Arm-toning exercises simplified

 

IF you are aiming to boost your upper-body strength, don’t neglect your arms.

Strengthening the arm muscles can go a long way when it comes to making it easier to tote around luggage, throw a football, or swing a tennis racket, as well as promoting long-term bone health.

All you need to build seriously strong arms is a pair of dumb-bells, about 15 minutes, and this list of the absolute best arm toning exercises to make your own arm work-out.

Small-but-mighty dumb-bells make it possible to work all of your arm muscles – think your delts (shoulders), biceps (fronts of your upper arms), and triceps (backs of your upper arms) from pretty much anywhere, whether it’s at the gym or in your bedroom.

And yes, strength training is key if you want to sculpt your arms.

 

Your best bet is to incorporate a variety of arm exercises into your work-outs regularly (two to three times a week).

You can either incorporate them into full-body or upper-body work-outs, or dedicate a few sessions per week specifically to arm work-outs with weights.

Time: 15 minutes | Equipment: dumbbells

Instructions: For a full arm work-out, choose six moves from the list below.

Perform 12 reps of each, then continue to the next move without a break.

 

When you finish all six, rest for 60 seconds, then repeat three more times for a total of four rounds.

Biceps curl

How to:

Start standing with feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumb-bells at the sides.

 

Palms should be facing forward with back straight and chest upright.

Without moving upper arms, bend elbows and bring weights up toward shoulders.

Slowly lower the dumb-bells back to starting position with control. That’s 1 rep.

Cactus arms

How to:

Start standing on the mat, feet hip-width apart.

Holding dumb-bells in both hands, bring elbows together and up so arms form 90-degree angles and elbows are at shoulder height.

Keeping core stable, open elbows as wide as possible.
Bring them together again.

That’s 1 rep.

Upright row

How to:

Start standing with feet hip-width apart, with arms resting in front of body and a dumb-bell in each hand.

Lift dumb-bells by raising elbows until they reach chest-level.

Slowly lower them back down to waist with control and repeat.

That’s 1 rep.

Lying overhead triceps extension

How to:

Lie on back with knees bent and feet placed flat on the ground, about a foot from butt.

Hold a dumb-bell in each hand and extend arms up over shoulders, palms facing toward each other.

Slowly bend at the elbows to bring weights toward floor, close to temples.

Pause, then slowly extend arms to bring the weights back overhead. That’s 1 rep. – Online.