Picture this: Picture-perfect bodyparts like these can be yours by following a few simple moves - Brief Article

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Feb-March, 2002 by Michelle Basta Boubion

The beauty of the female form has been painted, sculpted and drawn For literally thousands of years. The most extraordinary element at artful expression lies within the interpretation at what the artist sees when gazing upon a subject. Michelangelo created forms true to life using dark colors and realistic nuances. Within the same Renaissance period, Botticelli painted pictures of fantastical creatures, including Venus. the goddess at love, in his most famous painting. Primavera."

Yet how often is it that a woman can look at, let alone study, herself in the mirror and truly compliment herself an what she observes? Pressures to conform to the images that flash before us an movie and television screens, as well as on the pages at fashion and fitness magazines, take their toll on the female psyche. and too few of us truly appreciate our own physical beauty. Sidelined by minute characteristics that serve to make up who we are as women, we sometimes condemn ourselves 'to lives at disappointment, eating disorders, negative self-talk and worse, all because at what we think the perfect body should look like. Beginning right now, consider the perfect body to be the one you see in the mirror. Embrace your womanhood, the miracle at what your body can do: cherish your curves, the shapely bodyparts that make you a woman. Celebrate the elegance and splendor at what and who you are. The images in this article otter an interpretation at one woman, one physique, that captures the essence at what we fin d most empowering: strength combined with femininity. Included next to each bodypart photo are exercises and descriptions that can you in achieving your goal at creating a stranger body. Love your body, love yourself and always strive tar improvement, be it mental, physical or spiritual.

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double crunch

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head, knees bent, feet off the floor. Contract your abs and raise both your torso and your hips -- think about bringing your ribs and hips together. Try to maintain tension in your abs as you return to the start position.

crossover crunch

Stabilize yourself on an exercise ball with feet hip-width apart and flat on the floor. With your hands behind your head. contract your abs and cross your left shoulder toward your right knee. Repeat for reps on one side, then move to the other.

shoulders strong shapely chest

froggies

Lie on your tummy on a bench, hips hanging off the end. Press your feet together with our knees apart, and drop you legs toward the floor. Squeeze your glutes as you raise your feet and legs. (For added resistance, place a lightweight dumbbell between your feet before lying on the bench.)

walking lunge

With dumbbells in hand, take a long step forward with one leg, drop your back knee toward the floor, then press up through the foot of our forward leg as you bring the other leg in to meet it. Alternate from side to side as you make your way across the floor.

lateral raise

Stand on one end of the tubing and grasp the other end in the same-side hand. With a slight bend in your elbow, raise that arm upward and outward to about shoulder height. Lower carefully, making sure to keep continuous tension in the band throughout the set. Can also be done with a dumbbell.

awesome arms

Assume the push-up position, hands a little wider than shoulders, toes on the floor, torso stable, back and neck naturally curved. Lower your body toward the floor, hold for a beat, then press back up to start.

push-up

arnold overhead press

Sit on the end of a bench with dumbbells in hand. Bring both weights to your shoulders, palms facing your body. Press the dumbbells overhead, and as you lift them, turn your palms so that they face away from your body by the time your arms are fully extended overhead.

dumbbell press (not pictured)

Lie on your back on an exercise ball -- head, neck and upper back supported -- with dumbbells in hand. Press the dumbbells up over your upper chest, squeeze. then lower the weights back out to your sides. Don't let your elbows drop much lower than shoulder level.

bench dip

Sit on the side of a bench, hands close to your hips, legs extended. Slide your hips off the bench and bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor. Squeeze your triceps as you press back to the start position.

Triceps extension

Stand on one end of the tubing and grasp the other end in the same-side hand. Making sure there is resistance on the band before starting the exercise, extend your arm overhead, keeping your wrist as straight as possible. Lower behind your head carefully, keeping tension in the working muscle throughout the set. Can also be done with a dumbbell.

Biceps curl

Stand with tubing secured under both feet, tension equal on both sides. Hold the handles and curl both arms up toward your shoulders. Lower carefully, making sure to keep some resistance in the band at all times. Keep your elbows locked at your sides. Can also be done with dumbbells.

seated dumbbell curl