The warmer temps are here, which means tank tops and pool parties. If you’re wanting strong, toned arms for summertime, add these exercises to your routine.

TRX Tricep Press

If you want to tone the back of the arms (triceps) give these a shot. They will not only work the core by stabilizing yourself, but they will, without a doubt, isolate the triceps. You’ll feel it!

– Brandon Wood, FAST Litchfield Park

Superset

A great way to train arms and get them ready for summer time is to choose a bicep exercise and triceps exercise and complete them together as a superset. Working both sides of the arms back-to-back, with minimal rest can really ramp up that toning effect we all like. Add in a few extra sets for more volume and take your arms to the next level this summer!

– Greg Stein, FAST North Scottsdale

Zotomon Curl

Choosing an exercise that hits multiple areas at once is a great way to help make yourself look great in a tank top. A great one for the biceps is the Zotomon curl.  You start by curling the dumbbells up and then at the top pronate your hands so that your palms are facing down towards the ground.

– Wade Haras, FAST Old Town Scottsdale

Train for Hypertrophy

Make sure you’re using a weight that you can maintain good form with but pushes you to complete 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. Be sure to stay balanced with both push and pull exercises.

What not to do: Too many people want bigger chest and arms and focus only on utilizing the Bench Press/Chest Flies exercises. While this is great for building pectoral muscles, it causes forward rotation/slouch of the shoulders causing an illusion of being smaller. Make sure to work in pulling exercises (rows) to work the upper back and help draw the shoulder back. This will help give the look of a bigger chest and broader shoulders as you’ll stand up tall with proper posture.

– Kyle Schneider, FAST Ahwatukee

Tri’s for the Guys

The triceps muscle group makes up roughly 70% of your upper arm musculature, emphasizing this group will help make those arms pop. I like to incorporate “Monster Sets” of a heavy Bench Pressing motion of 5-8 reps, coupled with Rope Pressdowns for 15-20 reps, then drop and crank out as many push-ups as you can. Repeat for 3-4 rounds and feel those triceps burn!

– Jeff Placencia, FAST South Gilbert

Mix it Up

Focus on trying to get stronger with the compound upper body exercises such as bench press, shoulder press, push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups and all the rowing variations. If you have time after those exercises do some isolation work. Isolation work will be exercises such as bicep curls and tricep extensions. There are lots of variations of these exercises and it’s best to mix it up every 3-4 weeks. We’ll typically do 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps of the compound exercises and 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps of the isolation exercises.

– Travis Cummings, FAST South Chandler

There you have it—six tips from our FAST facility managers. And if you need a bit more inspiration or someone to hold you accountable, schedule a FREE fitness assessment today!