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What are the Best Arm Toning Exercises?
Many people with flabby upper arms look for ways to build muscle and tone their muscles. Typically, most will need to lose overall body fat, because the excess fat is covering up their muscles. Along with aerobic calorie-burning activities, there are specific arm toning exercises that can be utilized to help give a defined look. The best arm toning exercises usually are single-joint movements that focus directly on the biceps and triceps muscles. These types of exercises include curls, kickbacks, extensions and dips.
For biceps, the muscles on the front of the arms, the curl is one of the most common types of arm toning exercises. The basic curl is done standing with the feet shoulder-width apart, holding weights in both hands. The palms should be facing outward and the elbows should be close to the trunk of the body. The arms bend up, and this motion is considered “curling.” Curls can be done standing or sitting, with one or both arms at a time and with dumbbells, hand weights or barbells.
Kickback arm toning exercises work to strengthen and define the triceps, the muscles on the back of the upper arms. One of the most common techniques requires the use of a single dumbbell and a bench or flat support surface below knee height. The exercise begins by standing with the left knee on the bench and holding the dumbbell in the right hand. The exerciser bends forward, places his or her left hand on the surface for support, slowly bends the right arm and then moves it back and up. The same movement is repeated on the other side of the body with the left arm.
Arm extensions are arm toning exercises that also target the triceps. They can be done on an exercise machine or using a single dumbbell from a seated position. To execute this arm exercise, the person holds the dumbbell overhead while in a seated position. He slowly lowers the dumbbell behind the shoulder while keeping the arm’s vertical position and then extends it up again.
Dips target the triceps and are one of the most popular arm toning exercises for strength building and training. The exerciser positions himself or herself on the edge of a chair or bench, with his or her hands on the edge of the seat directly underneath the shoulders. Bending his or her knees slightly, the exerciser extends his or her feet flat on the ground away from the chair, then slowly lowers himself or herself by bending the arms before pushing upward and returning to the near-seated position.
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![Tricep kickbacks help to tone these muscles at the back of the arms.]()
By: TijanaTricep kickbacks help to tone these muscles at the back of the arms. -
![The plank pose, which is used in Pilates and yoga, helps to tone the arms.]()
By: Syda ProductionsThe plank pose, which is used in Pilates and yoga, helps to tone the arms. -
![Dumbbell curls are an effective way to build stronger, more toned biceps.]()
By: Mat HaywardDumbbell curls are an effective way to build stronger, more toned biceps. -
![Dips are a popular way to tone the triceps.]()
By: VisionsiDips are a popular way to tone the triceps. -
![Performing push-ups regularly can strengthen and tone the chest, arms and shoulders.]()
By: z3zoPerforming push-ups regularly can strengthen and tone the chest, arms and shoulders. -
![Curls help strengthen the biceps and other muscles of the arms.]()
By: pressmasterCurls help strengthen the biceps and other muscles of the arms. -
![Dips -- an exercise in which the arms are used to push up the body -- can strengthen and tone the triceps.]()
By: Vyacheslav ZyryanovDips -- an exercise in which the arms are used to push up the body -- can strengthen and tone the triceps.
Discussion Comments
Triceps dips are definitely one of the best arm toning exercises possible without weights to aid you. As long as you have a bench or chair, you can tone up your triceps.
I used to use the edge of my bed to do this. The chair in my room had arms, so it really wasn't easy to dip down from. I got on the very edge of the mattress and slowly lowered and raised myself.
I started out doing seven dips. I gradually built up my strength and increased to ten dips. I would take a break and then do ten more, and I could really feel the burn in my arms.
I have a home gym that I use for body toning. In addition to a stair stepper and leg weights, it has these padded metal arms that come down and have handles for gripping. I use these to tone my arms.
I can adjust the level of resistance by inserting a pin under a certain block of weight. I can push the arms outward, pull them inward in a butterfly press, or use a separate bar that I can pull down either in front of me or behind my back.
The variety offered in this machine lets me work on several different muscle groups in one workout. My arm muscles have grown since I started using it, and I can always increase the resistance once my workout becomes too easy.
@seag47 – I don't think that one way of doing your arm muscle toning exercises is better than the other. I think you get just as much benefit from sitting as you do from standing.
I vary mine up a bit, but that's just because certain exercises are easier to do when sitting or standing. I do my biceps curls while sitting. I put my elbow on the outer edge of my knee and curl up from there.
I do my kickbacks while standing. I don't use my legs or knees at all for this. I just have my arm bent at my side and push the weight out and up behind me.
I do all my arm muscle toning exercises at home, so I don't have a trainer or a professional of any kind to answer my questions. One thing that has been bugging me lately is the question of whether I am getting as much out of my arm exercises when I do them sitting down as when I do them standing up.
It seems to me that standing would be ideal, because it seems like less of a relaxed position. However, I often sit to do exercises with hand weights, because I feel more like my arm muscles can get my full concentration that way.
Is standing while exercising this way better? If I would get more out of it, then I would be willing to try it.
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