A PT’s Guide To Toning Your Arms

Alex Parren, PT & running coach, says…

Focusing On Shoulders Helps
“When it comes to toning the upper body, the shoulders are a great focus. The shoulders – or deltoids – are split into three muscle heads: the anterior (front), the lateral (middle), and the posterior (rear). By focusing on all three of these muscle heads, you’ll be toning the complete upper arm, which will improve things from an aesthetics perspective.”

Supersets Are The Way To Go
“Doing supersets – i.e. two complementary exercises back-to-back with no rest in between – is a great way to tone the arms and back. A superset only works if the two exercises go together. For example, it wouldn’t work to do squats and bicep curls as they target different muscle groups. Superset exercises can be done using either the same muscle group or opposing muscle groups. For the arms, a good example would be tricep dips and bicep curls. Or, to target the same muscle group, tricep dips and tricep extensions.”

If You Do One Move, Do A Press-Up
“Not only do they work your whole arm, but they incorporate multiple other muscles. They’ll help to strengthen and define your arms, as well as working the triceps, an area that often requires special attention. Many women find push-ups tricky, which is because we tend to have underdeveloped chest muscles. But a press-up doesn’t just target the chest. You’ll find that the more you train your chest and triceps, the easier a press-up will become.”

Planning Out Your Week Is Key
“For the best results, split your upper body into muscle groups. The most popular way to split upper body training is: chest and triceps, back and biceps, shoulders and core. You would then do legs on another day, giving you a four-day workout routine. You could double up any that you want to focus on and include cardio at the end of each workout. This would leave two or three days for rest and recovery, which is the perfect ratio. It’s important to remember that muscle is actually built during the rest and recovery phase, so rest days are just as important as training days.”
 

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Nathalie Mewes, founder of NRG Barrebody, says…

Using Light Weights Will Result In A Lean Look
“I teach half of my classes without weights and the rest of the class with small weights, no more than 1kg each. Why? Because barre is all about high repetition. You could end up doing choreography with your arms and not letting them drop for five minutes, so even 1kg can end up feeling heavy. By training the muscles in this way, you’ll lengthen the muscle and build endurance, instead of bulk, resulting in longer, leaner and more defined arms.”

Resistance Bands Are Just As Effective As Weights
“A resistance band may seem like a small piece of kit, but don’t underestimate its potential when it comes to shaping the body. The number of exercises you can do with a resistance band is endless and the burn is real – you can make it as hard as you want, too. The reason a resistance band is so effective is because you work with and against the resistance compared to weights, when people often load the muscles in one direction and then release for the second part. When using a resistance band, there’s constant tension, meaning you’ll get more out of it.” 

Treating Strength Separately To Cardio Will Supercharge Results
“If you want to tone your arms, treat a strength session differently to a cardio workout. Don’t fixate on getting your heart rate up; instead, take the time to feel the burn and focus on the muscles you’re working on. Cardio has its place, but remember that cardio will burn the calories needed to recover from strength training, and a muscle that isn’t recovered enough won’t get stronger. The ideal upper body session should be slow, controlled and not necessarily sweaty. Work your arms for 30 minutes twice a week and you’ll see results after six weeks.”
 

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