Hand held weights, like dumbbells and barbells, provide you with an excellent way to work out your arms. The major areas of emphasis that to focus on include your shoulders, triceps and biceps. Choose a weight that will challenge you, leading your working muscle group to exhaustion by the last repetition or two. If you're unsure of the weight to choose, start with dumbbells between 10 and 15 lbs. or barbells from 20 to 30 lbs., increasing or decreasing weight as necessary.
Biceps Exercise
You can perform a biceps curl to hit the muscles running down the front of your arm, between your shoulder and your elbow. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on a bench with your arms hanging at your sides, your arms rotated so your palms face forward. While performing this exercise, make sure you keep your upper arms in close to your sides, almost as if your elbow were affixed to your waist. Tighten your biceps and bend at the elbow, pulling the dumbbells up and toward your body, ending the movement when your elbows are fully bent and your palms are facing your body. Slowly and steadily lower the weights back to the starting position. Repeat 12 times.
Triceps Exercise
The triceps run along the back of your upper arm, between your shoulders and elbow. The overhead triceps press works both arms at the same time, using the same weight, so you can choose a slightly heavier hand held weight. Sit on a bench and grip the weight with both hands. Lift the weight directly over your head so that it's in a vertical position, your elbows fully extended. Try to keep your upper arms and elbows steady throughout the exercise. From the starting position, bend your elbows and slowly lower the weight behind your head. When your elbows have fully bent, reverse the movement and press the weight back up to the starting position. Repeat up to 12 times.
Shoulder Exercise
The muscles of your shoulder wrap around your shoulder joint, including insertion points at the front, on top of and behind the joint itself. Choose a barbell to perform an upright row. Stand and hold the barbell with both hands in front of your body, your arms hanging at rest. Move your hands toward the center of the bar so there's only 3 to 4 inches between your hands. From this position, while keeping an upright posture, pull the barbell up your body, toward your chest. While you pull the bar up your body, your elbows will bend and point out toward the side. When your elbows bend fully, slowly lower the bar back in front of your body to the starting position. Repeat up to 12 times.
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