How to get toned arms like Pippa Middleton

Pippa Middleton’s wedding arms defined a new zone of interest. This is the summer of iron-clad biceps, says Phoebe Luckhurst
AP

This summer, you are coveting iron-clad arms. The upper limbs were officially declared a talking point last month, when Pippa Middleton appeared to the world in a wedding dress, accessorised with hewn arms. The world inhaled, sharply and simultaneously, at the sight of them: syrup-brown and chiselled in that Giles Deacon wedding dress. Take note: even those who insist, archly, that they are above such vanity, are not, really, when it comes down to it.

Ultimately, in the summer, you wish to bare biceps and look like you could smash it in an arm wrestle. In which case, you’ll be cheered to learn that London’s fitness studios have also marked the arms as a zone of interest this summer.

Next month, elite Kensington studio Equinox will launch a class called Best Arms Ever, which will combine dumbbells and elastic resistance for a workout you will be able to feel for days, explains Equinox Kensington’s group fitness manager, Michelle Morrey. Unexpectedly, there are no push-ups involved — instead, the 15-minute mini-class will centre on bicep curls and tricep extensions. Morrey promises a “complete shoulder and arm workout. You will sculpt without adding bulk.”

“Arm workouts are not only effective for transformation,” adds Matthew White, a personal trainer at Equinox, “but you will also see increased muscular definition and toning across your upper back. Strong arms and shoulders are integral to building strength in the upper body, improving grip for pushing and pulling exercises, as well as enhancing muscular endurance across your entire upper body. You can also expect to see improvement in your posture, as you will strengthen the muscles that affect your alignment.”

The best power moves target the shoulders, biceps and triceps.

There are other options for strong-arming your workout. Core Collective’s Resistance class uses your own body weight to carve arms, and Blok in Hackney’s signature boxing class, Boxcon, takes moves used by professional boxers and applies them to matt and floor exercises, involving bags, skipping, kettlebells, dumbbells and medicine balls, to make a difference to biceps and triceps. Finally, Heartcore’s TRX classes will whittle arms to a perfect silhouette: select the Core+Upper Body discipline. It involves “working with a pair of suspension cables to perform targeted movements using your own body weight as resistance”, explains Heartcore’s founder, Jess Schuring.

Bride Pippa Middleton and groom James Matthews arrive for wedding

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The 45-minute class incorporates moves such as the TRX Roll Out — holding a plank position at an angle, with arms stretched out holding the extended ropes — and tones biceps and triceps, as well as back muscles and abdominals, to whittle your silhouette.

And that’s how you win the arms race.

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