But there are many additional exercises that work well for the back of your arms, including these fantastic five: Narrow Grip Pushups: Do a pushup in the regular or knee push-up position, but keep your hands closer together and make sure your elbows brush your ribcage as you lower yourself down and push yourself back up. This is the part of the arm that jiggles when you wave. Raise your right arm up and back until your shoulder and elbow are parallel with the floor. Tone Your Arms With Pushing Exercises. Keeping your elbows still, kick the weight towards the back of the room by moving the lower half of your arm back and up towards the ceiling. In the end, you’ll complete 30 repetitions total of each exercise. will engage your triceps, so you'll usually see better progress than you will in your biceps. (If you need to swing your arms and use momentum to get the weight up, you are likely using too heavy of a weight.) In order to tighten this area and reduce "jiggle" it’s necessary to strengthen the backs of the arms. Hug your elbows in towards the side of your body, and then curl the weights up towards your shoulders. Hold light dumbbell in right hand, arm … We are currently experiencing playback issues on Safari. Bicep Curls. For this exercise, hold your dumbbells down at your hips. When people think of having strong, toned arms, they tend to focus mainly on building biceps—the meatier part of your arms. The bicep curl is the quintessential arm exercise. Repeat this 10 times, and complete 3 sets total throughout your workout. Holding weights in both hands, lean forward with a flat back. If tightening and toning the arms is on your list of summer goals, try adding these exercises to your fitness regimen three times a week. Don’t worry, many gyms have an assisted dip machine, which is similar to an assisted pull-up machine, and includes the ability to select the amount of weight you’d like to help you complete the dip. Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. Hold the weights at shoulder height, parallel to the floor. Be careful not to let your arms swing. NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live. Be sure to flex your upper back muscles. Though this seems to make your triceps sound like some kind of fairy-tale monster, the reason for this name is that the triceps are comprised of three different muscle bundles on the outside, middle, and inside of the back of your arms. Hold for a second, feeling the back of your arm tighten, and then release back to the starting position. This is perfect for triceps pushdowns, in which you start with your arms bent at 90 degrees and then extend them until they’re completely straight. Most chest exercises (Bench Press, Push-Ups, etc.) Instead, you need to come at that three-headed monster from as many angles as possible, using a variety of exercises and hand positions. The ultimate toner for the front of the shoulder is the V exercise. Stephanie Mansour is a health and fitness expert and weight-loss coach for women. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Sound too hard? Because the triceps has three different muscles, simply doing one exercise is typically not enough to tone the back of your arms. Remember that some exercises may be easier than others, so it’s okay to alternate between weights based on what feels right for your body. It tones and strengthens the front of … For many, upper arms top the list, and this is the time of year this insecurity is brought to light. By using different handles and grips, like a front grip, a reverse grip, or a rope grip, you can ensure that you work all three heads of your triceps. To perform this exercise, grab your dumbbells and start with your arms by your sides. She is a certified personal trainer, yoga instructor and Pilates instructor, and host of “Step It Up with Steph” on American Public Television. Tricep Pushdowns: At most gyms, you’ll find a cable apparatus with a rope or bar attached to it. In anatomy, the technical term is actually “triceps brachii”, which is Latin for three-headed muscle. That’s when the flapping fat on the back of your arm keeps on waving even after you’ve stopped. The bicep curl is the quintessential arm exercise. Then reach the weights forward and up on an angle, drawing a V, and then release them back down towards your hips. Perhaps it’s your midsection or your glutes. Keep the elbows level with your shoulders — don’t let them dip down — and be conscious of the shoulders starting to raise up towards your ears, which means the weight is too heavy or you’re too fatigued. Relax the shoulders down, and then hug the arms towards the front of your body as if you’re hugging a tree. It tones and strengthens the front of the arms, which many people associate with the ability to “flex a muscle.”. Repeat this 10 times, and complete 3 sets total throughout your workout. One of my clients added a 5-minute arm routine to her typical workout routine and noticed a change after just three sessions. 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