HEALTH AND FITNESS: What is the best exercise to tone and shape one’s arms? What kind of equipment should one use if one is at the gym or at home?
Tashi, Thimphu.
Dear Tashi,
You used the word “sculpt arms” so I am assuming you wish to tone and shape your arms rather than increase their size.
The arms comprises primarily of two major muscle, bicep and tricep. Bicep is a muscle specifically designed for pulling, and tricep specifically for pushing.
So any pushing exercise for the upper body will train tricep directly or indirectly, and any pulling movement for the upper body will work the bicep muscle directly or indirectly.
In order to sculpt the arms, I would recommend doing sets of 20 or more repetitions with only 30 or 60 seconds rest period.
| Tip of the week Arms are a small muscle with the ability to recover quickly. So if you like, you can train more than once a week. |
Exercise you could do to work your arms at home
1. Close grip push up. (Tricep)
2. Close grip and palms facing you pull up. (Bicep)
3. Tricep dip done on the edge of your bed or a low table/chair. (Tricep)
You can increase the variety of exercise for arms by purchasing a pair of dumbbell. It’s cheap and very effective. I wouldn’t encourage you to buy gym membership if your goal is just to tone and sculpt your arms.
Equipment to be used at the gym to sculpt arms
1. Barbell curl (bicep)
2. Tricep press down (Tricep)
3. Concentration curl (bicep)
4. Dumbbell extensions (tricep)
5. Bar dip (tricep)
6. One arm preacher curl (bicep)
