Form and Function: Upper body strength

A few months back Livingsocial made me a deal, that I just couldn't refuse, a 2.5hr class consisting of Flying Trapeze, Silks and Trampoline, topped off with a cupcake tasting at the Trapeze School of New York- Washington, DC.  That is like my perfect evening!!!  So I signed up, so did my sister in law, Miekspeak, and my friend and fellow blogger, CO.  After months of anticipation, we ran off to join the circus yesterday. 

Ready!

I LOVED it; I believe Miekspeak and CO enjoyed… parts of it.  LOL.  Apparently, after climbing the ladder of death, they spent some time on the flying trapeze platform cursing me for suggesting they join me on my circus adventure.  I know this because when I climbed up the 2^nd time and the new guy asked my name, he said something to the effect of “OH!! YOU’RE Candydiva04, your friends are loving you right now!”  We had a brief chat about my circus interests and why I was there, and then I was off soaring through the air again.

Ecstatic!

From a fitness perspective, these activities require a ton of upper body strength, and I was reminded that women in general lack the upper body strength of our male counterparts.  The guy in the background of the photo above us, looks skinny but easily has more upper body strength than the 3 of us combined.  Believe me; I know building upper body strength isn't fun, or even sexy, but I think the ability to support your body weight is important.  Not just for “extreme” activities like Rock Climbing and Aerials, but upper body strength is great for general fitness, and every day activities like lifting heavy objects, opening jars, carrying heavy purses, or bags of groceries.  Before I started lifting my “shoulders” (I now know this muscle group to be my traps) were always sore, I mean ALWAYS! A few months ago, I realized that for the past year, unless they were sore from a good workout, my traps no longer hurt, likewise with my lower back.  

Don't be this guy!

 After all, how many of us have chuckled at cartoons or gifs depicting men with a HUGE muscular upper body and little scrawny legs, mocking the fact that most guys don’t work out their lower body.  It looks funny, but if we don’t work on the muscles above our abdomens, we’re essentially doing the same thing!  Ladies, we gotta do better!!  So grab some dumbells and come join Michelle Obama and I at the gun show!

For those of you new to lifting or unsure where to start here's a little video from fitsugar.com with some great arm workouts, to help get you started.

Armed and dangerous,

Candydiva04

Posted in: Arms,circus,Circus Aerials,fitness,flying trapeze,goals,Michelle Obama,shoulder workout,Upper Body strenght,work out buddies