Trainer spills secrets of Michelle Obama’s arms

Washington — At last, the secret to first lady Michelle Obama’s sculpted arms? Tricep pushdowns and hammer curls.

So says Cornell McClellan, Mrs. Obama’s longtime personal trainer, who described the workout routine of his famous client in the October issue of Women’s Health magazine. She began working with McClellan in 1997 at his Chicago fitness studio.

McClellan said that at the end of an intense routine of cardio workouts and weight training, Mrs. Obama finishes with the “arm-shaping superset” of tricep pushdowns and hammer curls to tone one of the most commented-upon pair of arms in the world. Mrs. Obama often wears sleeveless outfits.

How to get arms like Mrs. Obama’s?

Perform one set of tricep pushdowns using a straight bar attached to the high pulley of a cable station and then, without resting, follow with a set of hammer curls using dumbbells. Immediately repeat the entire process until two or three sets of both exercises have been completed.

The details of Mrs. Obama’s fitness routine came as part of a series of interviews by President Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama on health care and their personal fitness and nutrition habits.

Obama was interviewed by Men’s Health; he also was featured in the magazine last November. Mrs. Obama gave her first interviews to Women’s Health and Children’s Health, a new magazine by Rodale Inc., publisher of the men’s and women’s health magazines.

All three magazines will hit newsstands on Sept. 15.

Chavez walks Venice red carpet with Stone

Venice, Italy — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez received a movie star welcome Monday at the Venice Film Festival, where he walked the red carpet with director Oliver Stone for the premiere of the documentary “South of the Border.”

Hundreds of admirers, some chanting “president, president,” gathered outside of the Casino for the leader’s arrival. A few held up Venezuelan flags and a banner in Spanish that read “Welcome, president.”

Chavez praised Stone’s work for depicting what he said were improvements made across Latin America.

“Rebirth is happening in Latin America, and Stone went to look for it and he found it,” Chavez told reporters. “With his cameras and his genius, he’s captured a good part of that rebirth.”

Stone says “South of the Border” is meant to illustrate “the sweeping changes” in South America in recent years as a direct counterpoint to what he sees as Chavez’s depiction as a dictator by U.S. and European media.

Stone spent extensive time with Chavez for the 75-minute documentary, which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, and also interviewed the leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba and Paraguay, whom Stone said “are on the same page” as Chavez.

Banks goes back to her (hair) roots on show

Los Angeles — Tyra Banks is getting back to her roots for the season debut of her TV talk show, and she doesn’t mean that as a figure of speech.

On today’s fifth-season premiere of “The Tyra Show” on the CW network, the former supermodel goes on-camera with unadorned hair. Or as Banks puts it, “no wigs, extensions, no nothing.”

“It’s just me coming straight out of the shower with wet hair. My hairdresser’s going to do my hair live on stage,” said Banks, who will interview women with insecurities about their own tresses.

She aims to reassure them about how attractive their hair is naturally and “ask them to be brave enough to show it to everybody on national television,” Banks said.

It’s part of her mission to help redefine the emotional issue of beauty for women, both within and without, she said.