Upper Body Workouts
Strength train your way to strong, sculpted arms with the five best arm workouts for women. Challenge your back, biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders with just dumbbells at home.
Burn out the upper body with five of the best arm workouts you can do at home.
Split training is my favorite way to train the upper body because you can maximize muscle growth by dedicating an entire workout to one upper body muscle group at a time. That means you can fully fatigue the muscles and target them from a variety of angles.
You don’t need fancy workout machines or gym equipment to see upper body strength gains. Upper body strength workouts at home can be just as effective — all you need is a set of dumbbells!
Below you’ll find the best arm workouts to build strength in the upper body.
Under each workout video, you’ll find details about the format of each workout and the equipment needed so you can easily find the workout that best fits your needs.
Best Arm Workouts FAQs
The most effective arm toning workouts include a combination of isolation exercises and complex multi-joint exercises. For example, a bicep curl or hammer curl targets the front of the arm (isolation exercises) while a plank row exercise targets the chest, back, triceps and core (complex exercise).
YES! Strength training with heavy weights is essential for achieving muscle growth (and that toned look). If your goal is to improve definition in your arms, reach for heavy weights. You’ll know you chose the right weight if the last 2-3 reps in a set are challenging (The American Council on Exercise).
This varies depending on your personal fitness and training goals. It’s important to allow your body proper recovery time to repair the muscles you broke down during strength training. I recommend training arms 2-3 times a week.
5 Best Arm Workouts For Women
1. 8 Best Back Exercises for Women
- Equipment: Medium-to-Heavy Set of Dumbbells
- Workout Format: 8 Back Exercises performed in a “drop set” format (perform each exercise for 14 reps, then 12 reps, then 10 reps). Repeat x3 Sets.
- Pregnancy/Postpartum Friendly: Follow the modifier in the workout as needed.
2. 5 Best Chest Exercises for Women
- Equipment: Medium-to-Heavy Set of Dumbbells
- Workout Format: 5 Dumbbell Chest Exercises performed in an EMOM Format (every minute on the minute). Repeat x4 Sets.
- Pregnancy/Postpartum Friendly: Yes, with modifications. I suggest dropping to your knees for the push ups and planks or adding a chair and performing these exercises from an incline.