First Lady Michelle Obama On Her Toned Arms: They’re Nothing Special

Many women would part with their first-born to have Michelle Obama's seriously toned arms, but if you ask the first lady, her enviable pair are nothing special.

"I just saw two weeks of Olympics athletes who have real arms, so I always wonder, well, what is it?" the 48-year Obama told iVillage during her first feature as their guest editor. "My arms do not compete with people who have 'real' arms."

Still, Obama is up and about at 4:30 each morning working on refining her already sculpted arms. "I usually get to the gym before he does. But he is usually there either in the middle of my workout or right at the end," the first lady said about her daily workout routine with President Obama.

Her habitual sessions with her husband have broadened her knowledge of sports. "We're watching Sports Center and we're catching up. That's why I know so much about sports . . . you start having an opinion about [Tim] Tebow and Mark Sanchez," she boasted.

Her first lady duties have yet to hinder her exercise regimen; if anything, a good workout is necessary after a long day of work.

"For me, [exercise] is a de-stresser, first and foremost," Obama explained. When FLOTUS is away from home, "I bring a jump rope. I can usually do some jump-roping in the hotel room," she says. "If I don't have a rope or space, I might do a 30-minute routine that includes a minute of jumping jacks, alternating with a minute of pushups and then some sit-ups. You take a 30-second break and do it again."

With such a serious determination for staying fit, we doubt a few french fries - her guilty pleasure --will have much effect on the first lady's trim waistline.

Obama may seem like a superwoman but she insist she's a regular mom, who runs low on energy from time to time. However, she gets an instant boost of energy from her warm staff and the people she visits.

"They're excited to see you, and the minute you step out there and begin to talk about the issues that you care about, you feed off of the energy and the hope and the excitement of the people who are there to see you. All the fatigue goes away," she said during a Good Housekeeping interview.