Maddie Are you wanting to start strength training arms? If so, this guide will provide absolutely everything you should know!
Hey girls! Strength training arms is a MUST if you want to obtain a balanced and toned physique. And believe it or not, strength training will not make you bulky–that is, in fact, a huge myth.
This post is all about strength training arms for women.
*Note: This post includes several Amazon affiliate links, which means I'll receive a commission if you purchase through my link (at no extra cost to you). Please read full disclosure here. Also, I am not a doctor or dietician. I am a personal trainer. It's always best to speak with your doctor before making any changes to your diet and/or lifestyle.
Strength training arms for women:
What we'll cover...
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Why strength training is so important
I could go ON AND ON about the benefits of strength training and how it has changed my life (and how it can change yours too). Whether you want to lose some fat or simply increase your overall health and fitness, resistance training is a must.
Here are the main benefits of strength training for women:
1. Makes you stronger
This benefit is obvious, but it's an important one to consider.
As you become stronger, your everyday activities will become easier. Whether it be getting up from a chair, carrying groceries, lifting furniture, or picking up your toddler, strength training has such an important carryover to our everyday lives.
2. Boosts your metabolism
When you strength train you build muscle. Muscle tissues burn more calories than fat tissues do, so having more muscle means you'll be burning more calories throughout the day!
As someone who lost 60 pounds (and as someone who LOVES her food), this is probably my favorite benefit of weight lifting.
It's so nice being able to eat a ton of food while still maintaining my weight. This also made weight loss easier because I didn't have to eat in such an extreme calorie deficit to see results.
3. Allows you to build a 'toned' physique
Cardio is great for general fat loss, but in no way will it work to tone your body. That's where strength training comes to the rescue! Gaining muscle will give you a fit and toned appearance.
However, know that you shouldn't "pick and choose" which parts of your body you want to tone the most. For example, if you want a bigger butt and a smaller stomach, you SHOULD NOT just train glutes and core.
You should always do full body exercises throughout the week so that you don't create any muscle imbalances. Trust me, you'll regret skipping out on muscle groups down the line.
4. Decreases your risk of injury
Strength training increases core and stabilizer muscle strength, it corrects muscle imbalances, improves balance, protects joints, and builds bone density.
Overall, strength training works wonders for decreasing risk of injury!
5. Improves heart health
Believe it or not, resistance training does help to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
Regular strength training has an impact on your circulation. Increasing your lean mass also gives your cardiovascular system more places to send the blood that's being pumped around your body.
This takes the pressure off your arteries which is HUGE for staying healthy.
6. Increases quality of life
I'm sure you can come to this conclusion from the five previous benefits, but I feel it's important to mention by itself.
In addition to all of these physical benefits, strength training has several mental benefits: it can improve mood and self-confidence. It can improve your quality of sleep as well. This is especially true alongside healthy eating and drinking habits!
Overall, strength training is just too incredible to skip out on.
How to Build Arm Strength Female
Right now, you may think of "arms" or "upper body" as one unit, but when creating an arm routine it's important to split up the different upper body muscles.
These are the 5 notable muscle groups in terms of strength training arms:
1. Chest
2. Triceps
3. Back
4. Biceps
5. Shoulders
During your upper body workouts, you'll usually want to train 2 to 3 similar muscle groups together. For example, you could train chest and triceps together, or back, biceps, and shoulders together.
You can also pair a group of upper body muscles with some lower body exercises as well (full body workouts). It really depends on your workout split and how many workouts you want to do throughout the week.
A good rule of thumb is this: if you work out 2-3x a week, you should consider doing full-body workouts. But if you work out 3+ days a week, you can split up certain muscle groups into a workout split. Here is an example:
As far as reps and sets, you should begin with 3 sets and 8-12 reps per exercise. Take 60 to 90 seconds of rest between sets.
Arm strength exercises for beginners
Okay, now for the good stuff! Here are some awesome strength training arms workouts that you should totally try out!
The workouts will be categorized by popular muscle group splits, and there are options for arm exercises with weights, dumbbell-only workouts, and arm strength exercises without weights!
Back & biceps arm workouts
An important thing to keep in mind when training back and biceps together is the idea that you should NEVER train biceps first. Biceps are a fairly small muscle group and play an important role in heavy back exercises such as barbell rows, so you want to make sure your biceps aren't fatigued prior to those movements.
BACK & BICEPS WORKOUT 1:
BACK & BICEPS WORKOUT 2 (Dumbbell Only):
BACK & BICEPS WORKOUT 3 (No Equipment):
Adjustable Home Dumbbell Set
Looking for home weights but don't have a ton of room for equipment? Amazon's top-rated adjustable dumbbell set by ProForm is absolutely perfect for saving space!
And the best part is, these dumbbells can be adjusted from 10 to 50 pounds!
Chest & triceps arm workouts
Again, just as with back and biceps, you never want to fatigue your triceps before training chest. So always perform your chest exercises first during your chest and triceps workouts!
CHEST & TRICEPS WORKOUT 1:
CHEST & TRICEPS WORKOUT 2 (Dumbbell Only):
CHEST & TRICEPS WORKOUT 3 (No Equipment):
Shoulders & back arm workouts
This split is more lenient and can be switched up in order more forgivingly. If you want to prioritize shoulder strength, train your shoulders first during your workout. However, if you want to prioritize back strength, you should do back exercises first instead.
SHOULDERS & BACK WORKOUT 1:
SHOULDERS & BACK WORKOUT 2 (Dumbbell Only):
SHOULDERS & BACK WORKOUT 3 (No Equipment):
Biceps & triceps arm workouts
Triceps are a larger muscle than the biceps are, so it's wise to train them first in your biceps and triceps workouts.
BICEPS & TRICEPS WORKOUT 1:
BICEPS & TRICEPS WORKOUT 2 (Dumbbell Only):
BICEPS & TRICEPS WORKOUT 3 (No Equipment):
The takeaway
Strength training arms is crucial for toning your upper body. You should always pair multiple arm muscle groups together during your workouts. This post featured arm toning exercises for females, arm strength exercises without weights, arm strength exercises for beginners, how to build arm muscle at home, as well as arm exercises with weights!
