We don’t have to tell you how important rest days are. It’s during your days off that muscles are able to rebuild those micro-tears that strength training causes – which in turn, help you become stronger. Which is why you’re often hearing about arm day versus leg day.

“Giving your undivided attention to a muscle group leads to hypertrophy – the fancy name for muscle growth. You’ll be able to exhaust a specific muscle with a higher number of reps,” explains trainer Alice-Rose Miller from our Strong Women Collective.

Devote your attention to your upper body with these arm exercises that use both compound and isolation moves which target the biceps and triceps. Which means you’ll be closer to hitting your press-up goals. As for the squats, give them a rest – until tomorrow. 

1. While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand. 
2. Keep your shoulders down and bend the knees slightly. 
3. Hinge at the hips so that your torso lowers to the ground (and is almost parallel the floor). Remember to keep your torso straight – do not curve or arch your back. 
4. To do a row, bend the arms – raising the elbows up towards the sky. While rowing, squeeze your shoulder blades together.
5. Slowly lower the arms back down to the starting position.     

Do 10 reps

1. While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand – with palms facing outwards (away from the body).
2. Roll the shoulders back and down. 
3. Bend your arms to curl the dumbbells up towards your shoulders – with a slight squeeze at the top of the move. 
4. Slowly lower the arms back down to the starting position. 
5. Throughout the move, make sure to squeeze the shoulders back so that you don’t utilise the muscle during the lift – instead focusing solely on the biceps. 

Do 10 reps

1. Hold the head of one dumbbell with both hands. 
2. Bring the dumbbell above your head with your arms extended towards the sky. 
3. Squeeze your abs and tuck your hips under. 
4. Bend the arms to slowly lower the dumbbell down towards your back. 
5. Raise your arms back up to the starting position. 
6. Throughout this move, keep your elbows tucked in closely to your head. 

Do 10 reps

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