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Upper Body Workouts

5 Best Arm Workouts At Home (with YouTube Videos)

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | May 14, 2023

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.

two women performing a quarter get up as part of toned arms workout for women. During the best arm workout for women.
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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!

two women performing tricep kickbacks as part of back and arm workout. During the best arm workouts for women.

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

What Are The Best Workouts To Tone The Arms?

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).

Can You Build Toned Arms With Just Dumbbells?

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).

How Many Times A Week Should I Strength Train Arms?

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.

3. 8 Best Tricep Exercises for Women

  • Equipment: Medium-to-Heavy Set of Dumbbells
  • Workout Format: 8 Tricep Exercises performed in timed intervals (perform each exercise for 40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest). Repeat x3 Sets.
  • Pregnancy/Postpartum Friendly: Yes! If lying on the ground isn’t comfortable add an incline to skull crushers and omit the side lying tricep press.

4. 7 Best Dumbbell Shoulder Exercises

  • Equipment: Medium-to-Heavy Set of Dumbbells
  • Workout Format: 7 Dumbbell Shoulder Exercises. Perform 10 Reps Per Exercise. Repeat x3 Sets.
  • Pregnancy/Postpartum Friendly: Yes, modify as needed by taking exercises from a seated position to better support your core.

5. 5 Best Bicep Exercises

  • Equipment: Medium-to-Heavy Set of Dumbbells
  • Workout Format: 5 Bicep Exercises performed in a “drop set” format (perform each exercise for 15 reps, then 12 reps, then 10 reps). Repeat x3 Sets.
  • Pregnancy/Postpartum Friendly: Follow the modifier in the workout as needed.
5 Arm Workouts for Sculpted Summer Arms!

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2 comments

  1. Hi Lindsey,

    I just wanted to say a very big thank you for your workouts and the devotionals which are making great difference in my life.
    May God richly bless you and make you business flourish.
    Thank you.

    V.

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