With summer around the corner – which means tank top season and sleeveless dresses – its time to pump up the upper body workouts and get our arms tight and toned. This week’s flat stomach workout of the week is a change from the usual routine – spicing up your usual routine and increasing results.

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When you read the title of this article I’m sure you’re thinking – what has she come up with next? I promise this exercise really won’t crush you in the head – its just a term to scare you away from it. This exercise is a great exercise for women to lift weights and will help you get tight, toned arms.

This week’s Flat Stomach Exercise of the Week for your Flat Stomach Workout helps us get rid of those flabby arms that nobody wants by focusing on our triceps.

Just in case you’re not quite sure – your triceps are located on the back of your arm. They connect your elbow and shoulder joints and help with movement of your arm. Your triceps, along with other smaller muscles, help keep your back straight and strong. Having strong, tight triceps helps keep your joints strong and ensures limited injury to these joints as well as helping you through daily activities – such as picking up your car keys or making dinner.

Making sure you have strong, tight triceps helps get rid of that ‘flabby arm’ look that no woman likes when wearing a t-shirt, tank top or strapless dress.  When you build your tricep muscles you help to burn the fat in the surrounding area, thus bringing out some definition and keeping your arms tight and toned. Who doesn’t want tight, toned arms?

Using the EZ Bar (or a straight barbell) works both triceps at the same time spreading the weight equally across the muscles, by isolating your triceps, and helping you build strength in your triceps.  Make sure to watch the video below for proper form and technique to ensure you don’t ‘crush your skull’ with the skull crusher.

Happy Training!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcw_YaUubJw[/youtube]

More Flat Stomach Exercises:

Flat Stomach Exercise of the Week – Stability Ball Dumbbell Chest Press

You want to lose weight and get a flat stomach, but you’re not sure what to do to get there.  You’ve read magazine article after magazine article and tried every diet, without success. You’ve tried the low-carb diet, [singlepic=28,300,220,,right] to only binge on a bag of potato chips two weeks later. You’ve tried going to the gym and spent hours on the treadmill, seeing some results, but then life gets crazy and you never go back.

But you still want to lose weight and get a flat stomach – what can you do that will work?

Here are five quick tips to help you get on the road to a flat stomach:

1)  Make the commitment – nothing will work until you make the commitment to yourself to lose weight and get a flat stomach. Write down your goals – what you want to achieve and by when – then put it in a place where you can see them daily. Reminding yourself daily of your goals will keep you focused and make sure that everything you do will help you lose weight.

2)  Lift Weights – No, lifting weights will NOT make you look like a man.  Lifting weights will build muscle on your body and help you get a flat stomach. The more muscle you have on your body the more fat you will burn for longer periods of time after your workout. Try this leg workout for a start.

3)  Do Cardio – Spending hours on the treadmill walking at a slow pace is not an effective way to lose weight. To lose weight and get a flat stomach you need to use high intensity interval training. This type of cardio will increase your heart rate quickly and help you burn fat for up to 48 hours after your workout.

4)  Eat More Often – Eating smaller meals more often will help to increase your metabolism. Decreasing the time between meals will allow your body to stop storing fat. Instead your body will continue to burn fat throughout the day, allowing you to lose weight and get a flat stomach.  Making sure that these meals are healthy options is also an important part of the weight loss process.
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5)  Drink Water – Water has tons of benefits. It is a great alternative to other sugar-filled drinks.  Drinking water throughout the day will also help to keep you full – making sure that you eat when you are hungry not just because you are bored or think you need to eat.

So make this time different.  Make the commitment to yourself to lose weight and get a flat stomach.  Use this five tips to help get you there.

I switched it up this week and made Monday my Upper Body Workout day. I’m training with a friend tomorrow and we’re doing legs, so instead of skipping a day I just flip-flopped the workouts. My arms are beat after this workout today. I could still feel the leftovers from Saturday’s workout, even though I didn’t do anything yesterday. But that’s the BEST part.

What’s even more exciting is I’m starting to really notice some major changes in my arm definition and strength – which for me are my two biggest measures of the effectiveness of my workouts.

So, instead of writing down my workout for you, because I love sharing what I’m doing in the gym, and because I’m a visual learner – I made a quick video of my workout for you to check out.  Please let me know if you have any questions about the exercises, my workouts, or would like some help with your workouts – I love helping and talking about fitness – so please don’t hesitate to let me know!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWOLS56sKtQ[/youtube]