Way, way too many women avoid or even fear arm workouts because they think they’re too hard — or worse, they worry about getting “too bulky.” First of all, strong muscles aren’t necessarily big muscles, so that fear is totally misplaced. (And even if that were how it worked, there’s nothing wrong with having big, defined muscles!)
Plus, strengthening your arms is in no way "too hard" — as long as you train within your abilities and build from there. The trick is to find moves that work your arms and your entire upper body, training everything as a unit in order to get functionally stronger (that means better at opening heavy doors and lifting things in your everyday life).
What you won’t find in this roundup is biceps curls. Because, unless you’re a fitness competitor who needs to create mass or definition, bending just your elbow for multiple reps is kind of a waste of time in terms of bang for your muscle-building buck. And, really, when was the last time you picked something up by first fully extending your elbow and then folding your forearm straight up toward your shoulder? (The answer should be never.) Your biceps, along with other, bigger muscles of your upper body, are much better served doing moves that get them working in synergy, not in isolation.
Ahead, a list of moves that meet these qualifications that you can pick and choose from to create your own arm workout. To put them together in a circuit, choose a rowing exercise, a chest-focused press or push-up, a shoulder press or raise, and a more total-body movement. Do three or four sets of 8 to 12 reps to make it a kick-ass upper-body circuit. Now get at it!
Wall Push-ups
One of the most functional exercises for the whole body is the standard push-up: Basically the entire upper body works in synergy for the movement part while the rest of your body (core, legs) have to brace to stabilize. If the full monty just isn’t your thang (yet), start at the top with this variation.
How-to: Stand in front of a wall at least three feet from it. Place your palms against the wall about shoulder-width apart and come up on your toes so your body forms an angled plank against the wall.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Wall Push-ups (cont.)
How-to: Brace your core by pulling in through your bellybutton and squeezing your glutes, then inhale as you bend your elbows out on an angle so that they form an A shape with your head and shoulders. Exhale to press your body back up to the plank. Once you can do 10 of these with ease, move on to incline pushups.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Supported Bent-Over Rows
The tough part about a lot of upper-body work, particularly work that targets the backs of the shoulders, is that you generally need to manipulate gravity in order to get at the right muscles. This one requires dumbbells or something heavy (worst case, start with a gallon jug of water, which weighs eight pounds). The gravity manipulator: Bend down so that your back is parallel to the floor, so when you lift the weight, the muscles you’re hitting are the shoulders and the biceps.
How-to: Place one bent knee and the hand of your same-side arm atop a bench (or a firm ottoman or couch frame, in a pinch), such that your knee is aligned under your hip and your arm is straight, with your wrist below your shoulder.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Supported Bent-Over Rows (cont.)
Hold your weight in your free hand, exhale as you slowly bend your elbow up toward the ceiling, allowing it just to graze your ribs and break the plane of your back. Inhale and slowly resist the weight as you allow your arm to straighten. Do 10 to 15 reps; then switch sides. If you have access to a variety of dumbbells, go heavy for this one (15 pounds or more), to the point at which completing 10 reps is a challenge, but you could probably do two more.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Unsupported Bent-Over Rows
Once you’ve mastered the bench-supported version, get your core into the act with this two-armed row.
How-to: Hold weights in both hands. Hinge at your waist, bending your knees slightly, so that your back is flat and close to parallel to the floor; your chest and shoulders should be open, not hunched over. It helps if you hold your gaze on something several feet ahead of you on the floor.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Unsupported Bent-Over Rows (cont.)
Exhale and slowly bend both your elbows up as you did before with one arm, so that they graze your ribs and just break the plane of your back. Inhale and lower back down slowly. Do 10 to 15 here (ideally with that heavy weight we just talked about).
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Bent-Over Row with Kickback
Adding this little bonus to the bent-over row targets the triceps (backs of the arms) without only targeting the triceps.
How-to: Go slightly lighter on the weights than you did for the rowing-only version of this move. Start in same position as you did for unsupported bent-over rows.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Bent-Over Row with Kickback (cont.)
Exhale and slowly bend both your elbows up, so that they graze your ribs and just break the plane of your back.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Bent-Over Row with Kickback (cont.)
Maintain that great hinged flat-back position and row your elbows up toward the ceiling, then extend your forearms straight so your arms are totally straight. Hold for a beat, then re-bend your elbows and slowly lower the weights back down.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Chest Presses
Just like your back and biceps tend to work together, so do your chest and triceps.
How-to: Snag some dumbbells (try at least 10-pounders) and start on your back on a bench or the floor. Hold the weights in the air with your elbows bent right along your sides; then, exhale and press the weights up straight over your chest.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Chest Presses (cont.)
Control as you inhale and bring the weights back down to the start. Another version: Wing your elbows out to the sides so they’re at about a 45-degree angles from your ribs. Press up to the top, bringing the ends of your dumbbells close to each other, but without clanging them.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Single-Arm Overhead Presses
Lifting weight overhead is super-common in our daily lives — putting groceries away, stashing your suitcase in the overhead bin. The overhead press trains for these movements. There are a couple of reasons it’s good to do these one arm at a time, especially when you first start. One, you’ll get a better range of motion and likely be able to get your arm up higher and straighter (sometimes, the arms will fall forward slightly when done simultaneously). And two, it’s a better core challenge to be a little off-balance.
How-to: Grab a dumbbell in the 5-to-15-pound range. Bend your elbow so it’s right alongside your ribs and the weight is hovering above your shoulder, with your palm facing your chin.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Single-Arm (cont.)
Exhale as you press the weight straight up overhead, tracking the elbow straight in front of you (no winging out) and ending with the inside of the bicep aligned with the ear. Important: Do not let your body arch back under the weight. Keep your knees soft, and even stick your butt out ever so slightly, so you don’t let your hips jut forward. Inhale to lower the weight with control. Do 10 to 15 reps; then, switch sides.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Plank Step-Ups
Even more functional are arm-focused total-body moves. This one takes a plank and adds some one-armed pressing and instability by, in effect, climbing stairs with your arms.
How-to: Find a step, preferably a shallow one to start. Set yourself up in a straight-arm plank (squeeze those glutes!) right in front of the step.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Plank Step-Ups (cont.)
Shift your weight to one hand and pick up the other hand, placing it on the step and pressing into it so that you step up onto the tread, with the other hand following.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Plank Step-Ups (cont.)
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Plank Step-Ups (cont.)
Now step back down with same lead arm. Repeat the sequence with the other arm. All of that is one rep. Do 5 to 10.
Illustrated by: Paola Delucca
Plank Step-Ups (cont.)
Once you have the action down, really focus on preventing your hips from swaying as you climb up and down.
Illustrated by: Paola DeluccaLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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