Not Your Average Arm Workout

Summer is right around the corner, which means tank top season! For some, that's great news...but for others...not so much. I know that many women don't look forward to wearing tank tops because they're self conscious about way their arms look.

Every woman wants to have lean, toned arms. That's why you'll so often see women in the gym doing endless tricep kickbacks with 5 pound weights trying to work off the back of the arm "jiggle". The thing is, that just doesn't work.

If you want awesome arms to show off in a tank top, endless reps of bicep curls and tricep extensions with 5 pound weights isn't gonna cut it. You need to lift heavy. Anyone you see with super defined arms has spent time with the weights-and I don't mean the pink ones.

You will get MUCH more bang for your buck by focusing on heavy, compound rowing and pressing movements than you will from isolating the biceps and triceps with a bunch of light weight exercises. All rowing and pressing movements(think pushups and pullups) work the biceps and triceps, but they allow you to move a much heavier amount of weight than isolation exercises. More weight equals more muscle. And more muscle equals more definition. You can't have definition without muscle!

There really is no reason to go to the gym and have an "arm day"-especially if you're just an average gal who wants to look good in a tank top, not a bodybuilder trying to develop their biceps peak. Most people would do just fine with workouts that work all the major muscles of the upper body, rather than just focusing on one or two muscle groups at a time.

Here is a sample upper body workout:

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
1)Neutral grip pullups*	4	4-8
2)Dumbbell push press	4	6-8
3a)Close grip pushups**	3	10-12
3b)Palms facing up inverted rows	3	10-12
4a)Plank pushup	3	6-8/arm
4b)Hammer curls	3	10-12
*Use assisted machine or bands if necessary **Elevate upper body if needed

See how I actually did include bicep curls in the workout? The thing is, isolation work is fine to do as long as you're doing your heavy lifts FIRST. You can get awesome arms without doing a single bicep curl, but hey, if  you want to hit those biceps a little more, go ahead and do some curls!

If your goal is to have toned arms, you can't be afraid to lift heavy weights. Combine that with a healthy nutrition plan to help you lose fat, along with time and consistency, and you'll be proud to show off those arms this summer!