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A Great Upper Body Workout that will Tighten and Tone your Arms!

41 Comments

Hey guys!

I have a fun workout to share with you guys today.  I’m calling it the “Tight Arms Workout” because it will help you get tight, toned, lean arms!  Yay!

It will also help to eliminate the “not so cute” under arm jiggle. 😉

In order to get the best results from this workout you should also be eating a healthy diet.  As most of you know, you cannot spot reduce.  You can tone and tighten your muscles all you want, but in order to lean out and actually see those muscles, you need to follow a healthy diet as well.

All you need is a set of dumbbells.  If you’re a beginner, I would recommend using 5-8 pound dumbbells; Intermediate, 8-10 pounds; Advanced, 10-12 pounds.  You can also use heavier weights, but ONLY if you can still complete the exercises using proper form.

This workout mainly targets the triceps and biceps, but you’ll get a little bit of shoulder and back work as well.  Bonus!

It consists of three small circuit workouts.  You complete 12 reps of each exercise in the circuit and then rest for 30 seconds to a minute.  You then complete that same circuit 2 more times. THEN, you do the same thing for the other two circuits.  Got it?

Tight Arms Workout Logo

**I made a video (included at the end of this post) demonstrating each exercise in a lot more detail**

Circuit #1:

Basic Bicep Curls.

  • Keep your arms close and tight to your body.
  • Keep the movement slow and controlled; do not swing the weights or use momentum.

Me doing Bicep Curls for my Tight Arm Workout

Alternating Hammer Curls.

  • Keep your arms close to your body.
  • Keep the movement slow and controlled; do not swing the weights or use momentum.
  • Make sure to complete 12 reps on each arm.

Me doing Alternating Hammer Curls for my Tight Arm Workout

External Rotations.

  • Keep your arms tight to your body.
  • Keep the arms at about a 90 degree angle.

Me doing External Rotations for my Tight Arms Workout

Side Punches.

  • Punch and extend the arms out straight to the sides.

Me doing Side Punches for my Tight Arms Workout

Circuit #2:

Bent-over Row to a Tricep Kickback.

  • Keep your back flat and your arms close to your body.
  • Fully extend your arms when doing the kickback.
  • Keep the move slow and controlled; do not swing or use momentum.

Me doing a Bent Over Row to a Tricep Kickback for my Tight Arms Workout

Tricep Kickbacks.

  • Keep your back flat and your arms close to your body.
  • Fully extend your arms.
  • Keep the move slow and controlled; do not swing or use momentum.

Me doing Tricep Kickbacks for my Tight Arms Workout

Tricep Pushbacks.

  • Keep your back straight and your core tight.
  • It is a small, yet effective exercise; you don’t need to raise your arms very high.
  • Don’t swing the weight, it is a very controlled movement.

Me doing Tricep Pushbacks for my Tight Arms Workout

Circuit #3:

Overhead Tricep Extension.

  • Keep your upper arms and elbows tight to the sides of your head (don’t let your elbows jut out.)
  • Lower your arms as far as you can go and then fully extend your arms.
  • Keep it slow and controlled.

Me doing a Tricep Overhead Extension for my Tight Arms Workout

One Arm Side Overhead Tricep Extension.

  • Keep your upper arm and elbow tight to the side of your head.
  • Bring the weight all the way down to touch your shoulder and then fully extend it upward.

Me doing a One Arm Side Overhead Tricep Extension for my Tight Arms Workout

That’s it guys!  This will really get those arm muscles burnin‘!

You can click on the image below to enlarge and print the entire workout. 😉

The Complete Tight Arms Workout

I also made a video demonstrating each exercise too.  I hope you enjoy this workout!

Have a wonderful day!  xoxo

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Comments

  4. The Vegan 8 says

    I love ALL these moves Melanie! I do several of these…hammer curls are my favorite, but I haven’t tried the side punches yet. Thank you for sharing all of this.you make me want to get up and go workout now. I’ll say it again too, you have awesome legs! What do you mainly do for your quads? Just lots of squats/lunges?

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      I really love the side punches…they are killer! You are so sweet, my lower body mostly gets worked from running and my crazy classes at the gym. We’re always doing insane amounts of lunges and squats in various forms. I have a few favorite lower body moves that I love. I’ll plan to share them on the blog soon! 😉

      Reply

    • Melanie says

      It looks like you’re doing a whole bunch of other great things though! I love your blog and the information you provide. Thanks!

      Reply

  6. The Dose of Reality says

    FANTASTIC!! I do some of these, but others are new to me. I’m adding them to my arm routine RIGHT AWAY! Arm waddle BE GONE!!! –Lisa

    Reply

  8. Susan says

    Very interesting! We actually do all these moves at the R.I.P.P.E.D. class that I go to and I’ve seen a huge improvement in my arms. I can only use 5 lb’ers because I have the upper body strength of a small child. 🙂

    If you want to mix up what you’re doing above, try standing on one leg and doing the rows. It really changes it up. You can also do this one leg method on the sort of butterfly move where you just spread your arms out to make a T. By standing on one leg, it makes you really pull you core in. 🙂

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      I wish I could go to your R.I.P.P.E.D class; it always sounds like so much fun! I love your tips too. I’m a huge fan of combo moves and getting the most out of every workout! I love that that would engage the core too. Awesome. 😉

      Reply

  12. Kim says

    This looks awesome!!!
    I should take some tips from you and maybe I wouldn’t look like such a rag for all of my workout pictures and videos!!!

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      Thanks so much! I just used my Canon Rebel T2i camera to film it and then just uploaded it to You Tube! I am SO NOT tech savvy, so I just learn as I go!

      Reply

    • Melanie says

      Push ups are one of my most favorite exercises ever because they work so many parts of the body; arms, chest, back, core, etc. I LOVE them. They will definitely help with arm toning, but I would also add other toning exercises that specifically target biceps, triceps and shoulders.

      Reply

  19. Margherita says

    How many times a week should you do this workout? I just got engaged and have such anxiety about wearing a strapless gown. I have such broad shoulders and back and arms are thick. Any tips to help would be great! I am definitely going to try this workout! You look great. 🙂

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      Congratulations on your engagement. That’s so exciting! If you really want toned lean arms, I would first start with a very healthy and clean diet…lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains (oats, brown rice, etc.), healthy dairy and just good, real food. I would stay away from sugar, white flour and processed foods as much as possible. You will definitely see the most results from eating a healthy diet. As far as the exercise part goes, I would weight train often using very heavy weight. You can workout every day if you want, but you shouldn’t work the same muscles back to back. Ideally, you should wait about 48 hours before working the same muscles again. Soooo, you could do my “Tight Arms workout” twice a week and then I would add exercises for shoulders, back and chest (and lower body if you want) on the other days. Good luck!

      Reply

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