5 Days to Incredible Arms

A nice set of arms does a body good, but most women tend to neglect their upper bodies while focusing too much on the lower bodies. Great arms can add spice to any simple tank top or strapless dress while making your overall appearance look sleek; however, building them up can take some time. Here is a 5 day workout plan to transform your arms from mediocre to incredible!

Monday

• 20 Tricep Dips
• 30 Push Ups
• 40 Second Plank
• 30 Arm Circles
• 20 Burpees

Tuesday

• 20 Tricep Kickbacks
• 30 Lateral Raises
• 40 Bicep Curls
• 30 Reverse Flies
• 20 Arm Swings

Wednesday

• 20 Second Plank
• 30 Arm Circles
• 40 Burpees
• 30 Lateral Raises
• 20 Reverse Flies

Thursday

• 20 Bicep Curls
• 30 Push Ups
• 40 Arm Swings
• 30 Tricep Kickbacks
• 20 Tricep Dips

 Friday

• 20 Arm Circles
• 30 Burpees
• 40 Second Plank
• 30 Reverse Flies
• 20 Push Ups

Demos

Tricep Dips:

• Position your hands shoulder-width apart on a secured bench or stable chair.
• Slide your butt off the front of the bench with your legs extended out in front of you.
• Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints.
• Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. Be sure to keep your back close to the bench.
• Once you reach the bottom of the movement, press down into the bench to straighten your elbows, returning to the starting position. This completes one rep.

Push-Ups:

• Get into a plank position with hands planted directly under the shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder width apart). Ground the toes into the floor to stabilize the bottom half of the body. Engage the abs and back so the body is neutral. In other words, flat as a… plank (ah, now we get it!)
• Begin to lower the body—back flat, eyes focused about three feet in front of you to keep a neutral neck—until the chest nearly touches the floor. (Note: Some experts say a push-up isn’t a push-up unless the chest actually grazes the ground). Don’t let the butt dip or stick out at any point during the move; the body should remain flat from head to toe all the way through the movement. Draw the shoulder blades back and down, while keeping the elbows tucked close to the body, so the upper arms form a 45-degree angle at the bottom of the push-up position.
• Keeping the core engaged, exhale as you push back to the start position as explosively as possible without leaving the ground.

Plank:

• Start off on a yoga mat in the pushup position. Starting with the pushup position is the easiest way to get into the plank.
• Lower both your forearms to the ground so that both your elbows and fists are flat to the ground. Your palms should be balled up, and directly underneath your shoulders.
• Curl your toes under and engage your abs by tilting your pelvis and pulling your belly button toward your spine.
• Straighten your body but keep your neck and spine neutral. Imagine that you’re a plank of wood, and that you’re straight as an arrow.
• Flex your abdominals and squeeze your glutes. These are the two major muscle groups you’ll be working out in this exercise.
• Hold this position, also known as the plank, until after the burning begins. Keep your eyes on the floor in front of you. Avoid raising your behind. Your body should make a straight line from your heels to the back of your head.

Arm Circles:

• Start by standing straight with your feet shoulder width apart. Your arms should be straight out to the sides, so that your body forms a T.
• Slowly start by making small circular motions with both arms on either side. After a few repetitions of small circles, enlarge your circles and do the same amount of reps.
• Your end position should look the same as the start position. Breathe in and out, and release arms to the side of the body.

Burpees:

• Begin in a standing position. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart. Now, lower your body into a squatting position, placing your hands on the floor in front of you.
• Kick your feet back so that you are in push-up position. Keep your hands firmly on the ground to support your body.
• Lower your chest to do a push-up. Bring your chest back up.
• Kick your feet back to their original position. Stand up, and then jump into the air while clapping your arms overhead.
• Repeat.

Tricep Kickbacks:

• Kneel over bench with arm supporting body.
• Grasp dumbbell.
• Position upper arm parallel to floor.
• Extend arm until it is straight.
• Return and repeat. Continue with opposite arm.

Lateral Raises:

• Stand with feet slightly apart, back straight, arms hanging at your sides.
• Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inward.
• Raise the dumbbells at your sides to shoulder level, keeping elbows slightly bent. 
• Lower slowly with control to the starting position to complete one rep. 

Bicep Curls:

• Position two dumbbells to sides, palms facing in, arms straight.
• With elbows to sides, raise one dumbbell and rotate forearm until forearm is vertical and palm faces shoulder.
• Lower to original position and repeat with opposite arm. Continue to alternate between sides.

Reverse Flies: 

• Grasp dumbbells, place feet shoulderwidth apart, flex knees and hips to lean forward.
• Keep back straight.
• Hold dumbbells below chest and keep arms slightly flexed.
• Raise arms to sides until elbows are slightly higher than shoulders.
• Keep upper arms perpendicular to body and elbows pointing up. Return and repeat.

Arm Swings:

• Stand up straight with abs tight, shoulders back, feet hip width apart, and knees slightly bent.
• Bend your elbows at a 90 degree angle, upper arms down by your sides, and face your palms towards each other. 
• Keeping your body stable (no torso rotation), alternate moving your arms forward and back as fast as you can as if you were running. 
• Focus on form, and you can hold very light dumbbells or weight plates in each hand (2.5 to 5lbs) to increase difficulty.