If you struggle with the appearance of your arms, you may try to cover them up with long sleeved shirts and sweaters. Building strength in your arms, however, is a better strategy, as the developing muscles will make you want to show off your guns. Coupling exercises targeting your arms with heart rate increasing cardio routines will help you lose that extra bit of fat covering the muscles. Here are four exercises that make an excellent cardio and arm targeting combo workout.
Hand Bike
A thorough warm up session readies your muscles for heavy lifting and brisk movements to prevent injuries and improve gains. You can use a hand bike to thoroughly warm up all of the muscles in your hands, arms and shoulders. A quick session on the hand bike after your main workout can also help your muscles cool back down. A hand bike allows you to set the resistance and tempo, which ensures the equipment continues offering benefits as your strength increases. Start with a quick five to ten minute session on the hand bike at the beginning and end of your workout. You can either increase the time interval or turn up the resistance knob as you go.
Tabata
When you combine tabata methods with the use of a speed bag, you will notice an immediate difference in your arm strength and overall endurance. Tabata training is an interval-based workout that takes very little time (and tons of effort) to complete. The training consists of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated eight times total. Therefore, this portion of your workout will only take four minutes, while providing results achieved with much longer sessions. Only complete this workout once per daily session to give your body a suitable break.
Battle Ropes
Battle ropes are an incredibly fun way to tone your arms and get your heart pumping. The 1 1/2 inch thick ropes take a lot of skill to move in a coordinated fashion. You will enjoy the wide range of ways to move the ropes, which allows you to vary the workout intensity and stave off boredom. Try to move the ropes in tandem using a double wave movement at first. From there, you can try wiggling the ropes like snakes moving along the floor or create circular shapes in the air using your shoulder muscles.
Supine Pull Ups
Supine pull ups give you an immense amount of control over your muscle engagement. To perform this move, you lay under the bar at a 45-degree angle. You hold yourself with your arms straight at the start of the movement. You must pull your chest all the way up to the bar before slowly lowering yourself back down. You can hold your body at the top, middle or bottom of each movement to keep your muscles engaged and working. Try to complete 10 reps at first without having to rest. From there, you can increase the number of sets you perform.
