What are the Most Effective Arm Exercises for Women?

The most effective arm exercises for women to achieve toned muscles are the ones that focus on their triceps and biceps. 

Biceps are two-headed muscles lying on your upper arm between your elbow and shoulder. Triceps are muscles found on the opposite side of the biceps. Arm workouts can be performed inside a gym or at home. One of the effective ways for females to exercise their arms is using free weights because these help personalize a workout.

The tricep muscles are not usually worked out when doing normal physical tasks unlike the biceps and the shoulders.  Extra effort should be taken to work this muscle group as the movements that make use of the triceps are not commonly done.  While this is so, it is important to remember that the triceps require attention too.

When inside a gym, you can do skull crushers by lying on your back on a flat surface such as a bench.  Grasp a barbell with your arms shoulder-width apart. The wrists must be pointed towards the ceiling and should face forward. Bring the bar at the back of your head and lift this straight while you extend the arms until the bar is over the head.  Bring the bar back to the back of your head as you bend the elbows. Stretch out your arms to bring it back over your head.

Get a free weight which you can raise without straining. You can do this while standing up or sitting on your flat bench. Your back must be straight, your knees bent while both your hands hold the weight. The weights have to be vertically, and not horizontally, held in your hands. Bring the weights at the back of the head your arms are bent and your forearm is parallel to the ground. Bring your weights down till your hands are in line with the shoulders. Lift up the weights back to the starting position at the back of the head and then back down to the shoulders.

Armexercises for women also include bicep curls with dumbbells.  Doing this exercises will strengthen your biceps as they are toned.  Use free weights that you are comfortable with.  These curls also strengthen the forearms.  The weights should be held in each hand with the wrists facing the body.  Let your arms hang at the sides. You must stand straight while performing these workouts and never hunch over.

Raise your weights towards your biceps in a curling movement. Curl back the free weight to the side for a repetition.  Do this with your other hand. The elbows must be close to your sides at all times. Your arm must be the only part moving.  Alternate hands for 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions with each hand.

At the gym you can perform barbell curls. Choose your free weights and then stand with the shoulder-width apart. Hold the barbell with the wrists facing front and away from your body. The hands must also be shoulder-width apart. Raise the barbell using a curling movement towards your chest with your back straight. Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

When doing your curls, always remember that you should choose weights that do not cause you to strain too much.  You have to maintain your proper posture at all times.  The weights must be held with the wrists facing the body. The arms must be bent and close to the body as you hold the weights in front. The weights’ ends have to touch. Raise them simultaneously, slowly yet directly over the head. You should rotate your arms for your wrists to face forward once the weights are over the head. Extend your weights until the elbows are straight, bring them together and lower them to the original position. Keep your feet planted on the on the ground and your back straight.

You can actually exercise the arms in the comfort of your own house with household objects that can be used as weights.  This include water bottles and canned goods.  Of course, these exercises can also be done even without weights.  Toning, however, is better achieved with the proper weight resistance. 

For the biceps, shoulder and triceps to be toned, you can perform arm circles. Sit on a chair that has no back or you can stand up straight. Stretch the arms to a ninety-degree angle. The palms must be opened and facing towards the ground. After straightening the arms, make circles using a clockwise movement. Perform as many of this exercise on one direction before switching to another direction. Expect to have tired arms with this workout. If you want added weight, you can hold an object such as a soup can. Perform 3 sets of this exercise daily.

Arm exercises for women also include the ball toss as this strengthens the triceps. Get a medicine ball or any ball in medium size which is a bit heavy. Lie down on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Hold the ball towards the chest and then push it out. Throw it in the air using your arms. Catch the ball as it comes down and then bring it back slowly to the chest. Do 3 repetitions of 4 every day and increase the number of sets later on.

Arm exercises also include the tricep dip which concentrates on and works out the triceps. This is done by sitting on the edge of a sturdy chair or a bench. Put the hands on the chair or bench and straighten the legs in front.  You should be sitting close to the chair’s edge with your arms supporting your body weight.  Lift and then lower the body using the muscles on your arms. Perform twelve to fifteen reps of this daily.  Increase this to three sets as you gain muscles strength. 

There are also arm exercises for muscle endurance and strength. With muscle endurance, the ability of the muscle to continually contract against resistance is harnessed.  The appearance of toned muscles usually indicate strength but it does not necessarily show muscle endurance.  Endurance have to do with performance rather than aesthetics. 

In order to increase endurance, perform several repetitions with lower resistance. Rather than performing 6 to 8 bicep curls with a 10 pound weight, you can utilize forty percent of the entire weight and perform curls with a four-pound weight twelve to twenty times.  On the other hand, perform lesser repetitions using heavier weights for added strength. You may utilize weight machines, barbells or free weights to do certain exercises. Make sure to work out the forearms, biceps and triceps for complete toning of the arms. Good and proper arm exercises for women are the usual bicep curls, wrist curls, overhead triceps extensions as well as the triceps press down.

Do push-ups because these provide a great total body workout which strengthen your arms if you do them properly. If you are a beginner, you can perform a push-up against your wall or do a modified one on the knees. Watch the position of the buttocks and hips so that when the body is lowered to the ground, your back, buttocks, head, and shoulders are aligned straight. The usual push-up is done with the toes and hands on the floor and the whole body in a straight horizontal or diagonal position as you go down. There are plenty of difficult push-ups like the incline, one-handed and knuckle push-ups. There are even those done on stability balls. Perform the number of push-ups that you can comfortably do while maintaining a good form. Eventually add more reps as your strength increases.

You can also perform pull-ups or chin-ups as these effectively strengthen and tone the arms. When you do a chin-up, an exercise easier than the pull-ups, your palms face you. When you do pull-ups, your palms face away. Have someone to help you by pushing you up when doing the final part of chin-ups. Perform as many chin-ups as you can and then add more reps eventually.  When such an exercise becomes easier for you, you can then add pull-ups to your workout routine.  For advanced pull-ups, do them with hanging weights or weighted belts. Perform this only when your body is ready for it.

You can also tone flabby arms with cardiovascular workouts. You prepare your body for that fat-burning motion when you include cardio in your strength-training exercise. Perform twenty minutes of cardio daily like walking, jogging, running, biking or swimming during the days when you take a break from your weight training. You can also walk or run on a treadmill.

Strength training is important in your goal to lose flab in your arms. You should perform strength training two times a week. Perform them on two non-consecutive days and not two days straight.  Do cardio exercises on alternating days. With the proper exercise regimen that combines strength and resistance training as well as cardio exercises, the best arm exercises for women can give you toned and firm arms that you can confidently show off.