Help a rookie's strength training schedule?

pistachiopeas

I'm doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred every day in April (btw, there is a fantastic support group if anyone wants to join) and also walking my dog anywhere from 1-4 miles per day at a pace of 3.5 mph or more, if I can manage it. One of my biggest priorities is to tone my arms. I have a good weight lifting routine that works all areas of the arm. Should I do it 3 days in a row and then skip 1 day and then do 3 days again? Or do you take a 2 day break? I don't feel that the 30DS has as much tricep focus as I would like so I want to augment, but I also don't want to do too much too soon. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

JenMc14

Muscles need 24-48 hours rest in between workouts. And, no amount of target exercise are going to "tone" your arms. "Tone" comes from having a low enough body fat percentage for the muscle you do have to come through. That comes from a caloric deficit. Find a good progressive resistance program, one revolving around compound lifts is generally seen as best, but there's lots of bodyweight stuff out there, too, do cardio you like and eat at a deficit, and you'll get the look you want, although it will take time.