine twice a week. This will allow adequate time for muscle recovery, really focusing on growth in your arms and shoulders, and still working out the rest of your body. I would recommend the following muscle group split for this program with 5 days of lifting and 2 days of rest per week. Feel free to adjust the days to best fit your schedule while maintaining at least 2 full days between the arm and shoulder workout:

Monday - Arms & Shoulders
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Chest & Abs
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Arms & Shoulders
Saturday - Back & Abs
Sunday - Rest

**Continue with your current cardio program which will vary person to person depending on your goals

This program is designed to get progressively harder every two weeks. Be sure to increase the repetitions as indicated and to perform each exercise with as much weight as you can safely use to complete the designated number of repetitions. Your training sessions should not last more than one hour. This is plenty of time to fully exhaust the targeted body part. If your workouts are lasting longer than this, you are either resting for too long between sets or doing too many exercises. Because the muscles of the arm are small and are largely targeted through isolation movements, the amount of weight you can lift will be limited. Make sure you don't sacrifice form for weight. Finally, keep the intensity high by limiting rest between sets, and by implementing the super sets described in the workout below. Your arms should feel toned and tight after an intense workout, as well as burned out and completely exhausted. Good Luck!

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
C. Triceps Dips (weeks 1 & 2)	4	8
(weeks 3 & 4)	4	10
(weeks 5 & 6)	4	12
D. Pushups* (weeks 1 & 2)	3	8
(weeks 3 & 4)	3	10
(weeks 5 & 6)	3	12
(with close hand placement)*

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