Back when I was in my twenties, all I wanted was spaghetti arms. The long, lithe limbs sported by models Kate Moss and Shalom Harlow. Reader, they had little to muscle definition.
When I interviewed said models and asked them about achieving their slender frames, the main takeaway was it was effortless.
They reported good genes, youth and a diet of full-fat Coke and cigarettes. Because in the nineties, going to the gym was not cool.
© GettyBut Madonna was bucking the trend. There she was in Gaultier corsets flexing super muscly arms. And subsequently being torn to shreds by the media. She was ridiculed for looking manly. It left a generation of us afraid to lift weights for fear of becoming 'bulky.'
© Getty ImagesBut thank God, society moves on. And now looking fit rather than thin is in.
Trinny Woodall's arms
When 60-year-old Trinny Woodall recently wore an outfit that bared her toned, honed arms at a recent Vogue evet, it prompted column inches and Google searches.
© Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty ImaAt 60 she is, like Jennifer Aniston and Michelle Obama, bona fide arm inspo.
READ: Jennifer Aniston's 'mindful' workout for super toned arms at 55
Trinny's trainer Nathalie Haywards gave an insight into the What Not To Wear star's arms in an interview with The Times, explaining the beauty brand founder has worked hard to achieve her sculpted limbs in the gym.
She reportedly does weights sessions three times a week, lifting up to 20kg, as well as cutting down on sugar.
Strong arms at 50
At 50, my own arms are more toned than they’ve ever been. Before my only exercise was running. Now, like Trinny, I do regular weights sessions and put more focus on my upper body.
I do two or three workouts a week using my own body weight with exercises such as tricep dips and press ups. Then I swing kettle bells and lift dumbbells with my personal trainer who slowly ups the weights over time.
FITNESS INSPIRATION: I became a swimsuit model at 57 – and I feel more confident than ever
But, full disclosure, I guess I’m naturally lucky that the shape of my arms fit the mould of what current society deems to be desirable. (Less so with my bottom, but that's another column).
Sadly, I know some super fit women who berate themselves for having 'big' arms when in reality theirs are healthy and powerful.
Let's hope the aesthetic continues to move on and evolve and that strong becomes the look we all want - in all its shapes and sizes. Because that's surely the goal. Being fit and living in optimal health into our later years. Oh and being able to lift our grandchildren. That's the best look of all right?
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