The best arm exercises for women

As the days start to get warmer, those little insecurities are going to start showing up again. Trouble spots that you’re not confident about like your legs or stomach. And if you’re like most women, that means your arms too. The goods news, however, is that you can improve your arms with a few simple exercises.

Even just a quick 5-minute arm workout routine is enough to start seeing results. Give it a couple of weeks and you can start feeling more confident in sleeveless tops, dresses or a sports bra. So put on your workout leggings and get ready for some of the best arm toning exercises for females.

The Best Arm Exercises For Women

• Lateral Raises – When it comes to working your shoulders, few exercises beat the lateral raise. This is one of the more simple exercises that only require you to raise your arms up to shoulder level before dropping them back down. If you don’t have a pair of dumbbells nearby, you can substitute anything heavy instead. A milk jug filled with water, for instance, works great. This is a great exercise for beginners that is easy to add to any arm workout.

• Arm Rotations – Another simple exercise, you simply raise your arms up and rotate them in a circle. You can vary it up by doing smaller circles or changing the direction. They may not look like much, but you’ll really feel the burn after a couple of minutes. Another benefit to arm rotations is their value as a warm-up or cool-down exercise. Do a minute or two before every workout and you can get your muscles warmed up and the blood flowing.

• Shoulder Press – This exercise is easy to do and gives great results. Simply lift the weight directly over your head before bringing them back down to shoulder level. Add this exercise to your workout and you’re sure to see results. However, you’ll need access to a pair of dumbbells if you don’t plan to go to the gym. Depending on how you like to workout, you may need to skip this one. Thankfully, it’s easy to find similar exercises that also workout the same areas. Push-ups or pull-ups, for example, can also give great results.

• Side To Front Raise – Side to fronts are very similar to lateral raises. They are similar enough, in fact, that they can be considered an extension to the latter. Rather than dropping your arms back down after raising them, you instead move them in front of you. This extended movement makes them a little tougher to do. The added results, however, are well worth the extra effort.

• Bicep Curl – Everyone knows about bicep curls. The good news, however, is that they aren’t just for gym rats standing in front of the mirror. Although you could do that if you want, it’s just as easy to do curls at home with a towel or a heavy object. Just get a large towel or resistance band, wrap it under your feet and grip the ends with your hands. Alternatively, you can also just lift one arm while using the other to force it down.

• Dips – One of the best ways to build arm muscles is doing dips. These can be tricky to do but you also don’t need any extra equipment. Line up two chairs or other steady objects, kneel between them and then use your arms to lift yourself up. If you need to make it easier, sit on a chair or bed with your legs extended in front of you. From there, lift yourself up with your arms.

• Tricep Extension – The tricep extension is another very easy exercise to do both at the gym or at home. Hold a dumbbell or similar heavy object overhead and lower it behind you while keeping your upper arms facing upwards. The simplicity of this arm workout for women means it’s easy to substitute almost anything for a dumbbell. As always, a milk jug filled with water or sand works wonders.

• Upright Row – Another shoulder exercise, the upright row is a fantastic choice for toning your upper arms. It’s also another simple, easy to do exercise that gives you fantastic results for your time and effort. Grasp a dumbbell with each hand and hold them in front of you. Then lift your arms up until they are at the same level as your chest before lowering it back down. Depending on how creative you are, you can substitute the dumbbells for anything else.

• Push-ups – Push-ups, everyone’s favorite exercise from gym class. Unfortunately, when it comes to working out your upper body like your arms, you can’t avoid doing push-ups. Thankfully, once you get used to doing them, they really aren’t that bad. And because of their simplicity and lack of required equipment, it’s easy to do a few quick push-ups throughout the day. Unlike a lot of other workouts, push-ups are also easy to scale to your strength. Vertical push-ups against the wall are easy enough for anyone to do.

• Pull-ups – The pull-up is a simple exercise that can be difficult to do. This is especially true if you’re a beginner or lack upper body strength. It’s also one that is difficult to do at home unless you want to find a tree outside or buy a pull-up bar. Go through all that effort, however, and you’ll be justly rewarded. Pull-ups are one of the most efficient workouts you can do to strengthen and tone your arms.

Toning Your Arms Doesn’t Need To Be Hard

Getting your arms toned for the summer isn’t something to be afraid of. With just a few simple arm exercises for women, you can get the confidence you need to wear that cute outfit you have in your closet.