Photo by Root Photography
Strapless dresses are hot right now and since they offer pretty much no wiggle (or jiggle) room when it comes to disguising arm flab, it's a good idea to start working those arms out a while before your wedding. Here is a sample day filled with my favorite un-workout arm exercises:
7:00 AM - Wake up, slide out of bed, and do a few dips on the edge of your bed. Facing away from the bed, put your hands back so that they're on the mattress and then bend your knees, putting the weight of your body on your arms. Slowly lower yourself using your arms until you're as low as your arms can handle and then use your arms to raise yourself again. Do as many as necessary to wake yourself up. (20 is a nice round number!)
7:30 AM - Brush your teeth and grab the Listerine. Take a swig and then step away from the bathroom counter and place your arms on the edge. Do 30 leaning push-ups against the counter while you swish the Listerine around, making sure to go all the way down and all the way back up. Don't rush this! Your teeth and your arms need you to do slow reps!
8:00 AM - Pour yourself a bowl of cereal. Grab the milk jug (or juice jug, etc.) and do some side lifts while you eat your cereal standing at the counter. Hold the jug in one hand at your side. Keeping your arm straight, slowly lift the jug straight out sideways until it's at shoulder height. Slowly lower it back to that position. Do as many with that arm as it takes to eat your cereal. Switch arms and clean up/pack your lunch with your non-dominant hand while doing side lifts with your dominant hand.
9:30 AM - After you're settled into work and you're doing something that doesn't require movement, such as reading email, grab your purse. While sitting at your desk, take your purse in one hand. Raise your arm above you so that your elbow is against your head and your hand is behind your neck holding your purse. Extend your arm straight up so that your purse is above your head and then slowly bend your arm so that your purse is behind your head. Do 30 reps for each arm.
11:30 AM - Grab a pair of handy heavy items, such as books, binders, or something like that. If you can stand at work, go ahead and stand. Otherwise, you can do this move sitting. Take one of the items in each hand and do bicep curls, alternating your arms. This works especially well if you can pair it with some sort of distracting task, like proofreading something or listening to voicemail. This is also a great exercise for conference calls. You'll get a double un-workout if you switch your hands so that your knuckles are facing away from you and repeat the reps.
3:30 PM - If you have an office, shut the door. If you don't have an office, you might want to sneak off to the handicapped stall of the bathroom for this one. Once you're in your nobody-can-see-me place, do at least 30 seconds of windmills. Straighten your arms and make wide circles up and down against your body (like exaggerated swimming). This will work your arms and wake you up mid-slump.
6:00 PM - Sneak un-workouts in while watching TV. Wait for commercial breaks and then do as many push-ups, curls, jumping jacks, etc. as you can until your show comes back on. To keep from getting bored, try changing the exercise every time a new commercial comes on.
9:30 PM - While reading in bed, take an extra book. Lay on your back and hold the book you're reading with one hand. Pick up the other book in your other hand and bring it to your chest. Extend your arm straight up slowly and then slowly bring the book back to your chest. Do this until your arm gets tired and then switch. If you'd rather read on your side, hold the extra book at your hip and then raise your arm straight up above you. Switch sides to switch arms.
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