How To Get Toned Arms: 7 Exercises - Healthline

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7 Exercises to Try for Toning Your Arms

Medically reviewed by Micky Lal, MA, CSCS,RYT — Written by Mandy Ferreira — Updated on December 24, 2025

Arm slide
Ball slams
Dumbbell bench press
Bicep curls with band
TRX or supine barbell rows
Narrow pushup
Battle ropes
Health benefits
Takeaway

Combining cardiovascular and strength exercises with eating a balanced diet can help you reduce body fat. This includes improving the muscle tone in your arms.

Research has shown that exercises and machines claiming to reduce body fat in certain areas, such as your thighs or upper arms, are a hoax.

You can’t burn off fat from a specific area of the body with an exercise that targets only one area.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t change the appearance your arms, and the rest of your body, with these exercises.

1. Arm slide

Arm slides are great for activating your arms (especially your triceps), and they also work your entire core. Research from 2023 indicates that core exercises like arm slides can improve your overall balance and stability.

Equipment needed: Sliders, paper plates, or two small towels

Kneel with your hands on both sliders. Place a mat under your knees to make this more comfortable, especially if you have sensitive knees or you’re on a hard floor.
Engage your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine and tightening your abs.
Keeping your spine straight and your core engaged, slowly slide your arms in front of you to get your chest close to the ground.
Pull your arms back in, toward your knees, and return to your starting position without bending your elbows. Be careful to not arch your back as you pull your arms in. Throughout the movement, make sure you’re focused on keeping your core engaged and your back straight.
Repeat the steps above for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Tips

You can make this easier by sliding each arm individually.
If you start feeling lower back pain, you can modify the movement by rounding the back. Alternatively, try to slide your arms and body in shorter distances where there is no low back pain, and over time as the move gets more comfortable, you can slide the arms and body further out.
You can also get all of the benefits without touching your chest to the ground. Simply go as low as you can, stopping before:
- you can no longer pull your hands back in with a straight spine
- before your chest touches the ground
To make it more challenging, slide your arms from a plank and keep your knees off the ground throughout the exercise.

2. Ball slams

Balls slams are a type of plyometric exercise. Ball slams are a full-body movement that will fatigue your arms and add a little cardio to your workout.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends taking 48 hours to recover after a plyometric workout, so be mindful to give your arms a break from intense or high-impact plyometrics until you have recovered.

Equipment needed: Medicine ball or slam ball

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the ball at your chest.
Lift the ball up and slightly behind your head.
Bend your knees and actively throw the ball down on the ground as hard as you can.
Catch the ball as it bounces back up (or scoop it up if it doesn’t bounce) and bring it back up over your head. All the while, keep your spine straight and use your knees to lift you back up.
Begin your next repetition.

Tips

Before you begin, test your ball to make sure it doesn’t bounce too aggressively. The ball should be relatively heavy, but not so heavy that you can’t perform the whole movement with your back straight.
You should do this movement fluidly. Once you finish a rep, use the slight bounce of the ball to launch you into the next set. Do your best to keep moving through these repetitions to keep your heart rate up and the movements fluid.
Start with as many reps as possible in 20 to 30 seconds for three to five sets. Be sure to take adequate rest between sets.
Stop when you’re fatigued and can no longer safely hold the ball over your head or keep your spine straight throughout the movement.

3. Dumbbell bench press

You don’t have to lift huge weights to get the benefits of a bench press.

Doing a dumbbell bench press challenges your muscles and helps reduce muscle imbalances or weakness between your dominant and nondominant arms. While it’s best known for working your chest, the dumbbell bench press can also strengthen your deltoids, triceps, and lats.

Equipment needed: Two dumbbells and a bench

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Lie with your back flat on the bench and feet firmly on the ground. If your feet don’t firmly touch the ground, place plates or a step bench under them to give you a stable position, or put your feet up on the bench.
Keep your spine in a neutral position (your lower back should be slightly curved) by engaging your core.
Pull your shoulder blades away from your ears and slightly together. Your shoulders, hips, and head should be firmly in contact with the bench.
Keep your arms tight against your sides as you raise the dumbbells up. The palm of your hands should face forward throughout the movement or at a 45° angle.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to your chest with your elbows at your sides. Keep your elbows in tight throughout the entire movement to work your triceps.
Repeat the steps above for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Tips

Start with a light weight to get used to the movement when you first start the exercise.
If you don’t have a bench available, you can do these on the floor or on a step bench.

4. Bicep curls with band

Another name for this exercise is standing bicep curls.

Equipment needed: Resistance band

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Step on the band so it rests underneath the arch of your foot.
Grab the ends of the band so your palms face forward and your arms are by your side.
With your elbows tight against your ribs, slowly bend your arms to bring your hands to your shoulders.
Slowly lower your hands back down to your sides.
Repeat the steps above for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Tip

Don’t swing or lean back to bring your hands up. Your body should remain completely upright and still except for your arms.

5. TRX or supine barbell rows

Not only will you work your arms with this exercise, but you can also strengthen those muscles of your upper back that help to improve posture.

Equipment needed: TRX straps, low gymnastics rings, or an empty barbell and a rack.

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Grab the handles and slowly walk backward to get tension on the straps.
With your chest facing the anchor point of the straps, walk your feet toward the straps until you’re at a 45° angle. Hold the straps so your palms face each other.
Engage your core like you would in a plank position and keep your body in a straight line while you begin to pull your chest up to the handles. Keep your shoulder blades down, away from your ears, and pulled slightly together.
Once your hands and chest line up, slowly lower back down to your starting position with your entire body in a straight line.
Repeat the steps above for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Tips

Play around with your grip. Palms facing your feet will work your triceps. Palms facing your head will target your biceps.
To make the rows easier, stand more upright by walking your feet closer to the anchor point. You should be upright enough that you can keep your hips and back straight throughout the entire movement without arching or bending your spine.
If you want more of a challenge, walk your feet farther away from your hands.
If you don’t have TRX straps or rings, you can use an empty barbell on a rack. Be careful to position your head under the rack so that you’re pulling the bar back into it instead of toward the front of the hooks. You can adjust the height of the bar to make it easier (up) or harder (down).

6. Narrow pushup

There are many different variations on pushups, which are bodyweight exercises that help build upper body strength.

Equipment needed: None.

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Start in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your fingers pointing forward.
Lower down with your elbows at your sides and pointing toward your feet. Keep your shoulders, hips, and knees all in a straight line as you lower your chest to the floor.
Push yourself back up to the start without arching into your lower back. Your shoulders and hips should lift at the same time.
Repeat the steps above for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Tip

To make this easier, you can do these on your knees, or with weight plates or a step bench under your hands.

7. Battle ropes

Burn fat, increase your cardiovascular endurance, and tone your arms all at once with these ropes. Not only will they raise your heart rate and get you sweating, but they may also improve your core and shoulder strength.

Equipment needed: Battle ropes

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Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight.
Grab the ropes and raise your hands together to create a wave.
Try speeding up your hand movements to create smaller waves, or slow things down and move your hands a greater distance to create big waves.
Try to keep the ropes moving for 30 seconds, three times, with rest in between each set.

Tips

Play with short waves, long waves, moving your arms at the same time, alternating one up and one down, and moving your arms in and out as well as up and down.
You can also slam the ropes into the ground like the ball slam exercise above.

Health benefits

Research from 2024 involving adults with obesity suggests that combining cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet is a great way to reduce body fat and improve composite cardiovascular disease risk.

The exercises above may help you elevate your heart rate, strengthen your arms, and reduce body fat.

A healthcare professional or a qualified fitness instructor can offer advice and support about which exercises may be most suitable for you, as well as how to improve your overall fitness level.

»FIND CARE:Find a sports medicine specialist in your area today.

The takeaway

These exercises can help you strengthen and tone your arms.

They may also help reduce overall body fat and change the appearance of your body.

You may want to consider speaking with a healthcare professional or a qualified fitness instructor before trying any of these exercises for the first time for further guidance.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Lee D, et al. (2024). Aerobic, resistance, or combined exercise training and cardiovascular risk profile in overweight or obese adults: the CardioRACE trial.https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/45/13/1127/7513891?login=false
Position statement: Plyometric exercises. (n.d.).http://www.sectiononewrestling.com/nsca_plyometric_statement.pdf
Ramírez-Campillo, et al. (2013). Regional fat changes induced by localized muscle endurance resistance training.http://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31827e8681
Rodríguez-Perea Á, et al. (2023). Core training and performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10588579/
Standing bicep curl. (n.d.).https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/322/standing-bicep-curl/

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Medically reviewed by Micky Lal, MA, CSCS,RYT — Written by Mandy Ferreira — Updated on December 24, 2025

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Fitness

1. Arm slide

Tips

2. Ball slams

Tips

3. Dumbbell bench press

Tips

4. Bicep curls with band

Tip

5. TRX or supine barbell rows

Tips

6. Narrow pushup

Tip

7. Battle ropes

Tips

Health benefits

The takeaway

How we reviewed this article:

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