30 Minute Shoulders and Arms Workout With No Weights
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Looking for a killer at-home workout for your shoulders and arms but don’t have any weights or equipment to use? This fun arm and core workout is a great way to shake up your workout routine while building muscle and strength in your shoulders, biceps and triceps all in under 30 minutes and without any equipment necessary!
Why Work the Arm and Shoulder Muscles?
Almost every upper body exercise involves the shoulder muscles, whether through movement or stabilization. By building strong shoulders and arm muscles, you are able to set a foundation for most everyday movement, such as pushing, pulling, lifting or carrying.
What is the Goal of this Workout?
We’re working on creating a creative arm and shoulder workout with just your bodyweight to work the shoulders and arms in the same day to make them stronger and build muscle. We’ve included shoulder exercises, such as presses, and quick bicep and tricep movements to give you a workout that will leave you sore the next day!
This workout is easily modified, which makes it perfect at-home upper body workout for beginners.
At Home Arm and Shoulder Workout Without Equipment
Watch the video:
Suggested:
5-10 Minute Warmup + Cool down of your choice.
Optional:
If you would like to make this workout more challenging, you can always use weights!
Increase the difficulty!
Looking to make it even more challenging? Add a tempo to all of these movements by going extra slowly (think: 2-3 deep breaths) as you move through the exercise. An isometric hold at the bottom of the exercise, such as the tricep dip, will be sure to set those muscles on fire.
Need a modification?
If you have sensitive wrists, you can come down to your forearms. All exercises can be done without any equipment.
Shoulder and Arms Exercises:
25 Reps for each exercise. Perform two sets of each round before moving on.
Round 1:
Shoulder Taps
How-to: Start in a pushup position. Touch your opposite hand to your opposite shoulder, alternating sides.
Form tip: Keep the abs engaged to prevent unnecessary rocking in the hips. Stacking the weight above your hands ensures that you won’t allow the hips to rise and will focus the movement on your lower abs.
Plank Up Downs
How-to: Start in a push up position. Slowly lower down to a forearm plank and press into the mat to transition back to a pushup plank. Alternate the lead arm each time.
Form tip: As with shoulder taps, keep your hips stable throughout the movement.
Modification: Drop to your knees for added stability while you build strength.
Dolphin Pikes
How-to: Start in a forearm plank. Send your hips to the sky and press your head between your arms as you push your forearms into the mat. Return to the forearm position, making sure your hips come back in line with your body.
Form tip: Target the muscles of the shoulder and core by actively pressing with the forearms as you send the hips up.
Challenge: Lift one leg for an added balance copy.
Round 2:
Tricep Dips
How-to: Start by sitting on your butt, arms behind you, shoulder width and in line with your hips, fingertips turned towards your core, knees bent and feet flat into the mat. Squeeze the glutes and lift the hips from the mat. Shift your weight backward so that it is directly over the wrists. Bend the elbows and press through the hands for a tricep exercise.
Form tip: Keeping the weight directly over your hands ensures that the tricep is being properly activated. Keep the elbows pointed in towards your body and keep the placement narrow. If your hands are too far from the center of your body it will place stress on your shoulders and not work the tricep muscles.
Modification: To relieve pressure on the hands or sensitive wrists, set your glutes on the ground and press backwards into the hands.
Forearm Pushups
How-to: Start in a forearm plank. Press into the forearms to rise to the hands without moving your hands. This is a very challenging core and shoulder exercise when done correctly.
Form tip: This may be difficult for a beginner, but pressing the fingers and forearms into the mat as you press will activate the muscles in the chest and shoulders.
Modification: Drop to your knees.
Oblique Twists
How-to: Start in a forearm side plank, with your hips and knees stacked, hand of the upper arm behind your head, elbow wide. Twist through the upper body to bring the elbow and shoulder parallel with the mat.
Form tip: The twist is coming from your core and your chest, so avoid excess movement or adjustments with the feet. Don’t let the hips touch the mat as you twist.
Round 3:
Plank Reach Backs
How-to: Start in a pushup position, body tight. Send the hips upwards as you reach the opposite hand back to the opposite foot. Come back to your plank position, hips in line, before alternating sides.
Form tip: Avoid keeping the hips lifted. Make sure you always shift your weight back to center to avoid losing engagement in the core.
Pike Pushups
How-to: To work the front delts, start in a pushup position. Bring the chest to the mat, elbows back, core in line. Press up from the mat and send the hips backwards into a pike (or downward facing dog). Shift the weight back over the hands, hips in line with the body, and perform another pushup.
Form tip: Keep the core engaged and send the head back through the arms, pressing the hands into the mat to the most from this shoulder and core exercise.
Modification: Drop to the knees as needed for the pushups.
Superman Reach Backs
How-to: On your stomach, stretch your legs and arms out long. Pull the chest and the thighs from the mat with the lower back. At the top, “swim” your arms back in a wide arch to your hips and return to outstretched position before lowering back to the mat.
Form tip: Keep the work focused on the muscles of your lower back by avoiding rocking. Squeeze the glutes and the shoulder blades at the top.