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20-Minute Quick Arm Workout

By: Lindsey Bomgren, CPT | April 8, 2025

Sculpt strong and defined shoulder, bicep, tricep, back and chest muscles with this effective and quick arm workout. This is one of my favorite workouts to do when I’m on a time crunch but still want to burn out my upper-body. All you need is a pair of dumbbells and 20 minutes.

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Whether my kids skipped naptime, work meetings ran over or we received a last-minute invite to grab dinner with our friends, there’ve been so many instances where I planned on getting an awesome arm workout in, only to find I had less time to knock it out than I originally thought.

When I only have 20 minutes to work out, I have to get a little creative to make my shorter training sessions as effective as longer workouts.

As a personal trainer, I believe good arm workouts should target both the upper body push and pull muscles, be challenging yet achievable, and incorporate functional movements, such as pressing a weight overhead.

To make the most of the time we have to sweat together, I used research-backed data to program today’s quick arm workout at home:

Moderate Repetitions: sets that include between 6 and 12 reps of an exercise are considered “moderate repetitions,” compared to workouts with higher or lower volumes of reps. This rep range is ideal for fatiguing muscle without compromising good form. We’ll start with 12 reps in today’s workout and decrease down to 6 over the course of the workout.
Multiple Sets: workouts that include between 3 and 6 sets of an exercise are considered optimal for muscle growth. We’ll repeat each exercise x 4 sets in today’s workout, decreasing reps with each additional set.
Moderate Loads: a “moderate load” is defined as 60-80% of your 1-rep maximum weight. For example, if the heaviest weight I can do one bicep curl with is a set of 30 lb dumbbells, my goal would be to use 18-24 lb dumbbells for this workout.
Short Rest Periods: this is key to achieving muscle-failure during quick arm workouts. Rather than take long rest periods, I’ve programmed this workout to alternate which muscle group is working during each exercise so you’re “resting” one muscle group while working another.

This style of training is one of the most time-efficient ways to prompt muscle hypertrophy, which is necessary to build muscle. For best results, I recommend repeating these exercises 1-2 times a week.

I should note that in order to keep this workout beginner-friendly, it doesn’t include two of my favorite exercises: push-ups and pull-ups. If you’re looking for an upper-body workout that includes both, check out this Arms and Back Workout Routine.

two women performing bicep curls as part of quick arm workout

Workout Overview

This upper-body workout is designed to build defined, strong arms and shoulders in just 20 minutes. Target all of the upper-body and arm muscles with an effective rep-drop format. This arm workout also includes a dynamic warm-up and a comprehensive cool-down.

Add upper-body strength training workouts like this to your home workout plan one to two times a week to increase muscle definition and strength in the arms, back and chest.

Workout Instructions:

Follow along with the guided Quick Arm Workout on YouTube, led by me — your certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.

Your Workout Looks Like This:

5 Arm Strengthening Exercises with Dumbbells
Rep Drop Format (decrease the number of reps you perform for each exercise as you move through the workout)
Repeat x 4 Drop Sets (performing 12 reps during the first set, then decreasing to 10 reps, 8 reps, and 6 reps)

Workout Equipment:

Medium to Heavy Set of Dumbbells. I recommend between 5-30 lbs, depending on your fitness level. I’m using 15-25 lb dumbbells in today’s workout.

1. Lateral Shoulder Raises

Targets: the lateral deltoid (also engages the anterior deltoids and posterior deltoid).

two women performing lateral shoulder raises wit hdumbbells

How to Do a Lateral Shoulder Raise

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, a slight bend in your knees, holding a dumbbell in each hand near your hips, palms facing in towards each other. Think about rolling your shoulder blades down and back.
Engage your core, then lift both dumbbells out towards your sides, keeping a slight bend in the elbows. Aim to raise the dumbbells to shoulder height.
With control, slowly lower the dumbbells to starting position.

Modification: to make this exercise more friendly for the shoulder joints, reduce the range of motion, lifting only as high as you feel comfortable.

2. Bicep Curls

Targets: the bicep muscles (upper arms), brachialis (mid-arm) and brachioradialis (forearm).

standing women performing flip grip bicep curls

How to Do a Bicep Curl

Start standing with feet hip-width apart and core engaged. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing in towards each other (narrow grip or hammer curl grip).
Keeping your elbows locked by your sides, squeeze your bicep muscle to curl the weights up to shoulder-height. As you raise the weights, slowly rotate your hands so your palms face outward (underhand grip or supine curl). At the top of the movement, your palms face your shoulders.
With control, slowly lower the dumbbells down to your sides, flipping your grip so your palms face in towards each other again, returning to the starting position.

3. Overhead Tricep Extensions

Targets: the long head of the triceps and all the stabilizing muscles in the shoulders, core, glutes and lower back muscles.

women performing overhead tricep extensions as part of quick arm workout

How to Do an Overhead Tricep Extension

Stand with feet hip-distance apart, core engaged and a soft bend in your knees.
Hold one dumbbell vertically overhead and activate your core by squeezing your glutes and abs to protect your lower back.
Bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle, bringing the dumbbell behind your head. Think ‘hide the dumbbell, show the dumbbell’ if you were watching yourself in a mirror. Keep your elbows close to your ears throughout the entire movement (don’t let your elbows flare out as you fatigue).

Modification: if pressing the overhead press portion of this exercise isn’t comfortable for your shoulders, you may substitute standing tricep kickbacks.

4. Kneeling Single Arm Row

Targets: latissimus dorsi (or lats; the largest back muscle known for its large, flat “V” shape), abs and core.

adult women showing how to perform a kneeling single arm row as part of quick arm workout

How to Do a Kneeling Single Arm Row

Start in a kneeling position, knees under hips, core engaged. Keep your left knee on the mat and place your right foot flat on the mat, right thigh parallel to the ground (right knee in line with right hip).
Hold the dumbbell in your left hand. Engage your core and slightly hinge forward.
Extend your arm forward, holding the dumbbell, and aim to tap the head of the dumbbell to the ground near your right foot.
Exhale as you pull the dumbbell back toward the lower portion of your rib cage on the left side of the body, keeping your elbow tucked in. Think about keeping your shoulders even and square to the ground.
Inhale as you slowly extend your left arm back to the starting position, maintaining control throughout the entire movement.

5. Chest Press

Targets: pectoralis major (pecs), triceps brachii (triceps), and anterior deltoids (front shoulders).

women performing a chest press with dumbbells

How to Do a Chest Press

Lay flat on your back (on the ground, on a bench, incline bench, or on a stability ball) with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold one dumbbell in each hand (palms facing knees), elbows bent at a 90-degree angle.
Exhale as you push both dumbbells overhead at the same time; dumbbells stacked over shoulders at the top of the press. Make sure your wrists are strong and in line with your shoulders.
Lower the dumbbells back towards your chest with control, returning to the starting position.

FAQs

How do I tone my arms fast?

Toned arms are the result of a combination of building muscle (to create muscle definition) and decreasing body fat (to make the muscle more visible). If your fitness goals include increasing arm definition, I recommend adding quick arm workouts like this 10-Minute Arm Workout or this 15-Minute Tabata Arms to your workout routine 1-2 times a week.

What are some quick arm workouts I can do at home without equipment?

Push-ups, pull-ups and arm band workouts are all easy to do in 10 minutes or less and require no equipment. You don’t necessarily need barbell or dumbbell workouts to build strong arms. In my opinion, some of the most challenging (and most effective!) arm workouts can be performed with just your bodyweight. For example, if I want to really challenge my arms in just 10 minutes, I’ll superset push-ups and pull-ups to failure. I also love this resistance band arm workout when I’m traveling.

What is a good workout plan for beginners?

In general, a good workout routine for beginners will include a mix of strength training, cardio, abs workouts and mobility. Beginners may wish to perform exercises with no equipment initially to learn proper form of each exercise before adding load. My beginner workout plan includes options for training 3, 4 or 5 days a week so you can stay consistent no matter how busy your schedule is.

How heavy of weights should I use to tone my arms?

There’s a misconception that light weights lead to “toned” arms, while heavy weights lead to “bulky” arms. To achieve defined, toned arms, you need to build upper-body muscle. For beginners, I recommend 5-9 lb dumbbells (or about 2 kg – 9 kg). For more advanced lifters, I recommend 20-25 lbs (9 kg – 11 kg). The last 2-3 reps of each exercise should be challenging to complete with good form.