Flexing those muscles the right way!!

It's no coincidence that biceps increase in strength/size when you do classic dumbbell exercises. That is, bending your elbow and "pulling" the weight towards you. But is that the right way to work out the arm?

The structure of the human arm is designed so that the elbow bends only one way. No wonder people bend their elbows the natural way while training their biceps! I'd certainly find it awkward to try and bend my elbow backward.

However, let us hypothetically say that you kneel down next to a chair and rest your upper arm and shoulder on the seat. Then, you let your elbow naturally bend & the hand falls toward the ground while holding the weight. Next, lifting up the weight by un-bending the elbow will mean that you're mainly training the muscles which are situated opposite your biceps (i.e. the armpit).

I recommend extreme care: it's not as easy as it sounds if you have a relatively weak arm! You might end up with an arm ache too.

If you're about to learn Bharatanatyam, you won't even need to work out your converging muscles: the dance is legendary for strengthening your body in a holistic manner.

- natyayogis