Exercises for trim and toned arms

Arms are niggly, they seem to hold onto weight like no other part of our bodies- especially in the armpits, and 'bingo wings' - don’t even get me started. Don’t fret though, with a more balanced diet and with some targeted arm exercises, there is hope that those pesky flabby areas can be reduced!

Here are some of the best arm exercises to get you started.

Boxing

Boxing is incredible, not only for your arms but for your whole body, particularly your core. You don’t need a boxing bag or a gym membership to box either, contrary to popular belief. Boxing jabs, crosses and hooks can be done without any gear and in the comfort of your own home. You can also do them with small weights as well for an added punch and burn. A quick search on YouTube will result in thousands of at-home boxing routines and workouts which are simple and easy to follow. You can do repetitions in the air and shadow boxing, making sure you are tensing your core at all times. Did I mention it’s also a fantastic way to let out anger and aggression; we all have a little (large amount) of feistiness inside of us, so it’s a good way to punch and sweat it all out of your system.

Tom Daly’s Routine

Sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself at home to get stuck into a workout but doing it alongside a YouTube video can make it far less daunting and quite frankly, more enjoyable. World champion diver and famously attractive human, Tom Daley, has a straightforward 6-minute no-equipment arms workout video on YouTube which is a must-try. The exercises are simple but will leave you a dripping mess afterwards; it isn’t time-consuming so is easy to fit into your day. For all the keen beans out there, you can always do the workout twice!

Here's the link to the video!

Push-ups

Push-ups seem like an obvious (and slightly mundane) choice when working out arms. As dreadful as the thought of jamming out push-up reps is, there is no denying that they work. You can actually spice up the push-ups also if doing the same-old classic ones seems a bit vanilla for you. You start off with push-ups on your knees or by placing your arms on an elevated surface such as bench or chair to make them easier, push-ups against the wall is another good way to ease pressure on the joints and make it a bit simpler. Tapping your outer thigh at the top of the push-up adds another dimension, or if you’re feeling confident, you can try the Spiderman, where you bring a knee up the side of your body towards your body on the down cycle of the push-up. There are hundreds of varieties, the world is your oyster.

Push-ups are a simple exercise that you can do every day as they use small muscle groups, so your arms will recover relatively quickly. There’s no excuse not to do your daily push-ups as they don’t take long, so if you don’t have time for a full workout, you can do some reps in the morning before your shower or at night before bed. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you improve if you do them consistently and at how determined you’ll become to keep improving. Try starting by doing four reps of as many push-ups as you can, with ninety seconds in between, and voila!

Bench Dips

Bench dips can be done anywhere and are phenomenal for your chest and triceps. You hold on to a bench whilst looking away from it, then with your hand's shoulder width apart and your knees bent to ninety degrees (or if you want to make it harder you hold your legs straight), you slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until your arms are at about ninety degrees. You then lift yourself back up again using your triceps and repeat. The burn you will feel should be more than enough to confirm how good the exercise is for your arms.