Arm workout, what? For most women this is the most neglected part of their workout routine. Hey guys let me let you in on a little secret. If you want to know where all the women hangout check the cardio machine area at your local gym. *wink wink.* I laugh because this really isn’t any surprise. The reason why women are walking around with their arms sagging to the ground is because they aren’t doing enough to tone and strengthen their upper bodies!
I don’t want to look manly
Geesh are we really having this conversation again? Women don’t be afraid of a little muscle because when you’re 80 you’ll be grateful. Nobody enjoys seeing lose flabby skin hanging when they lift their arms. It’s a total eye sore, yet a lot of women aren’t doing anything to change it because they are convinced if they touch a weight over 3 pounds they’re going to bulk up.
I’ve been doing arm workouts for years and I don’t think I’ve lost my feminine charm 
Doing upper body weight exercise or using weights to strengthen your arms is not going to over develop your muscles because unlike men your bodies are not designed to build bulk. Testosterone is the hormone found in men that is responsible for muscle bulk and women have this is in only a very small dose. Doing a regular arm workout is only going to help tone up flabby arms and burn more fat, which is our ultimate goal right? When you perform the pinch test on your arms you should aim to only be able to grab about 1-1 1/2 inches of lose skin, more than that means you have fatty mass to loose. Fat can be confused with muscle growth. Women who feel like their “bulking up” need to begin evaluating their diet because chances are what you’re noticing is accumulated fat. If you try to tone up your arms without addressing your diet you will get that bulky look because you’ll just be toning up over the fat rather than loosing it!
Body proportion
You can run until the cows come home, but if you aren’t incorporating a regular arm workout your body is going to become imbalanced. You need to make sure your body weight and strength is equally distributed across your entire frame to avoid risk of injury, muscle atrophy and bone density loss. This is not something that only plaques people over the age of 60, the sad truth is people in their 20′s are also facing these major health risks! So unfortunately running and spin classes is not enough. The key word is total body training. Runners in fact are actually at an increased risk for bone density loss so please beware.
Victoria Secret Angels got our back
Who doesn’t want a body like these angels? You know having strong arms is important when you see the VS angels powering up with this runway arm workout before prancing down the runway! If these girls aren’t afraid of a little toning up action neither should you!
Arm workout with no weights
Don’t panic, we always have the answers for you! If you have never done an arm workout in your life or if you’re intimidated by weights this workout is a perfect place to start because we are only engaging your own body weight. Perform each of these four exercises for between 2-4 sets and time yourself for 30 to 60 seconds on each exercise.
Exercise 1: Side arm triceps push-ups
Exercise 2: Triceps dip into opposite toe reach (Modification: keep feet planted on floor)
Exercise 3: Straight arm side plank (Modification: stagger feet or drop to forearm plank)
Exercise 4: Frontal arm circles
What is your favorite arm workout?
Are you a woman guilty of neglecting upper body strength training?
Check out our other upper body workouts on PINTEREST
Well, I must be the exception to the rule. I LOVE training arms. I probably neglect legs because arms are my favourite! I tend to put on muscle fairly easily through the chest, back shoulders and upper arms. Thank goodness ’cause hot flashes require tank tops year round!
Thanks for a fun workout (and love YOUR arms!)
Tamara recently posted..I need your help | it’s blog improvement month!
YES glad you’re playing for my team! Who likes chicken arms or saggy flab anyway? Not I or you! I would love to see more people like you in the gym. It pains me to see mostly all the women on the cardio machines and then they LEAVE. That’s it, nothing more for abs or upper body! I’m like seriously, you’re missing out on the real work! Thanks for chiming in at my defense =)
Great workout!!! Great way to challenge women to get that upper body strong. I’m still working on mine. Always and forever trying to get stronger.
Hey at least you are making the effort and most importantly see the VALUE in upper body training. So many women avoid it completely, which really is shocking to me. If you’re in the need for more great upper body workouts subscribe to our youtube videos! http://www.youtube.com/msnmckenzie. We have them for all kinds, some with only body weight, some with weights, some with resistance bands. You name it, we’ve got it!
This looks awesome! I love upper body workouts. I will definitely add it to my list of workouts to try.
Angie @ Losing It and Loving It recently posted..Common Running Injuries: A Helpful Guide
Thanks Angie! There’s nothing sexier than a woman with tight arms and the best part about it is that when you work your upper body you’re burning calories that help keep the other parts lean too. You may want to check out some of our other favorite workouts on our youtube channel! http://www.youtube.com/msnmckenzie!