The healthy heart strength plan

 

Your back is made up of multiple layers of muscles that help you to lift, pull and hold your body upright. Your biceps are the muscles in the front of your upper arms that you use to pick up bags and small children. These exercises target those two muscle groups.

 

SIT ON the stability ball or a chair with your feet flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides, palms facing in.

KEEPING your upper body stable, bend your elbows and curl the weights towards your shoulders.

IMMEDIATELY turn your wrists so your palms face out in front of you and press the weights straight up overhead. Pause, then slowly reverse the move, lowering the weights to your shoulders, rotating your palms and lowering the weights to your sides.

KEEP your shoulders down as you curl and lift; don’t let them hunch up toward your ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIT ON the edge of the stability ball or a chair with your feet together and flat on the floor.

HOLD a dumbbell in each hand. Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the waist and lower your chest to about 7–10 centimetres above your knees, letting your arms hang down on either side of your legs with your hands by your feet.

SQUEEZE your shoulder blades and raise the weights out to the sides until your arms are outstretched parallel with the floor. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your chest is composed of fan-shaped muscles that span from your shoulders to your sternum and help you to push shopping trolleys or strollers and hug loved ones. Your triceps are also ‘pushing’ muscles, located on the backs of your upper arms – notoriously weak and saggy spots.

 

PLACE the stability ball against a wall, then kneel in front of it so it’s between you and the wall.

PLACE your hands on the ball so they’re directly below your shoulders. Walk back on your knees until your body forms a straight line from your head to your knees. You should be leaning forwards into the ball.

KEEPING your torso straight and your abdominal muscles contracted (concentrate on pulling your belly button in towards your spine), bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the ball.

STOP when your elbows are in line with your shoulders. Pause, then return to the starting position.

 

PROP a sturdy chair against a wall and sit with the heels of your hands on the edge of the seat. Inch your buttocks off the seat, supporting your weight with your hands.

KEEPING your shoulders down and your back straight, bend your elbows back and dip your body towards the floor as far as is comfortably possible (even if it’s just a little way). Push back up to the starting position.

TO MAKE the move more challenging, extend one leg and plant the heel of that foot on the floor in front of you.