10 Best Bodyweight Arm Exercises
By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer
These bodyweight arm exercises deliver the most efficient strength training workout to tone and strengthen your arms. Whether you want to define your arm muscles for tank tops or to improve your sports performance, bodyweight exercises will help. Strength training has many health benefits - from improving bone density to boosting metabolism. And since you don’t need weights for these exercises, you can do them almost anywhere - at home, while traveling, or at the gym.
Related Post: 10 Best Arm Workouts with Dumbbells
Photos by Marques Jackson Photography.
Benefits of Arm Workouts
There are many benefits of adding a bodyweight arms workout to your routine. Here are some of the most significant benefits:
Increased muscle strength.
Better bone density.
Reduced risk of injuries.
Improved athletic performance.
Toned and sculpted arms.
According to one study, strength training can even increase longevity. In the study, people who did 30 to 60 minutes of strength training a week had a 10% to 20% lower risk of dying during the study period from all causes, especially from cancer and heart disease.
Best Bodyweight Arm Exercises
These are the best bodyweight arm exercises that will give you the most effective arm workout:
1. Push-ups
Push-ups are one of the best bodyweight arm exercises that target major muscle groups in your upper body. They also have the option to add or reduce the intensity with modified push-ups or incline or decline push-ups (with your hands or feet elevated on a bench).
Muscles Worked: Chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.
How to Do Them:
To get into a pushup position, begin from a high plank position with straight arms and hands planted below your shoulders. Your body should be straight with your core engaged to prevent your back from arching or swaying.
Keep your head and neck in a neutral position with your spine neutral and chin tucked. You can rest your eyes on the floor.
Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body toward the floor until your chest almost touches the floor.
Push through your arms and raise your body back to the starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Start with 2 sets of 10 pushups. Over time, you can add more until you can do 3 sets of 10.
Related Post: 10 Best Tricep Exercises from a Trainer
2. Decline Push-ups
Decline push-ups add more resistance to regular push-ups for a more challenging workout, and they target your shoulders more than regular push-ups.
Muscles Worked: Triceps, chest, shoulders, and core.
How to Do Them:
Place your feet on an elevated surface such as a bench, chair, or step.
Put your hands on the floor with your elbows bent and shoulders over your wrists and elbows.
Tighten your core muscles to maintain a straight line from your ankles to your head.
Lower your chest toward the floor, keeping your back and neck in a neutral position with your chin tucked.
Slowly push back up through your arms to return to the starting position.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Do 1 to 2 sets of 10 to start and work up to 3 sets of 10.
3. Arm Circles
Arm circles help strengthen and tone your shoulders, biceps, and triceps, and they’re accessible for all fitness levels.
Muscles Worked: Shoulders, triceps, biceps, and upper back.
How to Do Them:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Raise your arms out by your sides until they parallel the floor.
Circle your arms forward in small, tight circles.
Gradually widen your circles to finish with larger arm circles.
Repeat to do arm circles with backward circles.
Suggested Reps: Do 2 sets of 30 seconds for front arm circles and 2 sets of back arm circles.
4. Triceps Dips
Tricep dips offer an adaptable workout that strengthens the triceps, the muscles that run along the back of your upper arms. Seated tricep dips using a bench or sturdy chair are beginner-friendly and versatile. For advanced workouts, you can use two parallel bars and do dips on the bars. Here is how to do seated tricep dips:
Muscles Worked: Triceps, shoulders, core, and chest.
How to Do Them:
Sit at the edge of a stable bench, chair, or step.
Place your right hand and left hand on the edge of the bench, step, or chair with your fingers slightly curled and palms facing downward.
Scoot forward so your butt comes off the surface, and your hands are pressed into the platform with your feet resting on the floor.
Lower your body, bending at the elbows.
Push yourself back up slowly until your arms are almost straight.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Do 2 sets of 10 to start. As you adjust to dips and maintain good form, you can add more and progress to 3 sets of 10.
5. High Planks
Photo by Marques Jackson Photography.
Although you may think of planks as a core workout, certain planks - like high planks - also strengthen your arms. Planks are an excellent compound exercise targeting multiple muscle groups.
Muscles Worked: Core, chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
How to Do Them:
Begin from a high push-up position, with your hands planted on the floor directly below your shoulders and your arms extended straight.
Tighten your core muscles and hold.
Keep your head and neck neutral, with your chin tucked and your eyes on the floor.
Hold for 20 to 60 seconds.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Begin with 2 sets of planks for 20 seconds each. Gradually increase your plank time over a period of weeks until you can hold for 30 to 45 seconds per plank.
6. Plank Taps
Plank taps pack a punch, strengthening your arms, core, and upper back muscles. These compound exercises are among the best bodyweight arm exercises targeting several major muscle groups.
Muscles Worked: Shoulders, biceps, arms, back, and core.
How To Do Them:
Begin from a high plank position with your arms straight and shoulders above your elbows and wrist. Keep your feet hip-width apart planted on the ground.
Engage your core muscles to create a straight line with your body from your head to your feet. Tuck your chin and keep your head and neck in a neutral position.
Lift one arm and tap your opposite shoulder. (Tap your left arm to your right shoulder and your right arm to your left shoulder).
Return your arm to the starting position and repeat with the other arm.
Keep your core engaged to prevent rocking and maintain good form throughout the exercise. Do not let your hips sag or roll.
Suggested Reps: Do two sets of 10 on each side.
7. Arm Hang / Dead Hang
Arm hangs, also called dead hangs, offer an excellent upper-body workout that strengthens your arms, shoulders, and back. All you need is a bar for this exercise.
Muscles Worked: Forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders, and back.
How to Do Them:
Place your hands on the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing forward, and arms shoulder-width apart. If you need to, you can use a bench or step to reach the bar so you don’t have to jump into the hang.
Hang from the bar, keeping your chin above the bar and your arms bent.
Hold and then return your feet to the step or ground.
Repeat.
Suggested Reps: Do 3 sets of arm hangs for 10 seconds when you start. Gradually add time as you build strength until you can hang for at least 30 seconds.
8. Inchworm
The inchworm is a beginner-friendly arm-strengthening exercise that you can do anywhere. You can do this exercise on a floor or yoga mat.
Muscles Worked: Arms, chest, shoulders, core, and chest.
How to Do Them:
Begin from a standing position with your arms by your sides and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Bend over while bending your knees slightly and touching the floor in front of you.
Walk your hands out until your body is fully extended with your legs straight and you’re in a high plank position, with your shoulders above your elbows and wrists.
Walk your hands back and return to the starting position.
You can add a push-up for an advanced workout when your body is fully extended in a high plank position.
Suggested Reps: Do 2 sets of 10 inchworms and work up to 3 sets of 10.
9. Chin-ups
Chin-ups are among the best bodyweight arm exercises for targeting large muscle groups in your upper body. You will need a bar for this exercise.
Muscles Worked: Back, trapezius (which runs from your neck to your shoulders), shoulders, biceps, forearms, and chest.
How to Do Them:
Place your hands on the bar about shoulder-width apart with your palms facing backward in an underhand grip.
Pull yourself up using your upper body muscles.
When your chest reaches the bar, pause.
Slowly lower yourself back down until your arms are straight and you’re in the starting position.
Suggested Reps: Chin-ups can be challenging, and building up slowly is best. Begin with 2 to 3 pull-ups and work your way up to doing 10 pull-ups.
10. Plank Up and Downs
Plank up and downs offer another way to build your arm and core muscles using your body weight. These are an advanced plank variation that you can do once you master high planks.
Muscles Worked: Triceps, shoulders, core, and lower back.
How to Do Them:
Begin from a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart planted on the floor and your arms straight.
Engage your core muscles to maintain a straight line from your head to your feet, with no sagging or rising at the hips.
Drop one elbow to the ground, followed by the other elbow to get into a forearm plank position. Keep your core engaged to prevent rocking at the hips.
Pause, then bring your first arm back to a straight position, followed by your other arm.
Repeat beginning with the other arm first.
Suggested Reps: Start with 1 set of 10. Work your way up to doing 3 sets of 10.
Arm Workout Tips
Do your upper body strength training workouts at least twice a week to improve your arm strength and muscle definition.
When you’re starting out, work on mastering your form before adding advanced variations (such as decline push-ups or bar exercises like chin-ups).
Track your workouts to see your progress and keep yourself accountable.
FAQs
These are some of the questions that clients I train ask me about getting “toned” arms:
Can bodyweight exercises build arms?
Yes, bodyweight arm exercises can strengthen your arm muscles. You can get a more defined, toned look by doing these bodyweight exercises.
How can I build arm muscles without weights?
Bodyweight exercises - like the ones listed above (pushups, planks, dips, arm circles, and bar exercises) - can help you strengthen and build your arm muscles. Also include a high-protein diet in your eating program if you want to build muscle.
How to tone arms quickly?
For the quickest results, do arm exercises every other day and eat a high-protein diet. This will help you build muscle but it will still take over a month to see optimal results so don’t get discouraged. Stay consistent and you will see - and feel - the results.
Do arm circles help tone arms?
Yes, arm circles strengthen your arm and shoulder muscles and can help give your arms a more defined look.
Have you tried any of these bodyweight arm exercises? Follow and tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your workouts and get cheered on. If you need a custom training plan to build strength and lose body fat, head to the Runstreet Training Center.
Happy sweating to you!😊
Related Posts: 10 Best Compound Exercises with Dumbbells, 10 Best Arm Workouts with Dumbbells, How to Do a Straight Arm Plank
Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.
