We all want those arms that don't flap in the wind when we're waving hello, right? These five exercises with light weights make it look easy, but the small isometric moves ensure you feel the burn. Grab your two- or three-pound dumbbells and get going, but don't worry if you don't have weights — you can even do them without for some excellent toning.
The Triceps Push
- Hold your weights and kneel on your knees with toes touching the ground. Hinge forward from your hips, and bend your elbows at 90 degrees.
- Unbend your elbows, and extend both of your arms straight back, palms facing each other. Squeeze your triceps, and then return back to starting position.
- Repeat 10 times. Do three sets of 10.
The Bicep and Deltoid Squeeze
- Sit cross-legged on the floor and hold your weights. Lift up your arms and extend them to your side, palms facing forward and elbows bent at 90 degrees. Keep your shoulders down and your wrists in line with your elbows.
- Rotate your arms so your elbows are moving to meet each other in front of you. They should be perpendicular to your shoulders. Keep your muscles engaged, and move back to starting position.
- Do 10 counts, and repeat for three sets.
The Deltoid Back Squeeze
- Kneel on the floor, and then sit all the way down so your lower legs are under your bum. Lean forward a little bit, making sure you are leaning from your torso and not just your neck. Then extend both arms so they are behind your bum, palms facing up. Make sure they are floating behind you, not touching your back.
- Squeeze your arms together so the weights almost touch, and then move back to starting position.
- Repeat for 10 counts; do three sets of 10.
Right-Angle Bicep Curl
A lot of times we do a full rotation for our biceps. Instead of taking the exercise all the way, this exercise stops when your arms make a right angle.
- Sit cross-legged on the floor and, holding your weights, extend your arms straight in front of you with your palms up.
- Slowly pull your arms up into a right angle. Release them back into the starting position, and repeat for 10 counts.
- Do three sets of 10.
Squaring It Off
Instead of wheeling your arms around without much effort, move your arms in a square motion, making stops at each corner. Your deltoids will feel the burn.
- Sit cross-legged on the floor, and imagine you are in a box. Holding your weights so palms are facing down, extend your arms and lift them, imagining you are lifting them to the top corners of the box in front of you.
- Bring your arms down so they are reaching for the bottom corners of the box.
- Keeping your arms at the same level, shift them so they are behind you, reaching for the bottom corners of the box.
- From there, lift up your arms so they are behind and above you, reaching for the top corners of the box.
- Return to starting position. This completes one rep; do three reps of 10.