Pilates Moves for Toned Arms

Looking for some moves to tone your arms? These six pilates exercises complete a full circuit of arm strength, endurance, and stabilization. All you need is a set of small weights to complete this routine at home, or on the go.

In addition to the health and aesthetic that comes from having toned arms, the benefits of pilates arm workouts also lie in their goal of stabilizing the shoulder girdle by targeting two key muscles: the serratus anterior (the bladed muscle that rests just underneath your armpit) and the lower trapezius (the bottom of the diamond-shaped muscle on your back).

These arm exercises are designed to increase the stability of these two muscle groups while toning larger arm and shoulder muscles, like your biceps, triceps, deltoids, and pectoral muscles. Being exact in the way that you execute the following will also prevent injury over time as you go about other arm-intensive fitness-based activities such as CrossFit, rowing, volleyball, and more.

Chest Expansions

We recommend starting off with chest expansions to begin your arm toning session by integrating good posture with arm work. The Pilates chest expansion specifically targets your pectoral muscles, your deltoids, your serratus anterior, and your lower trapezius.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. Lengthen your arms long beside you with one weight in each hand.
3. Inhale to reach your arms in front of your waist, in line with your rib cage.
4. Keep a straight spine and straight arms, and exhale to pull your arms behind your hip crest.
5. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3.

Serve a Tray

Serve a tray is a great progression from chest expansion because it balances out the front side of the body by working muscles from the backside of your body. This exercise specifically works your latissimus dorsi, your serratus anterior, your lower trapezius, teres minor (one of your narrow shoulder muscles), and rhomboids (the muscle in between your shoulder blades). While the above video is seated, it’s a great example of the movement.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. Flip your palms towards the ceiling, and with micro bent elbow,s swipe your palms forward until they reach about 90 degrees of flexion or less towards your chest and lower them.
3. Inhale to swipe your palms forward. Exhale to swipe them slightly behind your waistline. Make sure to maintain a slight bend in your elbows to increase the control of the exercise. Also avoid over-extending the chest by swiping your arms too far behind your back.
4. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3.

Overhead Tricep Kickbacks

Overhead tricep kickbacks are a power move! They challenge and tone the triceps, the latissimus dorsi, the upper trapezius, and the rectus abdominus.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. With your weights pull your arms together up overhead and bend them behind the nape of your neck.
3. On your next exhale, extend your arms above your head in a diagonal pathway.
4. Inhale to rebend your hands towards your neck.
5. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3

Chest Presses

Chest press is a great progression from the Pilates serve a tray. This move tones the pectoral muscles, the deltoids, the biceps, the rhomboids, the serratus anterior, and the lower trapezius.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. Flip your palms and press your arms directly in front of your chest.
3. Draw your shoulder blades back and bend your elbows behind you to retract the weights towards your sternum.
4. Inhale to press your weights forward, and exhale to retract them. Maintain a 90-degree bend in your elbows each time you bend them.
5. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3.

Arm Circles

Arms circles connect the dots between all of the moves above! The muscles toned include the pectoral muscles, teres minor, teres major, lower trapezius, upper trapezius, latissumus dorsi, serratus anterior, rhomboids, biceps and triceps.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. Flip your palms and with micro bend elbows swipe your palms forward in front of your chest, then circle them up overhead and lower them to your sides. Maintain good arm alignment by keeping your arms in front of your rib cage, especially as you circle them to the side of you.
3. Keep your palms facing forward the whole time.
4. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3. Then reverse.

Lat Flys

Lat flys are a powerful and satisfying way to end your arm sculpt session. This move targets your latisimmus dorsi and your serratus anterior.

1. Grab a medium to light set of weights and stand tall, with your shoulders stacked on top of your ribs and pelvis.
2. Flip your palms to face the front of your mat, micro-bend your elbows and fly your arms out towards the side of your body, like wings, until your arms reach shoulder height.
3. Inhale to lower your arms towards your hips with control.
4. Exhale to lift fly your arms up towards your shoulders again.
5. Repeat 10-15 times in sets of 2-3.

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These Pilates moves provide the perfect combination to tone and balance your arms from the frontside and backside of your shoulder girdle. Grab some weights and work them into your at-home routine!