healthy arms

Your biceps are the strongest of all arm muscles and make a great curve just above the elbow. Make sure to perform bicep curls with three hand positions: palms up, palms down, and thumbs to the side. Perform 12 repetitions to the front and then 12 repetitions of each to the side.

The stability ball will engage your core and amplify the results you get from chest exercises. Its important to work the chest muscles when sculpting the arms to create stability for the shoulder joint. Try the singlearm chest fly on the ball: Start youre your shoulders on the ball, hips lifted, and both hands over your chest holding light weights. Slowly lower one arm extended to the side, pause, and return to center. Perform 15 repetitions on each arm.

Tone those arms while youre sitting in traffic! Simply place your palms on the steering wheel at 3 and 9 and press them inward to strengthen the chest. Then, place your hands inside the wheel and press outward to tone your rear delts. Try to hold these squeezes for 1020 seconds and repeat as often as you can. The person in the car next to you wont even notice.

Swinging across the monkey bars isnt just for kids. Its a great way to shape up those arms. Try to climb across and back for 23 minutes. This works all the muscles around your shoulders. Pullups are always a no brainer at the park, and to really challenge yourself, try a wide grip hang for as long as you can.

No one can argue Dara Torres has great arms. Swimming freestyle or butterfly are great exercises. But if you cant swim (or dont like the monotony of laps), try these exercises Deck press: Start in the shallow end of the pool (about 34 depth) and place your hands on the side with arms bent. Press your arms straight and lift your body to hang along the edge then lower to return to the water. Try not to use your legs and jump but really focus on using your arm strength. Perform 15 repetitions. Water fly: Standing in shoulder depth water, place your arms to side, thumbs up. Keep fingers closed together and arms straight as you push the water to bring arms closed in front of you. Turn your thumbs down and press your arms back to starting position. Perform 15 repetitions. This exercise works both chest and rear delts.

Your deltoids surround your shoulder and have three specific muscles: anterior delt, medial, and rear. To really shape your shoulders, you must hit all three of these areas. Try your alphabet T, U, Vs to tone this area T raises (pictured here) hit your medial delt. Do 15 arm raises to the side and then hold the last one for 30 seconds. Lower and repeat the set.U raises are a forward push extending the elbow overhead. Perform 40 overhead presses with light weights.V raises are done on a bench lying face down. Start with hands together at the bottom in front of the bench and raise up to a wide position. Perform 15 repetitions and then hold the last one for 30 seconds. Lower then repeat the set.

Rowing a boat can give you spectacular arms, but since most of us dont have access to water (or a row boat), simulate this exercise in the gym with an Olympic bar (the long bar you use to bench press). Stand with the bar between your legs and pick up only one end. Walk backwards until your about in the middle of the bar. In a slightly bent forward position, bend your arms to bring the bar closer to your body and then extend it in a rowing motion. Perform 20 rows. For even more arm toning, start in the same position and circle the bar 10 times clockwise and then 10 times counterclockwise as if you were stirring a big pot of soup from both an upright position and a bent over one.

Yoga is great for increasing flexibility but it also helps tone and shape your arms. The best postures: Downward dog (Adho Mukho Svanasan) and Side Plank (Vasisthasana). Downward Dog: Start standing and bend over from the waist. Walk both hands forward until your hips are high. Press your heels into the floor and relax your shoulders. Hold for 35 breaths then walk hands forward to plank position.Side Plank: From plank position, lift your right arm towards the sky, pressing into the edge of your left foot as you rotate hips and stack your feet. Hold for 35 breaths. Return to center plank and repeat on the other side.

Standard planks are a great way to strengthen your arms and core, but to really take your arm toning up a notch, place one hand on a paper plate. Keeping your arms straight (and both feet planted shoulderwidth apart), circle the plate ten times clockwise and ten times counterclockwise. Switch arms and repeat.

Target your biceps to get sexy, sleek arms. Start sitting on a ball with hips low so that your back and the backs of your arms are supported by the ball. Perform bicep curls using a ten count up and ten count down timing. Perform as many repetitions as you can until fatigue sets in. Next, turn your arms out to the side and repeat the targeted slow curls.