Many women are looking to make their arms thinner and smaller, but not necessarily bulkier. If you want to lose arm fat and get that slender-and-toned arms look, you're in the right place. This guide reveals how to get skinny arms with just enough lean muscle.
We start with tips for women on how to get slender arms via fat loss. Then we share the most effective arm exercises for turning you into a lean-muscled, toned-arms female. We finish with lean muscle-building tips and supplements to help you along the way. Let's get to it!
Key Takeaways
- There's no shortcut to skinny and toned arms. Females succeed with resistance training exercises targeting the biceps, triceps, and shoulders, plus overall body fat reduction via diet and cardio.
- Top arm exercises for women seeking to tone up include the floor press, bent-over rows, dumbbell shoulder press, overhead triceps extension, lateral raises, bicep curls and push ups.
- Hitting the gym is preferred, but not essential. Many of these arm exercises can be performed easily at home.
- Follow good muscle development and definition practices: Strength training with varied intensity, cardio and diet to burn fat, sufficient protein intake, and adequate rest periods.
- Consider supplements: Pre-workout to up intensity of your arm workouts, low-dose caffeine pills for workout energy, healthy fats (MCTs, Omega-3s), protein for growth, well-formulated fat burners and sleep support for recovery.
Tips on How to get Skinnier Arms
Getting that sleek toned-arm look only works if your muscle definition is visible. That means for some women, weight loss is part of any fitness regimen designed to produce slim arms.
Here are some quick weight loss tips to help make flabby arms leaner and smaller:
- Understand Spot Reduction is a Myth: Recognize that targeting fat loss in just the arms is not possible; body fat reduction occurs overall.
- Incorporate Cardio: Engage in regular cardiovascular exercises (aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of high intensity cardio per week). Train or a good calorie burn to reduce overall body fat.
- Monitor Nutrition: Focus on a balanced diet with a slight caloric deficit to promote fat loss without compromising energy and nutrition.
- Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to support metabolism and help with appetite control.
- Consistent Sleep Schedule: Ensure adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night) to support recovery and regulate hunger hormones.
- Reduce Stress: Try meditation, yoga, or other relaxation practices to avoid stress-related snacking. The stress hormone cortisol also directly triggers fat storage and weight gain.(1)
- Consider a good fat burner. If you want to try the supplement route, it's important to choose a clean, high-quality fat burner supplement that can safely support your goals. More on today's best fat burners.
Best 7 Exercises For Toned Arms
You don't need a gym or any fancy equipment to get sexy arms that can be noticed from a mile away.
All you need is a set of dumbbells, a space to work out, and dedication. Hitting your muscles with arm toning exercises a few times per week will leave you with gorgeous arms in no time.
Ready to build strong arms? Here are 7 of the best arm exercises women can do. Mix and match these suggestions to create an arm workout that works for you!
1. Floor Press
This is a home-based tweak on the traditional bench press. Since most people don't have access to a bench unless they're in a gym, the floor press allows you to do a similar movement that targets the chest muscles.
Because it's only a partial range, it increases demand on the triceps muscles to assist in full extension of the arm. Here you're building strength and targeting the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
How-to: Lie on your back on the floor and press weights upward from shoulder level to arm's length, keeping your elbows in a straight line with your shoulders.
2. Bent-over Rows
While bent-over rows primarily target your back muscles, it's all part in parcel of building stronger, sexier, sleeker arms and improving your posture.
Rows directly stimulate your lats, traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuffs and work wonders for your entire upper body. But with a strong grip and pulling movement, you're also working your forearms and biceps.
How-to: Stand with knees slightly bent, hinge forward at the hips, maintain a straight back, and pull weights upward toward the lower chest while keeping elbows close to the body.
3. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Strong shoulders round out strong arms, and a shoulder press is one of the best shoulder exercises to target and really emphasize the deltoid muscles, but also the triceps, traps, and upper chest.
Whether it's a standing or seated press, Arnold, neutral grip, or partial press, they're all super effective for building strength and giving you toned shoulders. And as an added benefit, you also engage all the core muscles!
How-to: Sit or stand with dumbbells at shoulder height, then press the weights directly overhead with arms extended, and lower them back down to shoulder height.
4. Overhead Triceps Extension
Most people love to kill their biceps, but they forget about the opposing muscle group—the triceps. There are several movements you can do to target the triceps, of which the extension is the most common.
The triceps extension is one of the simplest but most effective exercises for strengthening the triceps. You're hitting each of the three heads, as well as the shoulders and core muscles to stabilize your body and build strength.
How-to: Stand straight with your feet flat on the ground. Raise a weight overhead, lower the weight behind your head by bending your elbows, then extend your arms upward to return to the starting position.
5. Lateral Raises
Lat raises are another fantastic exercise for building shoulder strength and definition. Really, no movement is better or more essential than the side lateral raise when it comes to building true "boulder shoulders." And even if that's not what you're going for, they're still a must.
The deltoids are composed of three muscles: the anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, and posterior deltoid. The primary muscle worked during a lateral raise is the medial deltoid, but you can also hit other muscles if you vary up the movement. For example, front raises work the anterior delts.
How-to: Stand with dumbbells at your sides, then lift the weights outward to shoulder level, keeping your arms straight and shoulders relaxed, before slowly lowering them back down.
6. Bicep Curls
The good ol' bicep curl is a classic for anyone looking for toned arms, and it's the go-to for nearly every fitness fanatic. It's a straightforward movement that works wonders for upper arm strength.
Strong biceps are the cornerstone of so many other movements. They play a role in exercises like vertical and horizontal rows, pull-ups, and chin-ups, and act as secondary muscles behind the primary muscles of the shoulders and upper back.
How-to: Stand with your feet hip width apart and dumbbells at your sides with palms facing up. Slowly bend your elbows to lift the weights toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arms stationary, before slowly lowering them back down. You can do one dumbbell at a time, or both at once. This exercise can also be performed with a barbell.
7. Pushups
Last but not least, we get to the exercise most women love to hate. But you can't deny that they're effective for targeting not just your upper arm muscles, but nearly every muscle in your upper body.
The standard push-up targets your chest muscles, deltoids, and triceps, but you're also engaging your core and glutes. Really, it's a dynamic movement that engages your entire body. Variations on the standard pushup can further hone-in on different areas of your upper body to strengthen, tighten, and tone.
How-to: Start in a plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and feet hip width apart. Lower body until chest nearly touches the ground, then push back up to the starting position while keeping your body in a straight line. Keep your core engaged for best results.
Some additional arm exercises to consider:
- Tricep Dips - Utilize a bench or chair.
- Pull-ups - Use a pull-up bar; modify with resistance bands if needed.
- Hammer Curls - Similar to bicep curls, but with dumbbells held vertically.
- Tricep Kickbacks - With dumbbells, hinge forward slightly at the hips.
- Plank Ups - Start in a plank position, then lower into a forearm plank and push back up.
- Arm Circles - Can be performed with or without light weights for toning.
For effectiveness, ensure proper form and consider varying the number of repetitions and sets according to your fitness level.
Tips for Arm Muscle Building
- Use progressive overload by gradually increasing the intensity, weight, or repetitions of these arm toning exercises over time.
- Maintain a balanced diet with sufficient calories and macronutrients for energy and muscle recovery, including protein to build arm muscle mass.
- Consider incorporating compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses to work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, including legs.
- Get enough rest and recovery to allow muscles to repair and grow. Learn more about sleep for muscle recovery and physical performance.
- Consider dietary supplements that can help boost your full arm workout, soothe muscles afterwards, promote weight loss and help feed muscle growth.
Helpful Supplements
Pre Lab Pro
Pre Lab Pro helps increase energy, focus, strength and power output during resistance training exercises, allowing women to lift heavier weights and stimulate arm muscle growth more effectively.
Ultimately, it helps you maximize their workouts and achieve greater muscle tone and increase definition in your arms. Powder mixes into a berry-flavored pre-workout drink.
Ingredients: Red Beetroot Powder; Setria® Performance Blend; Natural Caffeine; L-Theanine; L-Tyrosine; Vitamin D3, Potassium and Iron (all as NutriGenesis®), Himalayan Pink Salt. Delicious natural berry flavor.
Buy Performance Lab® Pre Lab Pro®
MCT Energy Oil
MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil helps women aiming to tone their arm muscles by providing a quick and efficient source of energy during workouts.(2) MCTs also promote fat breakdown, raise rate of calorie burning as well as improving exercise endurance.(3,4)
Performance Lab® MCT Energy Oil is the top pick because it is clean and natural: just C8+C10 MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) from 100% organic non-GMO coconuts.
Ingredients: Per tablespoon: 8.6 g C8 MCT (Caprylic Acid); 4.2 g C10 MCT (Capric Acid).
Buy Performance Lab® MCT Energy Oil
Performance Lab® Caffeine 2
When used correctly -- that is, with low to moderate dosing -- caffeine is among the best supplements for boosting your training performance.(5)
Caffeine 2 supplies 50 mg caffeine per capsule, allowing you to fine-tune your intake to what works best. It is designed to enhance physical and mental energy while reducing jitters, crashes and other unpleasant side effects.
Ingredients: Natural Caffeine (from Coffea robusta seeds), L-Theanine, L-Tyrosine, NutriGenesis® Caffeine Balance B-Complex.
Buy Performance Lab® Caffeine 2
Performance Lab® Omega-3
Omega-3s soothing effects help comfort muscle soreness after arm toning exercises, allowing for quicker recovery and improved performance in your next sessions.(6) Omega-3s also regulate cell function and protein synthesis, crucial processes for muscle repair and growth.
Performance Lab Omega-3 is an omega-3 supplement sourced from marine algae. Perfect for a plant-based diet. No fish burps or stomach upset -- just clean Omega-3s in a vegan softgel.
Ingredients: Each serving of vegan-friendly, carrageenan-free NutriGels® supplies 1800 mg algal oil (540 mg DHA [Docosahexaenoic Acid]) and 270 mg EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid).
Performance Lab® Sleep
Sleep is key to muscle development. Performance Lab® Sleep uses natural low-dose melatonin (from cherries) to gently induce sleep with no morning-after grogginess.
It's also great post workout because its antioxidants soothe achy arm muscles; while its two forms of magnesium help muscles relax and unwind.
Incorporating Performance Lab Sleep into a nightly routine can help women striving to achieve their fitness goals and enhance arm muscle tone.
Ingredients: Magnesium (as Magnesium Bisglycinate and NutriGenesis® Magnesium), Whole Montmorency Tart Cherry (50:1 concentrated ratio), L-Tryptophan, Organic Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).
Burn Lab Pro
Burn Lab Pro maximizes workout performance, supports muscle preservation during calorie deficits, and promotes overall fat loss -- making it an ideal formula for women working towards the goal of lean and toned arms.
Burn Lab Pro works holistically and naturally, without caffeine. While it can optimize the body's fat-burning processes, it's important to remember that spot reduction (losing fat in the arms, only) is not possible.
Ingredients: Burn Lab Pro includes Forslean, Capsimax cayenne pepper extract, NutriGenesis GTF Chromium, HMB (β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate), and BioPerine black pepper extract.
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to get smaller arms that are slim and slender… with just enough muscle for that sleek-and-sexy lean look.
Ultimately it requires a multi-faceted approach that includes strategies to lose weight, targeted exercises for arm toning and muscle building techniques. Some supplements may help, too.
Remember, while spot reduction is a myth, a combination of general cardio, resistance training (like the arm workouts in this guide), and a balanced diet, can synergistically support your journey.
By sticking to these principles, maintaining consistency, and focusing on overall health and fitness, women can achieve their goals of beautifully toned arms.
