Forget pull-ups — use this 7-minute dumbbell workout to strengthen your arms and shoulders

Armed with the right set of exercises, you can achieve a lot in just seven minutes of training, especially when you’re using isolation moves like biceps curls and triceps extensions to directly target the muscles in your arms.

This seven-minute workout from YouTube fitness channel TheNX , which is run by fitness trainer Chris Heria , targets the triceps, biceps and forearms in turn, and also works the shoulders, all in just seven moves.

You need a set of dumbbells for the workout, with a medium weight working best. The sets in the workout are 45-seconds long, so pick a weight you can lift for that long with exercises like biceps curls and triceps kickbacks. If you have a set of the best adjustable dumbbells you can quickly change the weight during the workout if you are struggling to complete the sets.

Watch Chris Heria’s 7-minute arms workout

The workout is a simple one to follow, with seven exercises done for 45 seconds, with a 15-second break in between. The first three moves work the triceps, the next two hit the biceps, and the final two target the forearms, with your shoulders also engaged by several of the exercises.

Heria performs the workout in the YouTube video and gives some useful tips throughout. If you prefer to use an app you can get TheNX app on the App Store and Google Play , and follow the workout there.

By using long sets of exercises that directly target the arms and shoulders, you maximize the time under tension for those muscles and you’ll certainly feel the burn during the workout, and the benefits in the days after.

Aim to move slowly and with control throughout the sets and focus on engaging the right muscles for each move, rather than swinging your arms and using momentum to help lift the weights, which will diminish the muscle-building benefits for the biceps and triceps.

Heria suggests that you could do three or four rounds of the exercises for a more challenging arms session if you have the time, or aim to do the seven-minute circuit several times a week if it’s hard to block out 30 minutes for a workout on one day.

Using weights like dumbbells is a good way to get an effective arms workout done in less time, but you can also strengthen your arms and shoulders using bodyweight exercises. This 4-move workout is great for targeting your triceps, and this 5-move bodyweight session strengthens the whole upper body.

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• Forget crunches — build a stronger core with this 10-minute standing abs workout
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