If you effectively and quickly want to strengthen your muscles and lose extra body fat to reveal your arms' shape and definition, skip the bodyweight moves and pick up some weights [1]. Here's a dumbbell workout you can do at the gym or at home to sculpt your arms and upper back.
Directions: Grab a pair of medium-weight dumbbells and complete this five-move workout four times. Find descriptions of each exercise ahead.
The Workout
10 man makers
10 reverse flies
10 reverse lunges with biceps curls
10 upright rows
10 lying chest flies
Man Maker
- Start with a wide stance, toes slightly pointed out.
- Lower into a deep squat, grabbing your free weights with your hands.
- Walk or jump your feet back into plank position. Do a push-up (optional).
- From plank position, lift your right elbow and do a row [3], keeping your core tight and your glutes engaged.
- Keeping your neck long and energized, return the weight to the ground, and repeat the row on your left side.
- With your hands still holding the dumbbells, jump your feet back in toward the hands, drop your hips toward the ground, and lift your chest.
- In a squat, curl your weights into the chest, and stand.
- Do an overhead press [4] by extending your arms above your head, weights in hand. Carefully lower the weights to the starting position.
- This completes one rep. Do a total of 10 reps.
Reverse Fly
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with knees slightly bent. Keeping your back flat, bend forward at the hip joint.
- Exhale and lift both arms to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Then, with control, lower the dumbbells back toward the ground.
- This completes one rep. Do 10 reps.
Reverse Lunge With Biceps Curl
- Begin with your feet together, holding dumbbells at your sides.
- Step your right foot back into a deep lunge as you bend your elbows, bringing weights to your shoulders for the biceps curl. Make sure your left knee is directly over your ankle, and bend your right knee so it almost touches the floor.
- Focus on your left glute as you step your right foot forward to return to the starting position, lowering weights back to your sides. Repeat, lunging the left foot back.
- This counts as one rep. Do a total of 10 reps.
Upright Row
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and place a dumbbell in each hand. Your closed palms should be facing your body. The shoulders should be over your pelvis, with knees slightly bent.
- Keeping the dumbbells close to your body, raise them to your shoulders, bending your elbows out to the sides.
- Slowly lower them to the starting position.
- This counts as one rep. Complete a total of 10 reps.
Lying Chest Fly
- Lie on your back with your hips and knees both at 90-degree angles. Using your lower abs, press your lower back into the mat. Raise your arms toward the ceiling, palms facing each other, keeping the elbow joints slightly bent.
- Keeping your torso stable, open your arms out to the sides until your elbows are about two inches from the floor.
- Raise your arms back to the ceiling, bringing the weights together over your chest.
- This counts as one rep. Do a total of 10.