Workouts for toned, trained arms

Why should bicep exercises only be for guys? Here you can read why every lady should train her triceps and biceps to get stronger and better looking arms.
Well defined Poor with beautiful skin are the perfect complement to your dream body and make any sleeveless top look even better. Don't be shy and conquer the heavy and hard equipment. Your arms won't get as thick as men's. Women don't produce nearly enough testosterone to get big muscle gains. Another factor is your oestrogen balance. The "female hormone" permanently blocks excessive mass gain. It won't happen quickly anyway. Even a woman's lean muscles need time to grow.
Well-formed biceps and triceps muscles are an important part of a symmetrical body. Their strength is essential for lifting heavy weights.
Here is a short guide including a workout on how to train your arms.

Girls love muscles - not just in men

One of the best features of arm training is that it takes comparatively little time. You train them with every upper body exercise. Whenever you push anything to train your chest or shoulders, you are working your triceps. As soon as you perform pulling exercises to strengthen your back, your biceps are also on fire. You'll feel this especially when you do heavier lat pulls.
If you use heavy weights to work your chest or back, you don't need intensive arm workouts. Also, biceps and triceps are very small muscle groups, so working them won't have a major impact on your fat metabolism.
The situation is somewhat different for men. You should even pay attention to your forearms.
As a woman, 30 to 45 minutes a week is enough for you to train your arms. Together with the secondary loads from the other exercises, this is completely sufficient to get strong and well-trained arms as a woman.
The basic exercises: Flexors ("curls") and extensors
Most biceps and triceps routines are based on the two basic exercises "flexors" and "extensors", which use the natural functions and resistance of the muscles for their movement sequences. In curls, the biceps pull the forearm upwards towards the shoulder, while in extensions, the triceps pull the arm downwards. There are many variations of these exercises, but the principle is always the same. The curls bend and the extensions stretch the arm.
As soon as you bend or stretch your arm, you encounter resistance. In the simplest case, this is the weight of your (lower) arm. The heavier the dumbbell you train with, the more muscle fibers you will need to complete the movement. If you do this consistently over a longer period of time with regular training sessions, you will inevitably build muscle.
Many women do their bicep curls with the small 5-kilo dumbbells. That's okay for cardio training. To build strength and, above all, mass, you have to make an effort and use heavier weights. Otherwise nothing will change.
Anyone who tells you that women should do lots of repetitions with virtually no weights has no idea about strength training. There is no special way for women to create lean muscles. The differences between masculine and feminine muscles are created by the respective human organisms all by themselves.  

Arm training for women

This workout is ideal for women who need an effective plan or want to work their arms for the first time. Remember that you are already working your biceps and triceps in the chest, shoulder and back exercises. Therefore, this workout is for fine-tuning.
You can pause for 30 to 60 seconds between sets.
- Alternating dumbbell curls on the incline bench (45°) - 4 sets of 12 repetitions
- Bilateral triceps extension on cable pulley (standing) - 4 sets of 12 repetitions
- "21s": Barbell curls with straight bar (standing) - 4 sets of 12 repetitions
- Push-ups with a narrow hand position in front of the chest - 4 sets of 12 repetitions
- Bicep curls with the EZ bar - 4 sets of 12 repetitions
- Triceps overhead stretcher on cable pulley with rope grip (standing) - 4 sets of 12 repetitions

Workout tips

- The 21s are a great way to train your biceps. Do at least seven complete repetitions in the lower part of the movement and at least seven in the upper part. During the reps in the last third of the set, you complete the entire exercise.
Such partial repetitions can help you to correct the weaknesses in your muscles. With bicep curls, the beginning and end of the movement sequences are usually the most difficult. If you work this difficult area with a heavy weight, you stimulate your muscles particularly intensively.  
- The last two exercises are designed to make your arms burn. These 'burn-out' sets are difficult, but they are fun. You are guaranteed to feel a good reaction in your biceps and triceps afterwards. Try to complete the 100 repetitions in as few sets as possible.
You don't have to use heavy weights, but make sure it's enough. If you have put on too much, just take a little less and carry on. Try to keep the resulting pause as short as possible.  
This type of workout is designed to burn out your muscles when they are already tired. Some people won't like them, but they are a good way to get the last bit out of your muscles. Start and try them out. If you don't like them or you don't find them effective, you don't necessarily have to keep doing them. There are alternatives (e.g. drop-down sets or supersets).
- Apart from the first 14 repetitions of the 21 curl, you should perform all movements completely and correctly. Your elbow and hand joints will thank you for it. It may happen that you are not 100% sure whether you can perform the exercise correctly. In this case, shift down a gear and complete a basic exercise so that you regain a feel for the movement sequence.