Work Those Arms At Work

Nice graceful arms are the dream of many women. It’s great to feel confident in short vests, evening dresses or slinky blouses, knowing you can bare your arms with pride, catching the glances of those around you. But with age it becomes more and more difficult to keep a beautiful form of the arms. And if the bicep muscle in the arm, located in the fore-part of the arm (more often we call it “biceps”,) is more or less exposed while we carry shopping bags, the triangularis—we could speak a lot about this muscle, but it’s better to draw attention to it, examine the condition of your muscles and those of other people.

The triangularis, or the triceps muscle of arm, is located in the back of the shoulder, and from a young and even youthful age it becomes a “disgusting” muscle. In our everyday life we seldom use it compared with the biceps (opening a heavy subway door doesn’t count!); as a result it gives in to the elementary forces of gravity and begins to be weighed down. Gradually, fat begins to form here, making the arms less attractive. And if we add to this that the triangularis is located in the rear of an arm, and we seldom value the elevation of our back, we seldom memorize the muscle. And all for nothing! Working in an office, you use the triangularis only when getting up from a chair leaning with your arms on the desk of on the arms of a chair. That’s excellent, but not enough! If your chair or an armchair is your working place, you should use it to tone your triceps muscles. Sure, you find a deserving application for you chair, driving around the office and then once more idling to stand up. But the same chair is essential equipment for performing an exercise in the office.

Today we keep ourselves busy with working out the triangularis that, as we have already discussed, is important from an aesthetic point of view. To begin, make sure your chair is stable and will stay in one place, to be sure your chair doesn’t slip out leaving you to fall to the ground. Take the starting position by putting your palms on the edge of a chair with your fingers pointed forward. For more stability put your legs at shoulder-width (photo 1). Taking a deep breath, bend your arms and lower yourself until your elbows form a 90-degree angle (photo 2). Try to hold your back as near to the chair as possible and don’t compensate for the weight on the legs. Your elbows should always remain above your hands. Now for the most difficult part of the exercise – flex your arms while allowing the triangularis to relax, which will workout the legs at the same time. Do all this while slowly exhaling. While performing the exercise always watch your elbows: they should be pointed behind you and kept shoulder-width apart. Do not turn the elbows to the side or the triangularis will give back its load to the shoulders, thus easing the performance of the exercise and decreasing its benefit.

Common mistakes you should look out for are: shifting body weight from the arms to the legs, the a result of which is your back “runs away” from the chair, causing a major (and in our case negative) load on the shoulder-joints (photo 3). And the triangularis wouldn’t feel it deeply. Do the exercise 10-15 times and repeat after a short rest.

It is possible that you won’t be able to do the exercise on the first try because of its difficulty. After taking the starting position your arms might tremble even though you haven’t done anything yet. It may seem to you that if you bend your arms you might never strengthen them again and remain sitting on the floor. If this is the case we advise you to begin the starting with making just a 45-degree angle as opposed to a 90-degree angle with your arms. This will make it easier to perform.

Regular workout of the back during work may strengthen the triangularis so that you can add a third set of the 10-15 repetitions, thinking how your arms are becoming more and more attractive. And those sit behind you start to comment on the changes in your appearance, you’ll know your work has paid off.

If you want to amuse yourself you could try a contest with some of your co-workers. This would work with people who do this exercise at a higher degree of difficulty, doing 15-20 reps. The winner will sit in his and continue to move around the office (if it has wheels, of course), while the loser perfects the triangularis by continuously rising from a chair and leaning with arms on a desk or a chair.

Good luck!

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3