For additional information regarding publicity or press related matters, please contact us at 212-255-5842.

She’s Pumped. Your Turn.
New York Times, March 19, 2009
By LIZ ROBBINS

THE arms have taken on a life of their own. They have provoked controversy, envy, a bit of backlash, even bad puns about the right to bare them. But enough debate and deconstruction. Now women are talking about construction.

“I want Michelle Obama arms,” Julie Eich told her trainer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan two weeks ago, uttering a request echoing off many gym mirrors these days.

In recent months, the first lady has bared her toned biceps, triceps and shoulders at the Inaugural Ball, on the covers of Vogue and People, at her husband’s first televised address to Congress and in her official White House photograph. She does not have Madonna’s sinewy muscles popping out of paper-thin skin. Nor, with her solid 5-foot-11 frame, does Mrs. Obama, who is 45, have a typical runway model body. That makes her image even more admirable to many women, and perhaps even attainable.

“It’s great to see a first lady that looks good, wears great clothes and takes care of herself,” said Guthrie Schweitzer, 34, who has two daughters.

While watching the election campaign — most often, from a treadmill — she could not help mentioning Mrs. Obama’s physique to the director of personal training at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, Keith Gittens, who helped her lose 35 pounds.

“I don’t know anyone who sees her and doesn’t think, ‘That’s the type of woman I want to be,’ ” she said.

It is one thing, however, to emulate Michelle Obama by buying from J. Crew or one of the designers she favors. It is another thing to do some biceps curls and achieve instant results.

“You work hard to look like that,” Simone Scott, 47, said, before adding with a sigh: “I had those arms once upon a time. And then, I fell off the wagon.”

So Ms. Scott called her trainer, Brad Schoenfeld, after a 10-year hiatus, which included the birth of her twins, now 4 years old. A visiting nurse in the Bronx, Ms. Scott has returned to twice-weekly sessions with Mr. Schoenfeld in Scarsdale, N.Y. He is the owner of the Personal Training Center for Women and the author of several fitness books, including “Sculpting Her Body Perfect.”

There is no single, easy route to arms like Mrs. Obama’s (dubbed “Thunder” and “Lightning” by David Brooks, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times). Instead, the trainers recommend an integrated workout that combines weight lifting — working the opposing muscles in the biceps, triceps and shoulders in one session — along with cardio activities, core strength development and, equally important, diet.

“You can have the best muscle definition, but if you have that layer of fat over it, you’ll never see the tone underneath,” Mr. Schoenfeld said.

Mrs. Obama has not revealed details of her workouts, although she has said that she trains in the morning several times a week (before her daughters wake up), lifting weights and doing cardio, and working with a personal trainer who has also guided her husband.

Trainers are careful, though, to warn their clients who choose to emulate a celebrity role model. “You have to have their genetics,” said Mr. Schoenfeld, who added, “That covers about 50 percent, but if you train, everyone has the ability to look terrific within their own genetic framework.”

Putting heredity aside, to build the better arm in the mold of Mrs. Obama, trainers suggest developing one specific shoulder muscle: the medial deltoid.

“The shoulders are important because they create the whole illusion of the upper body and mask flaws below,” Mr. Schoenfeld said. “The side part of the deltoid muscle is what gives you a shapely look.”

Trainers suggest one specific exercise for that: lateral raises. The client, holding dumbbells, raises her arms out to her side, repeating the motion 10 to 12 times, for three sets. For people who want a leaner look, trainers suggest using a lower weight with more repetitions (15 to 20).

To work the biceps, there is the standing biceps curl, flexing at the elbow. That should be paired with triceps kickbacks, either standing or leaning on a bench, extending the arm backward. Triceps can also be developed with a variety of bench presses, or dips using a chair or bench.

The goal? “You don’t want the triceps to wiggle,” Mr. Gittens said.

Traditional pushups, as well as pushups on a stability ball, also engage the triceps and biceps. In fact, for a more comprehensive workout, trainers suggest doing several exercises on the stability ball to develop core strength.

David Guzman, the program director of personal training for Method Fitness in Manhattan, is pleased that the first lady has inspired women to take care of their bodies. “From the perspective of sound fitness, though, I’m not going to change my program just to focus on arms,” Mr. Guzman said. “You want to train the body from the inside out, as opposed to doing isolated muscle movements like biceps curls. Now the general movement in fitness tends to be full body and core conditioning.”

Ms. Eich, 28, had some full-body goals, she told her new trainer at Equinox. “I wanted more energy, more endurance for running and most definitely those arms,” she said.

At 5-foot-5 and 125 pounds, Ms. Eich knows she has a different body type than Mrs. Obama, but she wants to achieve the same overall image. “She’s a buff mom,” said Ms. Eich, herself a mother of a 14-month-old son.

Some women fear that lifting weights will lead to bulking, not buffing, but trainers and researchers say many women don’t push themselves hard enough. “You need to challenge the muscles,” Mr. Schoenfeld said. “It should be a struggle on the last few reps.”

Miriam Nelson, the director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University, has studied the effects of strength training for women, publishing several books. She has worked specifically with women 40 and older. “In 12 weeks, you see significant gains in muscle strength, and reductions in body fat,” she said.

She was the vice chairwoman for the country’s new physical activity guidelines, written by the United States Department of Health and Human Services this fall, and has been thrilled to have Mrs. Obama and President Barack Obama as fitness role models.

Ms. Nelson said she and her colleagues celebrated Mrs. Obama’s official White House portrait, identifying the sleeveless look as a fitness trend that surpasses fashion.

“I can tell you, over and over again, whether it’s women 45, 65, or 85, when they do strength training and see the results, one of the first things they like to do is wear sleeveless shirts,” Dr. Nelson said. “They are proud of their body.”

Method Fitness Introduces Fitness Boot Camps in New York City
Method Fitness in New York City has launched fitness boot camp classes to be held five times each weekday in Central Park.

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 31, 2008 -- Method Fitness, a New York City-based health and fitness company, announced today the introduction of fitness boot camp classes to be held Monday through Friday in New York's Central Park. The new group workout classes are a departure from Method Fitness's individual personal training service, but will continue the firm's emphasis on cardio and core strengthening for total body fitness.

"Our classes are fitness boot camps in the sense that they are an hour of intense, focused activity," stated David Guzman, program director and certified personal trainer. "But the classes will be conducted by top notch personal trainers who are highly skilled in the science of exercise and health. These will not simply be classes of jumping jacks and pushups, but will follow the core strengthening regimen we use in our personal training."

Boot camp classes will be held in the morning at - 6:00 am, 7:15 and 9:30am - and in the evening - 6:00 pm and 7:15 pm. Participants will be able to purchase workout packages for either two or three classes per week. Monthly packages begin at $240.00.

Participants will meet at the fountain in front of the main entrance to the Plaza Hotel and workout in Central Park South. Clients are encouraged to bring their own 5-8lb weights, a mat, a towel and water. Classes are limited to 10 people per class.

For more information and to register for the boot camps, go to www.methodfitness.com/bootcamp.php. Method Fitness can be reached at 212-255-5842 in New York City, toll free at 888-276-6317, or online at www.methodfitness.com.


About Method Fitness

Method Fitness was founded 18 years ago to provide personal health and fitness services to the New York City metropolitan area. Method Fitness offers personal training, either in-gym or in-home; fitness retreats; fitness boot camps; yoga instruction; massage; and nutritional support and guidance.