Beginner Arm, And Shoulder Exercises
The first exercise is arm curls to work the biceps in the front of your upper arms, where from a standing position holding dumbbells with your palms facing out you bring the weights up toward your shoulders bending at the elbows and then down to the starting position.
Another great biceps exercise is chin ups, where you have an underhand grip and pull yourself up to a point where your chin is above the bar. For beginners, you can do negatives, where you jump up, or use a platform to get your chin above the bar and lower yourself down in a slow and controlled motion. And advanced athletes can use a weighted belt while performing the exercise.
Next up for biceps is a band arm curl, where you stand on a band with your feet and perform an arm curl, and you can use a higher resistance band or put some slack in the band between your feet to create more tension on the band to increase the difficulty of the exercise.
The last exercise for biceps is body rows. With your feet on the ground, have an underhand grip and hang from a low bar. From this position, pull yourself up to the bar and then back down to the starting position. As you get stronger and more comfortable with the movement, you can elevate your feet to increase the difficulty of the exercise.
For triceps in the back of your upper arms the first exercise is dumbbell kickbacks. Start by bending over at the hips and have a slight bend at the knees with a straight back. Bend over to a position that is comfortable for your range of motion. Have your upper arms as close as possible to being parallel to the ground, and your lower arms at a 90 degree angle with your upper arms.
From this position, extend at the elbow, pushing the dumbbells upwards behind you, again, to a position that is comfortable for your range of motion, then lower them down to the starting position.
The next exercise for triceps is extensions, which can be done in 2 different ways. First from a standing position with a slight bend at the knees hold the dumbbells with straight arms above your head with your palms facing in. From this position, bend at the elbows, lowering the weights behind your head to a position that is comfortable for your range of motion then back up to the starting position.
The second way to do this movement is by lying on the ground holding the dumbbells with straight arms above your head, and bend at the elbows lowering the weights down and to the sides of your head while keeping your upper arms straight, then return up to the starting position.
Another great exercise for triceps and shoulders as well is dips, where you hold onto handles and lift yourself up and down using your body weight and gravity as resistance. Beginners can keep your feet down in front of you until you build up enough strength to lift your entire body. You can also perform this exercise using a chair or a platform to put your hands on, and do other variations from this position.
Another great exercise for triceps and shoulders is a dumbbell chest press, where from a lying position with your arms out you push the dumbbells up and away from your torso. This exercise can be done on a bench, or lying on the ground.
The next exercise which will target your shoulders is side or lateral raises. From a standing position, with a slight bend at the knees, raise the dumbbells out and up away from your body to a height that is comfortable for you, then back down to the starting position.
You can also perform this exercise doing front raises to or bent over side raises to work your muscles a little differently.
Next up for shoulders is a dumbbell shoulder press where from a standing position with a slight bend at the knees you hold the dumbbells above your shoulders with your arms flared out. From this position, raise the dumbbells upwards, then back down to the starting position.
The last shoulder exercise is a shoulder pull with a band. Start by wrapping a band around a poll or secure structure and stand in an athletic position with your body bent at the waist, knees slightly bent, back straight and the poll to your right. Hold the handles of the band with your right arm off to your right side, and your left hand slightly off to your right side.
For the exercise, start by pulling the band with your left arm away from the poll to your left side increasing the tension of the band. Pull the band out to a point that is comfortable for your range of motion, and once you have reached this point return your left hand and arm to the starting point.
The first exercise is going to be a body row, where you hold the handles of the trainer with your palms facing down or palms facing in and lean backwards. Position your feet to create an angle that is comfortable for you, the further forward your feet are, the more difficult the exercise will be.
The next exercise is single leg squats where you place one foot on the loop strap part of the trainer and your other foot on the ground at a distance from the anchor point of the trainer that is comfortable for you. From this position, squat down to a point that is comfortable for your range of motion using your raised foot with some pressure against the trainer to help you maintain your balance, and then return to the starting position.
Next up is shoulder t’s, where you hold the handles of the trainer with your palms facing in with a slight bend at the elbows and lean backwards. Position your feet to create an angle that is comfortable for you, the further forward your feet are, the more difficult the exercise will be.
The next exercise is calf raises, where you hold the handles of the trainer with the straps underneath your armpits and lean slightly forward. From this position, push off your toes raising your heels off the ground keeping your knees extended. Hold this top position for a second and then return to the starting position.
Next up is extensions, where you hold the handles of the trainer with your palms facing down arms extended and lean forward. Position your feet to create an angle that is comfortable for you, the further back your feet are, the more difficult the exercise will be.
From this position, bend at the elbows, keeping a straight back, allowing your body lean forwards even more to a position that is comfortable for you. Then push yourself upwards extending at the elbows, returning to the starting position.
The next exercise is arm curls, where you hold the handles of the trainer with your palms facing up, arms extended and lean backwards. Position your feet to create an angle that is comfortable for you, the further forward your feet are, the more difficult the exercise will be. From this position, keep your body straight and pull yourself upwards bending at the elbows, then return to the starting position.
Next up is push ups, where you hold the handles of the trainer with your palms facing down arms extended and lean forward. Position your feet to create an angle that is comfortable for you, the further back your feet are, the more difficult the exercise will be. From this position, perform a push up, by bending at the elbows and lowering your body downwards, keeping a straight back. There is a lot of instability and this is a very challenging exercise so start off slow and easy with this one.
The next exercise is leg curls, where lay on the ground with your arms and hands securely on the ground, and place your feet in the loop straps of the trainer. From this position, raise your butt off the ground and pull your knees up towards your head, bending at the knees and at the waist, then return to the starting position keeping your butt off the ground.
The last exercise is a plank pike. Start with your hands and forearms on the ground, and again, have your feet securely on the strap loops of the trainer. From this position, bring your knees towards your head, bending at the knees and at the waist, then return to the starting position.
So, in this routine we hit all the major areas of the body, arms, legs, shoulders, chest, back and core, and suspension trainers are great tools to exercise with as they allow you to do body weight training and provide some instability to that training, which in many cases requires more muscle recruitment.
The first exercise is a V sit. Start by sitting on the ground and hold a dumbbell out in front of you. From this position, raise your legs off the ground engaging your core muscles to stabilize you, and hold this position for 8 to 10 breaths. You can also do this without holding a dumbbell and progress as you get stronger and you can do a twisting variation where you keep your feet on the ground and twist to your right and then to your left, and this variation can also be done without using any weight.
The next exercise is core rotations. With a band wrapped around a secure structure, twist your hips and torso to your left while holding the handles of the bands with your hands secured together. Try not to allow your shoulders to initiate the movement but do allow them to follow through at the end of the rotation. Once you have finished one side of your body, switch around and do the other side.
The next exercise is abdominal crunches. For this exercise, hold a dumbbell up above your torso and push your shoulders upwards driving the dumbbell up above you, then lower yourself down, doing this exercise in a slow and controlled motion. You should feel your core muscles engage during the movement and beginners can do this exercise without any weight when starting out.
The next exercise is leg raises where you start by lying on the ground with your legs straight. From this position raise your legs up to a position that is comfortable for your range of motion. Repeat this movement for 8 to 12 repetitions and beginners can perform this exercise without weight.
The next core exercise is performed using an ab wheel or ab roller where you start on your knees holding the ab wheel on the ground near your body. From this position, extend out rolling the wheel away from your knees to a point that is comfortable for your range of motion, and then return to the starting position.
The next exercise is a hanging leg raise, where hanging from a bar you raise your legs up and toward your torso to a point that is comfortable for you, then return to the starting position. This exercise will also increase your grip strength.
And the next core exercise is an exercise ball plank with a leg lift. Start by putting your feet on an exercise ball and get in a push up position with your hands on the ground. From this position, lift your right leg off the ball and hold the position for 6 to 10 breaths, then switch legs and repeat the holding position. You can also perform this on a stable platform when first starting out, and advanced athletes can perform a single leg jackknifes by rolling the ball toward your head while holding one leg off the ball.
The last exercise is a towel fly which is performed on a smooth surface in a gym or at home. From a push up position with your feet wide apart and your elbows slightly bent, have your hands on towels or rags. From this position, slide your hands toward the center of your body, bringing the towels together. Try to keep a similar elbow angle throughout the movement.
