The Lazy People's 3 Top Exercises for Lean Arms and a Toned Back.

Welcome to the Lazy Exerciser Series! Last time we took the best exercises from Exercise Bliss and covered the top exercises for abs. This time we’ll cover the top exercises for arms and back.

The exercises below are strategically targeted to lazy people. You know who you are:

You don’t have hours to spend at the gym.
Exercise seems intimidating.
Your couch is often tempting enough to deter you from exercise.
Even though you mean to exercise, you still can’t understand why you don’t do it enough! Even though you got the best intentions, you still procrastinate. What’s going on?

If that’s you, then fear no longer. No, you are not doomed to have the doctor tell you to exercise when you get older. Yes, you can feel healthy and fit. You can have those lean arms, even if you don’t work out for hours every week.

That’s exactly why I created Exercise Bliss: To help procrastinators like you, actually exercise daily, and hence get all the benefits of exercise, daily. Better posture, fitter body, better mood, pride you’re taking care of you, it all comes together in a single workout!

So what are the 3 top Exercises for Arms and Back?

My 3 favorite exercise families are:

1. Posture Suite

2. Pushups

3. Downward Dog

Below we’ll cover each one of them, and I’ll also give you different variations so you can find the exercise that perfect matches your fitness level! Let’s do this!

Top Exercises for Arms and Back #1. Posture Suite

Most of us sit all day. Apart from the fact that sitting kills, sitting also hurts our posture. It’s not coincidence that kyphosis is so common. If you think you may have kyphosis, do this 2-min check to find out.

But why does posture matter?

Well bad posture might cause back pain, or knee pain. It’s also correlated with arthritis. And yes, you will look shorter.

I strongly recommend you pick one exercise from this suite, and then do it daily. See it like your daily vitamin. Similarly, this is your daily protection from kyphosis.

What Exercise Variations Can I do?

Here are a few of the top exercises for arms and back that you can do to straighten up your posture.

1. The Cobra

The Cobra definitely belongs in the best posture exercise Hall of Fame.

Cobra: The best exercise for your posture — With your abs contracted, use your back muscles to lift your upper body up from the floor.

2. Swimming

Top Exercises for Arms and Back: Swimming — With your legs and arms straight, lift opposite arm with opposite leg.

Top exercises for your back: Swimming — Then, do it for your other side.

3. Arm Beats

Top Posture Exercises — Contract your abs. Lift your arms up.

Best posture exercises: Arms Beats — Then bring both hands together. Open your arms again, then close them. Open, close, open, close, etc.

Top Exercises for Arms #2: Downward Dog

Best back exercise: The Downward Dog — Arms are straight. Legs can be straight, or bend. Relax into the movement and push your torso towards the floor.

The Downward Dog is the most classic yoga exercise. It’s perfect for your back, and your back flexibility. It’s also amazing after a day of sitting too long. Just try it!

How to get into the pose:

Go on the floor on all fours. Knees are below hips and wrists below shoulders. Then lift yourself up. That’s it!

Hold this position for 10-30 seconds. Can you feel how you gradually relax into the pose?

If your legs cannot yet be straight, keep them bent.
Your heels can touch the floor, or not. It depends on your flexibility.
What matters is that your back is straight, and that you actively push your torso down.

Now check out this variation. The V-Pushups.

I love this exercise as it does wonder for your arms, and your triceps in particular. Triceps are the muscles at the back of your arm. If you’re complaining about flabby arms, then try it out!

Best exercise for arms: V-pushups — Get into a downward dog. Then, walk your feet until your head is almost on top of your arms. Turn your palms, so they face each other.

Top exercise for flabby arms — Now push your weight down, while bending the elbows. Then, push yourself back up. Repeat.

Top Exercises for Arms and Back #3: Pushups (even for the lazy ones).

Top exercises for arms, back, and chest: Push-ups — Straight body, nose almost touches the floor! That’s the regular push-up. But don’t be scared – there’re easier variations to get you started.

You guessed it. This article could not be finished without referring to one of the most effective exercises ever, push-ups! Now before you get scared and look away, bear with me. If you’re classifying yourself as “lazy”, then you must include push-ups in your workout.

Push-ups work all the muscles of your body. Nothing gets left out. If there’s one effective and efficient exercise, then this is it! Doing push-ups can be more effective than, e.g., doing 5 less inferior exercises. And yes, almost every other exercise is less than inferior than push-ups, so keep it in mind 🙂
Yes, push-ups can be hard, but that’s exactly I’ll be showing you different variations. Even if you’ve never exercised before, I guarantee you’ll find a push-up that fits your level.
Start doing this daily and expect to beat flabby arms once and for all, walk straighter, and just be stronger. Yay!

Attention: The two ways to do any push-up, and why they matter.

The open arm position: Your arms are wide open as you push yourself down.
The closed arm position: Your arms are almost glued to your body as you push yourself down.

What’s the difference?

The open arm position focuses on your chest. Yay, for lifted chest.
The closed arms position focused on your triceps, the muscle behind your arms. No more flabby arms. Also, this position is generally harder for most people.

In the variations below I’ll show you the exercises with both positions. Pick the one you like the most!

1. The easiest of them all: Wall Push-ups with Open Arm Position.

Best push-up variations for beginners: Wall pushups. — With your arms wide open and your body being straight, place your hands on the wall.

Top push-ups for beginners and lazy people — Now push yourself towards the wall, until your nose is almost touching out. Bring yourself back, and repeat.

2. Make it harder. Try the Wall Push-ups with Closed Arms Position.

No more flabby arms!

Push-ups for beginners — With your arms next to your body, lean a bit against the wall, and place your hands on it.

Wall Push-ups for beginners — Push yourself down. Notice how your arms are right next to your body.

3. Take it to the next level: The Table Push-ups with Open Arm Position.

best push-up Variations: Table Push-ups — With your body straight lean towards a table, or sofa. Use the open arm position.

4. Step it up: The Table Push-ups with Closed Arm Position.

This belongs to the top exercises for arms hall of fame. Seriously.

Push-up variations — Top Exercise for your arms. Seriously. The Table push=ups with the closed arm position.

5. Classic Half Push-ups.

Last but not least, try the half push-ups. These can also be done with the open or closed arm position. Take your pick.

Ok, so now you’re good to go. You can build a daily push-up habit, or do one of the exercises in the posture right after your come home from work. You don’t need to do much – even 3 sets of 1 exercise daily is enough to get you visible results.

Buut there’s one caveat. Picking your favorite exercises is not enough. Doing them for a week and then dropping out is not enough. Even doing them for a couple of months is not enough – after no-one likes getting results only to see them go away.

You got to actually keep exercising for months or years, if you want your arms to get lean and stay lean. It doesn’t have to take long. It can be just 5 minutes. You know you got 5 minutes. But you got to make it part of your life.

And if you don’t know how, then that’s why I created Exercise Bliss. This 9-week program will help you build a daily 5-min exercise habit that you’re actually looking forward to. And yes, you’ll learn exactly what to do, to go from 5 minutes to 10, to 15, to 30 without ever feeling like you struggle. Sign up today.