When it comes to building the perfect summer body, your arms are pretty important. Not only are they probably the second most visible part of your body (surpassed only by the face), your arm muscles are used for a wide range of essential tasks, from heavy lifting to maintaining balance and posture while walking.
In this article, we’re going to guide you through what it means to have sculpted arms. We will also walk you through the best exercises to help you tone your arms while also sharing some tips to get the best out of your workout routine.
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What Does It Mean to Have “Sculpted” Arms?
When people talk about sculpted arms, they usually refer to toned arms with well-defined muscles that are not too bulky. Achieving this involves a combination of a focused exercise routine using compound exercises and free weights, as well as a well-planned diet to help you grow muscle while maintaining healthy amounts of fat.
The most visible muscles in the arm are those of the upper arms, which include your shoulder muscles, biceps, and triceps. However, it’s also important to remember to exercise the forearm if you want to have well-balanced arms.
6 Exercises To Help You Sculpt Your Arms With Free Weights
Here are some fantastic exercises for sculpting your arm muscles. It’s important to realize that most of these exercises are done with free weights (like dumbbells or kettlebells).
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1. Lateral Raise – 2 sets, 30 secs
Lateral raises are significant for building your shoulder muscles and can be done virtually anywhere.
- Stand upright with your arms by your sides, dumbbells in your hands, and your palms facing your body.
- Lift your arms out to your sides with an explosive movement until they are parallel with the floor while also slightly bending your elbows.
- Then return your arms to your sides with a controlled movement.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
2. L Raise – 2 sets, 30 secs
L-Raises are a combination of the front raise and lateral raise.
- Start in a standing position with your arms in front of you and your palms facing your body.
- Without swinging your arms, lift your right arm forward like a forward raise while raising your left arm to the side in a lateral raise.
- Return to the starting position.
- Perform this same motion but alternate your arms.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
3. Inside/Outside Curl – 2 sets, 30 secs
Inside/outside curls are compound exercises that engage most of the vital muscle groups.
- Start in a standing position with your arms in front of you and your palms facing your body.
- Perform a standard bicep curl by lifting the dumbbell in front of you.
- Return to the starting position and perform another bicep curl, but this time turn your arms out to the side while you curl.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
4. Bicep 21’s – 2 sets, 30 secs
This is a fantastic exercise that engages the full range of your bicep muscles.
- Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart, your arms by your sides, and dumbbells in your hands.
- Perform a dumbbell curl but stop the motion halfway to the top. Do this for seven reps.
- Perform another seven bicep curls, but this time start from the mid-way point and complete the motion.
- Perform seven reps of full-range bicep curls.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
5. Tricep Kickbacks – 2 sets, 30 secs
As the name implies, tricep kickbacks are a great isolation exercise for your triceps.
- Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing in toward each other.
- Straighten your spine and engage your core, bend your elbows to right angles and then lean your upper torso forward until it’s almost parallel to the ground.
- Straighten your arms at the elbow by engaging your tricep muscles.
- Hold this pose for a few moments and then return to the starting position.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
6. Front Raise – 2 sets, 30 secs
This is another excellent exercise for your arms and shoulders.
- Stand upright with your arms by your sides, dumbbells in your hands, and your palms facing your body.
- Lift your arms out in front of you with a controlled movement until they are parallel with the floor while also slightly bending your elbows.
- Then return your arms to your sides with a controlled movement.
- Repeat this exercise for two sets of at least ten repetitions each.
Tips To Follow When Toning Your Arms
Here are some tips which you can use to improve your arm workout.
Aim for Balance
Your arms are the most versatile and commonly used parts of your body. So much so that we forget the delicate balance that exists between the different muscle groups of the arms. When toning your arms, it’s essential to maintain this balance and avoid exercising some muscle groups more than others. Not only can this lead to aesthetically unappealing results, but it may also lead to increased issues with your joints, tendons, and muscles.
Some ways to avoid muscular imbalances include:
- Using compound exercises like push-ups
- Maintain proper form throughout the range of the exercise
- Focus on building your weaker side with some unilateral exercises
- Don’t forget to exercise the muscles of your lower arms
- Increase your range of motion and flexibility
Don’t Be Afraid of “Bulking”
Within the world of fitness, the words “bulking” and “toning” conjure up different images. While toning is commonly associated with lean muscle growth and a more athletic appearance, bulking is used to refer to the sort of muscle definition commonly seen among professional bodybuilders.
Some people (especially women) find bulking to be unattractive and want to tone their arms. However, there is no need to worry about putting on too much muscle mass since this requires years of training as well as dedicated resistance exercises, a strict diet regimen, and some pretty lucky genes.
Some great tips to follow to avoid putting on too much muscle mass include:
- using lighter weights
- aiming for higher repetitions with fewer sets
- focus more on your diet by crafting a balanced diet that is aimed toward achieving a calorie deficit
Start Light, Build Gradually
A common mistake many people make, especially when it comes to training their arms, is to start heavy and go hard. Just like any muscle group, your arms need time to adapt to these new levels of load they are being exposed to.
Therefore, it’s best to start light and gradually build your way up to using free weights and, eventually, more advanced exercise machines if you desire. For example, you can begin with on-your-knees push-ups or exercise using light weights such as 5 lb dumbbells. This also helps you focus on your form and avoid picking up counterproductive and potentially dangerous workout habits early on.
Switch Things Up
We have already mentioned the advantages of adding compound exercises to your workout routine, but it’s also a great idea to switch up the individual activities. Not only does it help prevent your routine from becoming dull, but it also ensures that you exercise muscle groups that may have been overlooked.
Adding variety to your workout plan includes more than just trying out new exercises. It means having days for free weights versus bodyweight training, light/moderate/high-intensity days, and even trying out techniques like high-interval intensity training (HIIT). Studies from fitness journals have shown that variety not only makes your workout routine more enjoyable but it also increases the likelihood of you sticking to your workout goals.
Your Weight Is Important Too
As much as we would love to say that you can tone your arms through exercise alone, your diet is also crucial. It’s hard to see muscle definition under a layer of fat, so achieving a calorie deficit (losing more calories than you consume) is very important.
Increasing your physical activity and sticking to a healthy meal plan is a great way to achieve this. Aside from a regular workout routine, other great ways to increase your physical activity are walking more, running, swimming, and other forms of aerobic exercises.
It is important to calculate your caloric requirements when it comes to maintaining a healthy calorie deficit. The amount of calories an average person requires in a day depends on your sex, level of physical activity, height, weight, and several other minor factors. You can calculate it using an online calorie calculator tool, but the general rule of thumb is that an adult woman requires at least 2000 calories while an adult man needs 2500 calories.
FAQs
- How can I tone my arms without bulking up?
Bulking up requires a dedicated workout routine, a strict diet plan, and favourable genetics. Some steps you can take to tone your arms without worrying about bulking include focusing on performing more repetitions and fewer sets with light weights or using only bodyweight exercises.
- Do upper body exercises help you lose weight on your arms?
Despite popular opinion, exercise in your arms does not help you lose weight in only that part of your body. This is because weight loss generally occurs all over the body at the same time.
Therefore, if you want to lose weight in your arms, the best way to do this is to increase your physical activity and restrict the number of calories you consume in a day.
- How many times should I train my arms in a week?
How many times you should train your arms in a week depends on your goals as well as the intensity of each workout. Bouts of intense exercise should be followed by more extended periods of rest than light exercise.
For most people, working out the arms two to three times a week with moderate-intensity exercises is enough to achieve their goals.
Conclusion
Toning your arms is an integral part of any workout routine. It involves a combination of the right exercises and a healthy diet plan that focuses on creating a calorie deficit. Compound exercises with free weights and resistance bands are a great way to safely tone your arms without worrying about bulking up.
