Exercises for Lean, Sexy Arms

After the popularity of my post last week on How to Get Great Legs, I decided to do a follow up with a post highlighting upper body exercises.

Arms have been real struggle for me. I have always had strong legs (from years in the dance studio), but upper body strength was another story and although things like yoga certainly helped me to develop some strength, it’s weight training that I find to be the most helpful for shaping my arms.

…and for all of you ladies who think you’ll get bulky- you won’t. For ladies, developing mass [particularly] in the upper body is HARD and takes lots of TIME and EATING. It doesn’t happen overnight. So put down the cute pink dumbbells, step into the weight room and use the heaviest weight you can while maintaining proper form. The exercises featured in this post are shown in a gym but they can also be done at home with simple equipment.

For best results include these exercises with a complete workout program including cardio. Do these exercises 2-3 times per week on non consecutive days (2-3 sets of 12-15 repetitions each). For more information on creating a workout program, see this post and for a complete year long workout program, go here.

Note: I refer to using medium or light dumbbells here- this is all relative and only according to my personal experiences. If you’re just starting out on a workout program I recommend having the following sets of dumbbells: 3 pound, 5 pound, 8 pound and 10 pound. If you are more experienced or stronger, have a set of: 5 pound, 8 pound, 10 pound, 12 pound, and 15 pound dumbbells for these exercises. To give you an idea- I use 10-25lb of all of these exercises. Increase your weight so you are always challenged. You will not get “Arnold” arms overnight, I promise. 🙂 In my experience, the heavier I go, the leaner my arms get.

My Favorite Exercises for Lean, Sexy Arms [that you can do at home]

Push Ups- no equipment needed

or Modified Push Ups

Bench Dips- if you don’t have a bench, a dining room chair works fine as well

Rear Delt Fly- you will need a pair of light dumbbells

Tricep Kickbacks- you will need a chair or bench and a medium weigh dumbbell

Lateral Raise- you will need 2 medium weight dumbbells

Dumbbell Bicep Curl- medium weight dumbbells

Upright Row- light weight dumbbells

If you have found this information to be useful, please SHARE with with your family and friends to help spread the word of living a healthy lifestyle. Questions, comments and feedback is always welcome in the the comments section below. Thanks for reading! 🙂