Energy Express by Marilynn Preston

Floppy underarms can happen to anyone. One minute you lift your arms, and all is tight, firm and fully packed. Time passes. Next thing you know, your underarm flesh is soft and sagging. If you poke it, it jiggles. Better not to poke it.

But what about all those sleeveless tops you want to wear and look buff in? Is it still possible? Can Michelle Arms happen to just anyone?

In a way, yes. The muscles in your body are amazing creatures. Work them — even into your 80s and 90s! — and they will make it happen.

Can targeted exercises make sagging underarm flesh go away? No, not without overall weight loss, but toning and firming can make a big difference in how you look and more important to those on the Healthy Lifestyle path, in how you feel.

Strength training — not just your arms, but a balanced program that works you entire body, front to back — is a great way to give yourself a confidence boost, even when other things in your life may be falling apart.

Weight training — using proper form, active breathing and other principles of yoga — focuses your mind and lifts your spirit.

It ought to be happening all over the United States, free, for all citizens, in the empty storefronts that are developing so quickly in malls, downtowns, vacated car lots. Turn them into Citizen Gyms. Make the bailed-out banks pay for proper staffing and child care. Wouldn't this be a great way to help solve the country's crippling medical crisis, by promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing demand for doctors, pills and costly surgeries?

But I digress. Back to floppy underarms. The muscle that hangs there is your triceps. You don't have to pay for a gym or hire a trainer to bring it back from the dead. You can learn to do the Triceps Dip and — no excuses! — you can do it pretty much anywhere: at home, in the office or on the road.

HOW TO DO A TRICEPS DIP: Stand in front of a stable chair or bench, your back to the seat. (If you think it might slip, back it up against the wall). Bend your knees, and place your hands behind you, on the edge of the seat, palms down, fingers pointed toward you and gripping the edge.

Check to make sure your hands are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Move your legs away from the chair, feet slightly apart. You may keep your knees bent, or extend all the way to your heels, depending on your strength when you begin. Eventually, you want to move toward fully extended legs.

Don't lock your elbows, but do straighten your arms behind you, keeping your elbows close to your sides.

Feel strong and aligned in that position. Move your shoulder blades together, and draw them down your back. Fire up your legs. Energize your torso. Be sure your neck muscles are relaxed, or you'll wake up with a stiff neck.

Before you dip, focus on your breath. Exhale with enthusiasm as you slowly bend at the elbows and lower your hips straight down, keeping your back and butt close to the seat edge.

Lower with awareness, in control. Keep your spine long, and engage your abdominal muscles to avoid arching your back. Let your arms do the work, not your legs. Avoid jerky movements. Your shoulders will want to hunch up toward your ears or round forward. Don't let them. Find your shoulder blades, and draw them closer to each other and down your back, opening your heart to the sky.

Once you're down, give your triceps a little squeeze as you inhale. Then exhale, and press back up to the starting position by slowly straightening your arms. When you get to the top, pause, reset your alignment, and do another dip.

If you can only do one at the beginning, do one. If you can do five, do five. Start where you are, and gradually increase the number until you can do 12 to 15 easily, with your legs fully extended. When that's easy, try doing your dips with one leg lifted, alternating legs.

And remember, strengthening your triceps is only part of the Killer Arms story. Don't forget your biceps. Be glad you don't have uniceps.

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! KEEP LAUGHING

"I don't exercise. If God wanted me to bend over, he'd have put diamonds on the floor." — Joan Rivers

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She has a website, http://marilynnpreston.com and welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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