Arm Workouts Without Weights – 5 Exercises to Get You Amazing Arms

Published by Kris on

arm workouts without weights - jump rope

After having a baby, many new moms may find it harder to make time to get to the gym. It may end up just being more convenient to exercise at home. The only downside is that you may not have all that expensive gym equipment at home, right?

Strength training is an important part of getting back in shape after having a baby, so in this article we will go over some arm workouts without weights that you can do to start getting those arms back in shape.

A couple things before we get started. First, please make sure you have the “go ahead” from your doctor to exercise before beginning any exercise routine.

Second, always make sure you warm up your body before beginning your workout. I recommend about 5-10 minutes of light cardio and stretching.

Warm-Up

For cardio, you can do things like jumping jacks, light jogging or marching on the spot, stair climbing or jump rope (no need for a real jump rope for this; you can just pretend).

Get your arms ready by doing a few big arm circles backwards, then forwards.

Stretch your biceps by clasping your hands behind you keeping your arms straight, then raise them as far up as you can until you feel the stretch comfortably.

Stretch your shoulders by holding your right arm tight against your chest until you feel the stretch in your shoulder, then repeat with the other arm.

Stretch your triceps by pulling your right arm up beside your right ear and bending your arm back behind you, making sure your elbow doesn’t drift forwards away from your ear; hold. Repeat with your left arm.

There, you should be good to go now! Let’s get into the arm workouts without weights exercises now:

One Arm Row

For this exercise, you can use a can of soup, bottled water, or anything else you have that is similar in size/weight. You will also need a stool or bench for support.

To begin, have your “weight” (soup can, or whatever you are using) in your left hand and put your right knee and right hand on the bench, so that you are in a table top type of position. Your left hand should be dangling down beside you. Your back should be straight and abdominals engaged. Make sure your head and neck are in one straight line with your back. To do this exercise, bending your left arm, pull it up close in at your side so that your elbow points to the ceiling. Slowly lower the weight down again. Repeat.

Shoot for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions on each arm. This exercise targets the upper back, biceps and shoulders.

Close-Grip Push-Ups

This is one of the arm workouts without weights exercises that allows you to just use your body weight. This effective exercise is done by going into a push-up position, except that you want your hands close together with your thumbs and your index fingers touching each other, making a triangle.

Note: If you find push-up exercises difficult, have your knees on the floor throughout the exercise.

Keeping your body in one straight line, from head to toe, slowly lower yourself so you are hovering just above the floor, push up again. Repeat.

These can be challenging so do only as many as you can but make sure you do the exercise until you feel you just can’t do another one if your life depended on it!

Try for about 3 sets of 8 if you can. This exercise targets the triceps.

Arm Circles
arm workouts without weights - arm circles

These are one of those arm workouts without weights exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime. Standing up completely straight, extend your arms straight out to the side, so they are parallel to the floor and in one straight line from your shoulders. Start making small forward circles with both arms, aiming for about 20 of them, then repeat doing 20 backward circles. If this is too easy for you, hold a can of soup, bottle of water, etc. in each hand as you do them.

This exercise targets your shoulders, triceps and biceps.

Push-Ups

This good old-fashioned exercise has stayed consistent throughout the years for a reason…simply put, because it works! Assume the push-up position, and again, if having your whole body off the floor in one straight line is too difficult, the variation is to have your knees on the floor. If it’s still too difficult, you can perform the push-ups against a wall.

Start in whichever push-up position you choose with your hands flat on the floor (or wall) directly under your shoulders. Make sure your body is in one straight line, no matter which position you choose. Engage your abdominals and make sure your body doesn’t sag towards the floor. Slowly, bending your arms, lower yourself so you are just hovering over the floor, push yourself back up. Repeat as many times as you can until you just simply can’t do any more!

Try for 3 sets of 8 to start. If you can’t do that many to start, that’s okay, just do what you can! This exercise targets the chest, triceps and shoulders.

Yoga
arm workouts without weights - yoga

Yoga is an excellent way to build lean muscle, as well as flexibility. It is one of those arm workouts without weights that will make you feel like you just did a weights workout! Why? Because you use your own body weight in yoga exercises. Yoga will not only work your arms, but your entire body as well. It also helps to get rid of tension from the stress we all have at one point or another. So, take up a yoga class or buy a yoga DVD! If you’ve never tried yoga before, a good DVD to start with is Yoga For Dummies.


So, get started on these arm workouts without weights exercises today, combined with some cardio exercise and a healthy diet, and you will most definitely start to see your post pregnancy body change for the better! All the best!

Categories: Fitness