Title: Totally Toned Arms: Get Michelle Obama Arms in 21 Days
Author: Rylan Duggan, cscs
Publisher: Wellness Central
Publication Date: January 6, 2010
Paperback: 192 pages
ISBN: 9780446563352
Genre: Health/Fitness

About the Book:

Once Barack Obama joined the presidential race and attended events with wife at his side, the media, bloggers, and people everywhere started buzzing about Michelle’s toned arms–and asking how on earth she does it. Even at the Presidential Inauguration, much of the talk was about Michelle’s amazing arms. Media outlets from GMA to CNN to MSNBC have covered the story, inspiring women across the country to call their personal trainers and say, “I want Obama arms!”

Certified personal trainer Rylan Duggan, creator of the successful (and pricey, at $70 each!) e-book series Go Sleeveless!, constantly gets calls from clients and reporters asking for the training secrets behind Michelle’s arms. Duggan is the expert quoted in much of this coverage, and in TOTALLY TONED ARMS, he offers his 21-day program to get those sleek and sexy arms.

In this low-priced paperback, Duggan reveals the program (combining strength training and cardio) including a 7-day jumpstart maintenance plan, and essential diet secrets designed to shed fat and reveal toned muscle, plus 50-60 black and white photos throughout to illustrate. This is a simple program that anyone can do, no matter what their fitness level, at home and with little equipment. With this series of 25 easy exercises, anyone can have Obama arms– in a matter of weeks!

My Review:

The idea of having lean sculpted arms in 21 Days intrigued me enough to read through Totally Toned Arms: Get Michelle Obama Arms in 21 Days by Rylan Duggan, CSCS, and make plan. In Duggan’s book he offers sound advice, debunks the myths, once again, that there is no such thing as spot reduction and detox products do not work, for which I give him high marks. Duggan proceeds to discuss how nutrition and exercise are necessary components to not only fit arms, but also a fit lifestyle, offering up various cardio selections and tips for eating healthier. Duggan devotes a page per exercise, describing each exercise with detailed photographs on how to effectively execute each exercise. Then the work begins.

Duggan charts out 21 days of arm exercises, in 15-minute segments, coupled with aerobic exercise and eating nutritiously, making for a very straightforward plan. At this point I must mention I had not planned to post my review until the 21 days were completed. I have been exercising for years and consider myself to be fairly fit, and no, my arms are not lean and sleek, and so I thought I would give it a go. Medically I was unable to complete the 21 days, or rather, I could continue and live in worse pain or cut the programme short. I mention this next part simply because what I have is rare, less than 1% of the population suffers from it, therefore my inability to complete the programme without dreadful pain, headache pain that is, is due to a genetic fluke, not the programme itself. Being ever persistent I coerced my husband to try the 15-minute a day arm exercises. While he is not overweight, he does not get much exercise. The first day winded him dreadfully and by day 3 he could not aerobically complete the exercises.

The first week of exercises one is moving at a rapid clip through burpees, mountain climbers, and three other equally aerobic moves. Unfortunately for this household, the book was simply not going to work. However, I applaud the sound principles and advise offered in this book. I found the detailed exercises to be clearly described and believe this programme could benefit one who is already accustomed to some aerobic exercise and does not have a history of head, neck, shoulder, or back problems, or if one does, I would strongly recommend consulting with one’s physician before trying Totally Toned Arms.

About the Author:

‘Coach Rylan’ was born and raised in a small town in rural British Columbia where he spent his youth working on the family farm in his spare time.
However, even with all the hard physical labor of farm life, Rylan struggled with his weight throughout his childhood and teens. Turning his frustration into a challenge, he went back to school to pursue a degree in Human Kinetics.
Today Rylan draws on his education and first hand experience to transform the bodies of his clients at Adonis Fitness, his personal training studio in Vernon, British Columbia. In addition to Totally Toned Arms, is also the author of the internationally best selling Go Sleeveless System.

Visit RylanDuggan.com
Or check out GoSleevelessBlog.com
You can also follow @CoachRylan on Twitter.

I received a free copy of Totally Toned Arms by Rylan Duggan from Hachette as part of the tour. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.