Build a Better You: the best exercises for strong, toned arms

We all have an area we wish was more toned or defined. For most people, that's their arms.

Strong arms are an important part of a well-balanced, fit body. Let’s go over the muscles of the arm and some of the best exercises for building strength and definition in those muscles.

Building stronger arms and muscle definition requires training these muscles groups:

Here I have put together six of my favorite exercises to help you build muscle and tone your arms and shoulders.

Bicep curl

Start by standing up straight with a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your arms to your side. Keeping your elbows close to your body and your upper arms stationary, bring your forearms to your shoulder using your biceps. Then lower the weight back down in a controlled manner.

Reverse fly

Start with a dumbbell in each hand and bend forward at the hips so your chest is parallel to the ground. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and dumbbells hanging straight down. Have your palms facing inward toward each other with your arms slightly bent. Keeping your back in a straight line, extend your arms straight out to the side. Hold at the top for a brief pause to avoid bouncing, and then, with a controlled tempo, lower back down to the starting position.

Triceps extensions

You can do a triceps extension with either one single dumbbell or two dumbbells, one in each hand.

Start by standing straight up with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Lift the dumbbell straight overhead and have your arms fully extended, then, keeping your upper arms in place, slowly lower the dumbbell towards the top of your back, bending your arms only at the elbow. Slowly raise the dumbbell back up to the starting position.

Lateral raise

Start by standing straight up with a dumbbell in each hand and feet hip-width apart. Keeping your core tight, raise both dumbbells at the same time out to the side, keeping a slight bend in the elbow. Then, lower them back down to your side at a slow, controlled pace.

Front raise

Similar to the lateral raise, you begin by standing straight up with a dumbbell in each hand, feet hip-width apart. Remember to keep the core tight, raise both dumbbells straight out in front of you to shoulder height. Your palms should be facing each other with thumbs facing upward. Then, lower them back down to the starting position at a slow and controlled pace.

Push-ups

Start by lying on the floor face down with your hands about shoulder width apart. The ball of each of your feet should be touching the ground. Keeping your core tight and body in a straight line, use your upper body to push yourself up from the ground. Pause at the top, then lower yourself back to the ground at a controlled pace.

You can always make this exercise harder and target different areas of your arms by altering your hand position. You can try narrow, wide, diamond and even a single arm if regular push-ups become too easy.

Bringing it all together

There is a great variety of exercises you can do to tone your arms. Try to work your arms two to three times per week and complete three to five sets of each exercise. As you increase the weight, the reps should be lower and vice versa. For example, if you are doing 12-15 reps, the weight will be much lighter than if you are completing three to five reps. All you need is 20-30 minutes to complete an arm workout for optimal results.

  Buy Photo

Isabela Joyce is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist at The M.A.C. She can be reached at IJoyce@the-mac.net.