5 great arm exercises 4 women

imagymrat

If you want to get a toned muscle you need to lose fat. If you have built some nice muscles but there is a layer of fat covering it then you will never have the firm, defined muscle that you so desire, weight training is a big part of muscle toning. Not only does it build the actual muscles that you want to show off, but it speeds up the weight loss process so they get toned faster.

So, if you want to tone a muscle you need to remember these things:

1-Weight training is essential;
2-You need to lose the fat covering the muscle;
3-Cardio and a good diet are essential;
4-The right exercises are second in importance to doing the exercises right.

Here are some of my favorite exercises for working the arms and getting them nice and toned. I use them myself and get many of my clients to do the same.

When I talk about toning the arms I mean the biceps and the triceps. I will not be looking at forearms or shoulders in this post.

1 - Bar Bell Bicep Curls
This should be the core bicep exercise in your bicep routine. It allows you to go heavy and is one of the easiest to do in terms of getting the technique correct.

How to - Stand with feet shoulder width apart and lift up the bar bell. Lift up your chest so that your shoulders are lower than your chest but your back is still straight. Curl the bar bell up to just above your pectoral muscles and slowly lower back down.

It's really important that your elbows do not move during this exercise. Make sure they stay solid next to your side.

2 - Skull Crushers
This is a tricep exercise that will pack on the progress if you do it correctly. If you don’t, it might pack on the injuries!

How to - Lie on a flat bench and take light bar bell. Lift the weight over your head with your palms facing the roof. Now shift the weight backwards so if you were to drop it it would land on the floor behind your head and so that your triceps are pointing behind you instead of straight up. In this fixed position, lift the weight up until you have a straight arm and then lower it slowly until you get a deep stretch.

This is one of my all time favorite triceps exercises and has allowed me to make some significant growth.

3 - Alternate Dumb Bell Curl
The alternate dumb bell curl is a great biceps exercise as it allows you to focus on one arm at a time and gives the other arm a rest. For this reason you can handle more weight and perfect your technique at the same time.

How to - Take two dumb bells and stand with your back straight. Assuming the same position as in the bar bell curl, curl one dumb bell up to your shoulder as if you were trying to curl it PAST your shoulder. This gives a tighter contraction. Slowly lower the dumb bell and rotating it until it is in the resting position by your side, lift the other weight at the same time.

Make sure this exercise is down slowly and with extra control.

4 - Close Grip Bench Press
This exercise allows you to use a heavy weight in a safe way. However, it is slightly more tricky to perform than it looks.

How to - Take a medium bar bell and lie on a flat bench. Push the bar bell up until you arms are locked and then lower it down slowly. Just before it hits your chest push it up quickly with a little bouncing motion for about two inches. This short stop and bounce stops your chest muscles coming into play here and keeps the weight on your triceps. It’s a great secret.

5 - Cable Curls
This exercise has been core in my biceps routine for a long time.

How to - It is exactly the same as the bar bell curl but there is a constant tension on your muscles because the cable is always trying to pull the weight back down. For this reason you will fid it much harder to handle a lot of weight. Remember to keep your elbows still and your chest up.

These are a few great exercises to get you started on your journey to buffness!

spob

Thank you dawlink!:drinker:

coolstacey6

bump

lee112780

Skull crushers are awesome...Just discovered them a few wks ago, and they work great!
I always have a hard time targeting my bicepts, maybe my form isnt great when I do curls.

animatedbecca

Thank you!

imagymrat

Skull crushers are awesome...Just discovered them a few wks ago, and they work great!
I always have a hard time targeting my bicepts, maybe my form isnt great when I do curls.

have to say 90% of the women I see doing curls in the gym are doing them wrong. Stand with your back against a wall, using your barbell or dumbbell, do your curl, remember you want full extension, nice and slow. Having your back against the wall, or even against the bench in a fully upright position, you're forced to almost have perfect form, there's no tilting backwards, give it a try, remember as well, you want to use a heavy enough weight that by the time you reach rep 6 your struggling a little bit, I don't go high reps, i'd rather see heavy weight and a lower rep, you'll see results quicker.

You can also superset your skull crsusher with a close grip bench press. It's a good tricep exercise for strength. Will help you increase your bench press as well. Do your set of skull crushers and then immediately do a set of close grip presses, which is a bench press, but your hands are close together, you're hitting the tricep big time.

skywalker

Tag. My upper body definitely needs work.

lee112780

Skull crushers are awesome...Just discovered them a few wks ago, and they work great!
I always have a hard time targeting my bicepts, maybe my form isnt great when I do curls.

have to say 90% of the women I see doing curls in the gym are doing them wrong. Stand with your back against a wall, using your barbell or dumbbell, do your curl, remember you want full extension, nice and slow. Having your back against the wall, or even against the bench in a fully upright position, you're forced to almost have perfect form, there's no tilting backwards, give it a try, remember as well, you want to use a heavy enough weight that by the time you reach rep 6 your struggling a little bit, I don't go high reps, i'd rather see heavy weight and a lower rep, you'll see results quicker.

You can also superset your skull crsusher with a close grip bench press. It's a good tricep exercise for strength. Will help you increase your bench press as well. Do your set of skull crushers and then immediately do a set of close grip presses, which is a bench press, but your hands are close together, you're hitting the tricep big time.

Thanks, I will definatly try that. I just started doing weights again after a chest "injury", so I have to be careful what i do with my chest muscles unfortunatly. Thanks for the tips! Im gonna friend you so I can ask for more advice if you dont mind.

sempernova

Thanks...these are great!

princessorchid

Ooh, I'll have to try these! We've got a weight bench at home (my boyfriend brought it when we moved in together, but it's kind of been sitting there unused for ages)...

gnastro

Thanks for all the weight lifting tips. I also see men throwing weights around and not using the correct form.

HealthyChanges2010

bump...thanks

mark996

mmm, skullcrushers...sorry had to chime in. Great thread, not just for women! Love some 80lb skullcrushers to finish up a workout. I'll hit the 100lb dumbbells with a set of skull crushers some day, one of my goals.

HealthyChanges2010

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