10-Minute Upper Body Workout for Women

(featuring my 5 Favorite Upper Body Exercises)

Build upper body strength and toned arms with this 10-Minute Upper Body Workout for Women! This workout routine consists of my 5 favorite upper body exercises for women, targeting the back, biceps, shoulders, triceps, and chest.

Having a strong, lean upper body, not only looks good, but it is also so good for our health. As women, we tend to carry the “load” whether it is the kids, housework, etc. Having strong arms, back, core and chest are vital to having good posture, which keeps our backs safe and allows us to look and feel good.

I am sharing with you 5 of my favorite upper body exercises that I have in my workout routine that you can do anywhere with just a pair of dumbbells. 

You don’t need fancy gym equipment or exercises like dumbbell bench presses and chin-ups to build strong arms — there are plenty of upper body workouts you can do at home with just a set of dumbbells.

The goal is to build upper body strength and toned arms using a set of dumbbells to complete these five upper body exercises.

We’re going to fatigue the upper body muscles in a repetition drop format. A rep-drop format means that you decrease the number of reps per exercise each set.

Workout Equipment:

Medium-to-heavy set of dumbbells. I’m using a set of 10 lb dumbbells in this workout video, but if I were doing this upper body workout at home I would push for 15-20 lb dumbbells. 

Workout Attire:

Sports Bra, legging or shorts, training shoes, 

Workout Overview:

• Taylor’s 5 Favorite Upper Body Exercises for Women

• Repetition Drop Format — you’ll decrease the number of reps you perform for each upper body exercise as you move through the workout (Reps are: 12-10-8-6-4).

Repeat 5 X 

1. Bicep Curls

2. Skull Crushers

3. Arnold Press

4. Push Ups

5. Bent-over Rows

How To Do a Bicep Curl

1. Start with feet hip-width apart and core engaged. Hold one dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing outward (underhand grip or supine curl).

2. Shoulders out of the ears and shoulder blades pulled down towards the hips. 

3. Keeping your elbows in line with, or slightly in front of, your body squeeze your bicep muscle to curl the weights up to shoulder height as you exhale.

4. With control, slowly lower the dumbbells back down to return to the starting position and repeat.

How to do a Skull Crusher:

1. Start Lying face up on a flat bench, chair or couch. Your knees are bent, and your feet are flat on the floor. Arms extend above the chest, elbows shoulder-width apart (not locked), and both hands hold one end of a dumbbell.

• 2. Flex your elbows and lower the weight toward the top of your head. Your upper arms should remain relatively perpendicular to your body. This keeps the tension on the triceps versus shifting it to the shoulders.

• 3. Continue lowering the weight behind the head. The bottom of the dumbbell head should be about in line with the bench's top, or even a little higher if this feels unwieldy.

• 4. Reverse the movement until the weight is above the chest in the original starting position. Keep from locking the elbow to maintain tension in your triceps muscle.

• Repeat.

How To Do an Arnold Press:

Benefits: it works all three sections of your deltoid muscle at one time— the anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear).

• Hold two dumbbells in front of your chest with your palms facing toward your body, keeping your elbows close to your body. This is your starting position.

• Press the dumbbells up above your head, rotating your palms out so that when you reach the overhead position, they face away from your body.

• Reverse the motion to lower the dumbbells back down, rotating your hands so your palms end facing your body, and repeat.

How To do a Push-Up:

Benefits: they work the triceps, pec muscles, and shoulders. If you do them with proper form, they can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging (pulling in) the ab muscles.

• 1. Position your hands shoulder-width apart, or a bit wider.

• 2. Bend your elbows and lower toward the ground, your elbows are about 45-degree angle to your body (do what feels good) keep your back flat and core engaged.

• 3. press self back up and repeat. Can be done on your knees!

How To Do a Bent-over Row:

Benefits:  Most people have postural issues because we tend to be hunched over a computer all day or our phone, nursing a baby or carrying the kiddos. Rows can help lower your back pain and correct your posture!

• 1. Stand tall, holding a set of dumbbells at your sides, with your palms facing your body. (You can also use a resistance band: Loop the band around each foot. Hold the left handle in your right hand and the right handle in your left hand so that that the band forms an “X.”)

• 2. Keeping your back flat, core braced, and knees slightly bent, bend at the waist so that your back is just above parallel with the floor. Your arms should hang toward the floor.

• 3. Exhale Row the dumbbells to the sides of your ribs, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement. Pause, then slowly lower your arms back down, and repeat.

Enjoy these 5 upper body exercises to help you build strong arms, back, chest and feel amazing! Complete 5 rounds dropping reps each round from 12- 10- 8- 6- 4.