You often see women who lose extra weight and have a slim body, but their arms look bad. The skin sags, muscles weaken, and they're not firm. That means they need extra effort to train and activate the arm muscles, rebuild them to give the arms strength, grace, and the needed fitness. Even if you've been through this, we at Fitness Garage want to help you learn the arm muscles anatomy and the key exercises to build, activate, and improve their fitness. In this article, we'll talk together about this topic.
What are arm muscles made of?
Arm muscles vary and differ in anatomy and function. These muscles are:
Biceps brachii (the muscle with two heads):
This muscle is also called the 'two-headed' muscle. It has two heads and is located in the upper arm between the shoulder and elbow. Its main job is to extend the armpit, extend the elbow, and bend it. Since it is in front of the arm, you can clearly see it when you look in the mirror. The slimmer and firmer your arms are, the clearer you’ll see this muscle. Its shape popping out when you do different moves shows your body's fitness. Because it has two heads, it's made of a short inside head and a long outside head.
Brachialis muscle:
This muscle lies under the biceps brachii on the arm. It forms what's called the olecranon fossa (elbow pit). It starts from the lower front part of the humerus bone. It's one of the strongest muscles that helps bend the elbow. It doesn't help extend the arm or move it down because it’s not attached to the radius bone like the biceps is.
Triceps Brachii:
This muscle starts in the upper back area of the arm, running from the shoulder to the elbow. It has three heads, each starting in a different spot but all join and attach to the elbow bones. These heads are the long head from the scapula, the lateral from the back of the upper arm bone, and the medial from the distant back part of the upper arm bone. The triceps help extend and straighten the arm.
Brachioradialis:
It’s one of the main arm muscles, playing a key role in bending the elbow joint, extending the arm, turning the palm down, and other movements.
Long Wrist Extensors:
This is one of five main muscles that control wrist movement. It’s very long, starting at the end of the humerus, running along the forearm. It plays an important role in extending and bending the wrist, which fits its name well.
Superficial Flexor of the Fingers:
It's one of the muscles that controls arm movement in general, especially the wrist and fingers. It also helps bend the wrist, as the name suggests.
Pronator Teres Muscle:
It's a main muscle in the arm area. It stretches between the ulna and radius bones, and is responsible for rotating and moving the palm from facing down to facing up.
Pronator Quadratus Muscle:
It's one of the upper limb muscles, responsible for flexion and rotation of the arm. This muscle starts from the lower quarter at the front of the ulna bone.
Supinator Muscle:
It's a broad muscle located in the back part of the forearm. It bends toward the top third of the radius bone and is responsible for extending the forearm.
What exercises activate the arm muscles?
If you want slim arms, you need to work their muscles with specific exercises, and here are some important ones:
Traditional Curls exercise:
- Stand with a straight back and legs slightly bent forward holding a pair of dumbbells in your hands.
- Hold the dumbbells firmly, then lift them towards your chest by bending your elbows and twist the dumbbells so they line up with your shoulders.
- Lower your arms back down and stretch them straight by your sides.
- Repeat these steps 20 reps for 3 sets.
Hammer Curls exercise:
- Stand with a straight back and legs slightly bent forward holding a pair of dumbbells in your hands.
- Hold the dumbbells tightly, then lift them toward your chest with bent elbows, so the dumbbells are vertical to your shoulders' direction.
- Lower your arms again, and stretch them straight down by your sides.
- Repeat these steps 20 reps for 3 sets.
Wide curls exercise:
- Stand with a straight back, legs slightly pointed forward, holding a pair of dumbbells in your hands.
- Hold the dumbbells tightly, then lift them up so they form a sharp angle with your chest, with your elbows at your sides, and the dumbbells parallel to your shoulders' direction, not vertical.
- Lower your arms again, and stretch them straight down by your sides.
- Repeat these steps 20 reps for 3 sets.
Dumbbell Floor Press exercise:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet up while holding dumbbells in your hands, then lift your arms up over your chest, and move them down again until your elbows touch the floor.
- Repeat these steps 8 to 10 times.
Triceps Dips exercise:
- Sit on the floor with a straight back, bend your knees up and lean on your arms placed behind you on the floor at a high level. Then support yourself with your hands over each arm by straightening them, lift your hips up before bending your arms and lower your hips until they touch the floor again.
- Repeat these steps 8 to 10 times.
You can download the Fitness Garage app to discover more workouts you can do to tone and activate your arm muscles.
