People who exercise work hard to get fitter, and if they stay on track for a couple of months there is inevitably a huge payoff. There are different workout plans and dietary restrictions that need to be followed to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but many people would rather focus on one area of fitness, hoping to achieve a desired goal. The article below is an example of such a pursuit, going over the best exercises for developing lean and muscular arms.
Being a relatively small muscle group, arms are hard to train with complex exercises. Whereas the core and the legs can benefit from all different sorts of compound movements, the arms require training in isolation.
The best way to achieve this is with resistance exercises, and fitness equipment that is designed to perfectly target your “guns”. To begin, you’ll need a single pair of dumbbells, and the willingness to adhere to controlled movements and full range of motion.
The exercises below utilize the dumbbell, and they will help you develop lean and toned biceps, triceps and even shoulders. So let’s begin.
Exercises to build lean and muscular arms
Here are a few arm workouts that will ensure perfectly sculpted arms in no time! You can follow them closely or just rely on the examples in order to get some ideas.
These exercises are meant to be completed in sets of repetitions of either 12, 10 or 8, and you should keep proper form throughout the entire set.
Biceps Dumbbell Curls
In this exercise, you do not need anything except for a pair of dumbbells. Holding each in hand, you need to stand upright with your palms facing outwards.
Then bend your arms to bring the dumbbells towards your chest and slowly come back to the original posture. Make sure that you do not move your upper arms while doing this workout.
This is a rather simplistic workout, but you will be surprised by how many people get it wrong. Swinging with your arms, rocking the upper body, helping yourself with the elbows… these are all examples of failure to concentrate, exercise control and actually progress faster.
Overhead Extension
This exercise is good for the triceps, and will have them hurting in no time. Here, the dumbbell is to be held vertically. With legs slightly apart from one another you have to raise your hand and bend it over the head, such that the elbows are facing the ceiling.
The knees should be slightly bent, and the arms should be straight.
Wrist Curl for Forearms
This exercise manages to strengthen your arms and wrists rather drastically. Place two dumbbells in front of a flat bench and sit on its edge with legs a shoulder width apart.
Use your arms to grab the dumbbells and get them up with the forearms resting on the thighs and palms facing upwards. Curl your wrist upwards and exhale simultaneously. Then lower the wrists while inhaling. Exhale and inhale as part of the exercise, and try to focus your movement on the wrists themselves. The more control you have, the better the results.
Concentration Curls
Concentration curls can help a great deal in strengthening your arms. Place one dumbbell just in front of you and between the legs that are spread with knees bent and feet firmly resting on the floor. Pick the dumbbell with your right arm.
Place the right upper arm on the inner side of your right thigh, with the elbow resting close to the knee. Rotate your palm and face it forward extending your arm. Keeping the upper arm stationary, curl the weights forward, breathing out while contracting your arm, moving the forearm only. Breathe in when you get to the original position.
After a set of 12, you can rest, stretch your arm and change the position to work on the other side.
Triceps Push Ups
This adds a small twist to the regular push up. You will get into the same position, but place your hands closer than shoulder width apart, for a close hand position, and your elbows will be facing backward.
When bending towards the floor, you will be able to feel the tension building up in your triceps. Try to have steady and controlled movements, and time your way up as well as going down.
Hammer Curls
These curls help build the brachialis and brachioradialis in a way other curl variations do not, allowing you to develop additional strength and size. Stand up with your upright torso with a dumbbell on each hand held at arm’s length, with elbows near the body, and your palms facing it.
Hold your upper arms stationary and curl the weight forward, during the time you will make the contraction, pushing the arms to the level of your shoulders. Hold the position to squeeze the biceps. Lower the dumbbells back down and then repeat the same.
Pull-ups
Grab the pull-up bar with a wide grip that is evenly spaced out. Extend your arms while holding the bar and bring your torso curving your lower back and sticking the chest out.
Pull your body up to touch your upper chest to the bar, while drawing your shoulders and exhale. Start inhaling after a brief period in a contracted position with your arms extended and your lats stretched. Repeat this motion for a number of times before you face muscle failure.
EZ Bar Triceps
This exercise needs an EZ bar and ensures powerful shoulders and arms. Use a close grip to lift the EZ bar and place it on the elbow when resting on the bench.
Keep your arms perpendicular to the floor. Keep upper arms stationary and then lower them to flex the elbows. Inhale while doing the exercise. Pause when the bar is picked above the forehead directly, and then return the weights to their original starting position.
Do as many repetitions as you can without compromising the form. This exercise can put a tremendous stress on the lower and upper arms, so make sure to work out with a spotter in order to avoid any injuries.
Battle Ropes
This is technically a cardio exercise and is quite different from weightlifting, but it can have a positive impact on the strength of your arms. The battle ropes are intense in getting your arms a heavy workout like no other.
At the end of the day, you’ll want to tackle the muscles from every conceivable angle, so they can grow faster once you are in the rest and recuperation stage of your training. Grab the battle ropes, with one hand on each end, and then slam them on the floor, one at a time as you make the motion fluid and continuous.
You can also slam both ends of the ropes simultaneously to increase the stress on your arms and upper body. Make steady ripples from your hand to the end of the ropes for maintaining the adequate pressure, and make sure not to compromise form. Your upper body should remain as static as possible.
EMS Muscle Training Pads
We don’t put a tremendeous amount of trust in gadgets and gimmicks, but the EMS training pads are highly trusted and they can tone your arms, legs & abdominal muscles by making muscle tissues contract, deep below the upper skin layer . They have proven to have an incredible impact on the world of exercise, especially when used in combination with regular exercise and a healthy diet.
The Electronic Muscle Stimulator is safe and recommended by doctors and professional athletes, and the pads have different intensity when it comes to stimulation. They can be used for several hours every day, and can help greatly in the phase of recuperation, massaging your muscles after a tough, concentrated workout. They are also easy to be carried around and used, owing to their small size. The pads are connected to a small device which is powered by batteries.
Other workouts like the triceps dips, EZ-bar curls, and bench dips also help in getting your arms muscular and defined, and doing these exercises with persistence and dedication will help you get rid of the fat tissue in your arms and shoulders, while increasing your strength, definition and muscle tone.
Again, these workouts are relatively well known, and we are not charting new territory here. However, sometimes you must start with the basics in order to progress to the next level, so make sure to try these exercises one by one, making sure that you pay enough attention to proper form and control. Exercise full range of motion, go steady, and rest at least a couple of days before hitting the same types of exercises.