Toning Bingo Wings

Eyes-down people, there’s a full house in tonight and we’re bursting the bubble on arm-toning with a jackpot-bonanza workout tip that (for girls) will inspire you to break out that sleeveless top this summer (for guys maybe just keep the wife-beater for gym use only). It also may go a long way towards reducing shoulder pains that many experience post-exercise.

One of the most common but most ill advised gym exercises is the tricep dip to combat bingo wings. Through communal reinforcement, this exercise has been passed down through the ages from one personal trainer to the next via fitness magazines and search engines, regardless of the fact that it will be highly unlikely to achieve the desired result (toned arms) and will also likely cause chronic shoulder pain.

Walk into any gym and you’ll see people from all walks of life practicing the tricep ritual; teachers, lawyers, housewives, civil engineers, you name it! So why don’t they work? Well simply, the benefits of muscle toning have been grossly exaggerated by media icons, athletes and fitness models who actually use chemicals to achieve the look. This is much more common than people realize, leading the average gym user to believe they can achieve the same results naturally. Quite simply, you can’t and unscrupulous fitness professionals know this even though they’re taking another subscription from you. Secondly, in order to have toned arms, you need to genetically have the right body type and low body fat; that is ectomorphic (naturally lean) and/or pear-shaped. Some celebrity trainers manage to convince people that they aren’t extremely petite (they are) so as soon as they change their eating habits, it is the lower body fat, not the tricep dips that reveals the tone that is already there in everyone’s body. For sure this is commendable, but it’s important that the correct information is passed on so you can go some way to replicating it. If you’re a larger bone-structure/body-type (and especially if you’re top heavy), you’ll never achieve this through tricep work; only reducing the body fat will do it.

The aforementioned civil engineer reassuringly had to undergo a rigorous training process before he/she were allowed to make the calculations that ensured the bridge you’re crossing doesn’t fall down. Not so in fitness. The average celebrity trainer has a few weekend workshops under their belt, but just happens to have an excellent marketing team.

So what about shoulder pain? Well, while at the lowest point of the dip, the bones of the shoulder and upper arm trap one of the rotator cuff tendons. Over time, this wears down causing inflammation and pain that can be chronic. Unfortunately, recent research shows that those with larger bone structures are more susceptible. When you factor in that shoulder pain is a common age related ailment, it doesn’t make sense to accelerate the process from an exercise that doesn’t produce any benefits anyway. For actual bingo wing busting results, just keep away from naughty chemicals, keep the diet good and clean as well as sticking to cardio-based exercises for fat loss.

Jon Robinson is an Exercise Physiologist (not Personal Trainer) and co-owner of Spinback Fitness. www.spinbackfitness.com