Here is an excerpt from the All New Go Sleeveless DVD System.  This exercise is one that I’ve created to really help target the hard-to-hit areas of the upper arms that are notorious for lacking tone, as well as areas that are more prone to sagging.

‘The Drummer’ utilizes the twisting motion of your entire arm, starting with the wrist, and combines that with rotation of the torso to effectively sculpt your arms while tightening and toning your midsection and tummy at the same time.

To get all the sets and reps for this exercise, and to learn how to combine it with other exercises for sculpting your arms in 6 weeks or less, get the complete Go Sleeveless DVD set at GoSleeveless.com

Coach Rylan

Here is a sneak peak at one of the full-body toning exercises featured in the ALL NEW Go Sleeveless DVD.  I call this one the ‘Canadian Twist’, because it’s a new and improved version of an old school exercise called the ‘Russian Twist’, and since I am Canadian, I figure the name fits.

I created this exercise to help really tighten up your entire midsection, hitting the abs and obliques, and the low back all at once – enabling you to eliminate love handles and muffin top, while sculpting your upper arms at the same time.  While you do the same amount of work as the Russian Twist, this exercise will give you TWICE the results.  That’s because the simple act of using a resistance band makes your muscles work twice as hard because you need to overcome the increasing tension as you rotate.  A Russian Twist with a medicine ball only requires you to balance the weight, and even a cable machine won’t give you the same effect because the resistance doesn’t increase the further away you rotate.

This move really works the triceps and upper arms too, which you wouldn’t think it does just by looking at it.  However, as it forces you to lock out your shoulders and arms, it hits them isometrically (working the muscle while not moving) and will make a huge difference at how firm your upper arms feel.

Remember, the Go Sleeveless System has many new, never-before seen exercises that will help you sculpt your upper arms – but that DOES NOT come at the expense of the rest of your body – as this exercise proves.

The New Go Sleeveless System It is packed with complete Arm Sculpting workouts, and Full Body Workouts, and over 90% of the exercises are entirely new – many of them created and designed by yours truly – such as this Canadian Twist.

The complete version of this exercise, and all the sets and reps and detailed instructions can be found in the ALL NEW Go Sleeveless System coming soon to DVD.

Stay Tuned,

Coach Rylan

I often get sent free products from various trainers and companies that want me to check their stuff out and give it an endorsement.  Usually I pass, but this has been sitting on my shelf for a few months and I figured it deserved a closer look.

This is the Arm Shaper from Dynaflex Pro.

Coach Rylan

I’m all for having huge home-gym set-ups with thousands of dollars of top-tier training equipment at your disposal.  After all, I am a fitness guy, it’s what I do.

Just like I’m sure any tech-geek would love to have a room full of the most expensive and cutting edge supercomputers with the most powerful processors, graphics cards, and Terabytes of memory ready to be exploited.

But do we need it to get the job done?

Without a doubt – NO.

Would it be nice?  Sure.

But for the average person who wants to get a great workout in at home, without having to fork out major cash for expensive and expansive equipment, and without dedicating half of the square footage of your home to workout space – there really are only a few essentials that you need.

They’re cheap.  They’re compact.  And you can easily get a gym-quality workout with these items without stepping out of your front door.

I call them the 4 ‘B’s of fitness equipment.

Can you guess what they are?

UPDATE BELOW:

Nice work everyone!  I was really impressed with the answers.  It actually made me think that I should have changed it to the 5 Bs’.

Anyway, the answer is Bench, Ball, Bells (as in Dumbbells), and Bands.

Bodyweight is indeed one of the essentials, but I don’t consider it ‘equipment’ per se, so that’s why I leave it out.  Brains on the other hand – as strange as it may sound – not really required.

For some programs maybe, but I always strive to take thinking out of the equation with my programs.  You don’t need to sit through an exercise physiology lesson – you just need to be shown what to do, and then go do it.

So lets break this down a little…

Ball - a good stability ball has many uses, and it actually can double up as a bench for nearly all bench exercises.  It’s also fantastic for core strengthening exercises, and I’ve invented a couple brand new – never before seen – arm sculpting exercises that will make an appearance in the new Go Sleeveless DVD system – and these exercises take advantage of the ball to bring you even more arm sculpting and definition than ever before.

Bench - a good sturdy bench is a fantastic companion, and you can find many great models that fold up and slide right under your bed.  A bench offers good stable support for exercises where the movement of a ball is inappropriate.  For example, Step-Ups, Bench Dips, and Bench Knee Tucks are exercises that MUST be done with a bench.  A Bench also offers a great platform for performing assisted push-ups, Incline Presses, and much more.  If you don’t yet have a bench, seriously consider picking one up.

Bands – Bands often get a bad wrap from some trainers because many feel they don’t provide enough resistance to offer much of a challenge to your muscles.  I disagree entirely.  You can get bands that range in tension from very light, to exceedingly heavy.  I personally use a set of bands in my studio called ‘Superbands’ that actually provide up to 100lbs of resistance.  You can pull a truck with this thing!  That’s a challenge!

Bands are simply the single best option for allowing you to perform a huge repertoire of exercises with something that costs little more than 10 bucks, and can be stuffed in your purse and taken with you anywhere.  Hotel workouts, office workouts, exercises on the go – no problem if you’ve got a band.  In fact, in the upcoming DVD, I will be adding in bonus office workouts, hotel workouts, and travel workouts that you do in 5 minutes and all you will need is your band and your body.

Bells - A good set of Dumbbells completes my list of 4 essential pieces of equipment.  Some exercises you just cant do with body-weight, and many band exercises just aren’t the same as their dumbbell counterparts.  But there is very little that you cant do with a set of dumbbells.  I always recommend getting a pair of dumbbells from 5-25 pounds in 5 pound increments for beginners – and you should go as high as one set above what you could currently use for a dumbbell chest press exercises.  Dumbbells or “Free Weights’ beat out machine exercises every time.  They work more muscles, allow more movement, and give you total freedom of range of movement to suit your personal body mechanics.

For less than half the price of just ONE single machine you find in a gym, you could outfit your home workout space with everything listed above, and more, and still have all of your free space available.

Quite simply, there is not an exercise machine in existence that can match what the 4 Bs of Fitness Equipment will provide for you.

Coach Rylan

PS.  In case you were wondering – the upcoming Go Sleeveless DVD set will not require any other specialized equipment other than what you read above.  And as I mentioned before, there will even be bonus workouts that require NO equipment at all.  Workout at home, the office, or on holidays.  Workout in 5 minutes.  Workout with no equipment.  No excuses left.  Go.

After a very labor intensive process, my first ‘hard-copy’ book was finally released today, January the 6th, 2010.

When I got into the fitness industry I had no idea that my name would ever end up on the cover of a book.  But I have to admit, it is kinda cool to walk into a book store and see my work sitting there on the shelf – I feel like a proud parent.

But more importantly, having this book released allows me the opportunity to reach an even greater audience and help even more women overcome their troubles with problem arms – and that is what this is all about – you the reader.

Thank you to everyone who has already picked up their copy (lots of my fellow Canadians must have gotten up nice and early to get their copy because Amazon.ca was already back-ordered this morning), and to those that haven’t yet, I don’t often ask for much – but if you can afford the 10 bucks for a copy – your support means a great deal to me – so thank you in advance.

The fitness book market is very competitive – and the more support this book receives – the more likley I will be able to publish another in the future.

Thanks again to each one of you -  I did this for you, so I hope you enjoy it and put it to good use.

Coach Rylan

PS.  Why does YouTube always chose a frame that makes me look like a bloody Orangutan?