With Fall around the corner, you can’t get lazy with your fitness. These arm workouts are great for getting stronger as well as toning and defining your arms! Some can be done at home/with no weights others might require something. The good thing is for some you can use alternatives to weights such as gallon jugs filled with water (or even better filled with sand!) or get creative! As long as you feel the burn then it’s working. Here are 10 arm workouts you have to try this Fall!
The battle rope workout is a fantastic exercise when wanting good arm workouts. The combination of movement and resistance makes it great for boosting your metabolic burn rate thus you are burning more fat and packing on more muscle. So you’ll be strengthening and also toning so makes for a great choice for your arm workouts. A common form when using the battle rope is the “biceps wave” where you’ll wave the ropes up and down as fast as possible while alternating your arms. Try to get a rhythm that’s both high and fast! You’ll have slightly bent knees as well as slightly sitting back to use your core to keep you balanced and upright.
A Renegade Row is similar to a push-up in terms of the starting position, but the movement is more of a “row.” You’ll be in the push-up starting position with your hands positioned about shoulder-width and your feet behind you keeping your back as flat as possible. You’ll be holding onto either dumbbells or kettlebells. You’ll alternate arms and row one of your weights up toward your side while balancing on your other hand and feet. Then slowly bring the weight back down to the ground and alternate sides. You should start with a low weight to get used to the movement and balance needed. This is great for your arm workouts because you’ll be activating your biceps (mainly) and your back for the row as well as your shoulders, triceps, and core to keep yourself balanced.
Seated Arnold Press is great for arm workouts that strengthen your triceps and also help define the surrounding muscles like your shoulders. This makes your toned arms stand out even more! You will need dumbbells for this exercise or maybe you could make do with some alternative just be careful. Sit on a bench at 90-degrees with your back straight up and supported. Pick up your dumbbells (start with low weight) and hold them up so your arms also nearly make a 90-degree angle. Your starting position is your palms should be facing toward you, dumbbells about level with your face, and with your elbows almost touching across your chest. Extend your elbows out to your sides and at the same time overhead press the dumbbells until your elbows are nearly locked and now your palms are facing away from you. Do the motion in reverse and go back to the starting position. A great addition to your arm workouts for toning and strengthening those triceps!
Pushups in general are great for arm workouts because they can be done anywhere and also have lots of variations. If you really wanna focus on your triceps then do diamond push-ups instead. For these, you’ll put your hands together underneath your chest with your fingers and thumbs touching to make a diamond/triangle. If you place your hands farther apart and you’ll be focusing the workout on your chest muscles instead of your triceps. If you find yourself unable to do a regular push-up, then it can easily altered be and made easier by leaving your knees on the ground. These make great arm workouts so definitely add them to your routine to strengthen and define those triceps!
Towel pull-ups make great arm workouts for your biceps and your forearms. Take note this is a difficult exercise so don’t be embarrassed to start with just a few reps at the beginning. Take two towels and throw them over a pull-up bar. You’ll grip the towel ends and do your pull-ups making sure to keep your chest up and shoulders down. By using towels you’ll really concentrate and work your forearm muscles for a really strong grip as you crush the towels to pull yourself up. If it’s too difficult you can build up to it by using one towel for one hand and your other hand will be on the pull-up bar then alternate hands. Strengthening your grip as well as your biceps with these kinds of arm workouts really help really define and tone your forearms (grip) and biceps!
Tricep dips are great for arm workouts as it really isolates your triceps! No equipment needed you can just use a sturdy chair, bench, etc. as long as it can hold your weight Place your hands on the bench with your fingers towards your legs and extend your legs out with your heels touching the ground and a slight bend to your knees. While holding yourself up in front of the edge of the chair, lower your body until your elbows bend to almost 90 degrees. Careful not to lower yourself too far as that can strain and maybe even hurt your shoulders. Slowly push yourself back up to your starting position and repeat. Be careful not to lock your elbows during reps. You want to keep them slightly soft to maintain tension on your triceps and prevent possible injury.
This exercise doesn’t seem like it belongs with these other arm workouts but it’s actually great for both grip and strengthening your forearms! Grab a pair of dumbbells and walk around until you can’t hold the weights anymore. You should try the exercise first to see what you can carry for a test before jumping to any really heavy weight. You want to be barely hanging on to the weight when time is up. If you want more difficulty you could do some lunges while walking to get a leg workout in as well. You do these enough and you’ll have defined and strong forearms in no time!
You’ll probably need a dumbbell for this exercise but besides that, you can do them anywhere! Take your dumbbell and hold it in both hands by the handle holding it behind your neck. Your hands should be touching the back of the neck. Straighten your arm and lift the dumbbell above your head (careful not to hit your head with it!) then slowly lower it back down after fully straightening your arm. Try and keep your elbows tight and go slowly at first to not strain yourself. If you only have lighter weight dumbbells then you can do it with one arm at a time. A great addition to your arm workouts to really strengthen your triceps and shoulders!
This is a more aerobic choice for arm workouts but is great for toning and defining your arms! Get into a push-up position (high plank) with palms flat, hands shoulder-width apart, legs extended behind you, etc. Then you’ll begin alternating tapping your hands to the opposite shoulder (right hand to left shoulder) while also engaging your core and glutes to keep your hips high up. The tension of holding yourself up combined with the tapping motion makes this great for arm workouts that you can also do anywhere!
Barbell curls are great arm workouts for both your forearms and biceps. Take a solid, normal stance and then grip a barbell so your palms will be facing outward (away from you). Make sure to keep your elbows tight to your sides and curl the barbell up to the top of your chest. Once the barbell reaches the top of your chest squeeze your biceps for about one second then slowly lower the bar back down. Go for slow reps to really control and squeeze your biceps at the top of the movement. Start with a lower weight to get used to the form because it’s really important to get it right to avoid injury!
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