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Exercises

Arm day warm up: 8 minutes from cold to first working set

Published October 24, 2026

Row easy for 3 minutes, then do 10 arm circles each way and 5 walkouts, 15 band pull-aparts and 10 external rotations per arm, and finish with 2 to 3 light ramp-up sets of your first arm exercise, climbing from about half your working weight. That is about 8 minutes, and your elbows, shoulders and wrists are ready before the first set that counts.

  1. Rowing Machine Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats
  2. Arm Circles Shoulders
  3. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  4. Band Pull-Apart Shoulders, Upper Back
  5. Dumbbell External Rotation Shoulders
  6. Band Hammer Curl Biceps

Raise your temperature: 3 minutes

Arms are small muscles, but curls and presses still load the elbows, shoulders and wrists, so start with cardio that moves your arms. The rower is the first pick; jumping jacks work when the machines are taken.

Raise: full-body easy cardio

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

It pulls with the arms and pushes with the legs, so in three minutes your heart rate, your grip and your elbows have all started working.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in and hold the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with your legs first, then lean back slightly and bring the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Reverse the order on the way back: arms forward, body tips forward, knees bend.
  4. Keep the pace conversational, around 20 strokes a minute.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs
  • Easy enough to talk

Common mistakes

  • Racing the first minute: this is a warm-up, so finish feeling fresher than you started.

Swap for: Stationary Bike, Air Bike, Jump Rope

Build a session with Rowing Machine

Raise: quick cardio, no equipment

Jumping Jack

Calves, Quads

No machine needed: the arm sweep overhead moves the shoulders while the hops raise your heart rate.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with feet together and arms at your sides.
  2. Hop your feet wide as your arms sweep overhead.
  3. Hop back to the start as the arms come down, staying light on the balls of your feet.

Cues

  • Quiet landings
  • Full arm sweep

Common mistakes

  • Landing flat-footed and heavy: stay springy and soft.

Swap for: High Knees, Jump Rope, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Jumping Jack

Move the shoulders: 2 minutes

Every curl and triceps extension starts at the shoulder, which has to hold the upper arm still. Circles take the joint through all directions and walkouts load it in a plank.

Mobility: shoulders through every direction

Arm Circles

Shoulders

Ten circles each way take the shoulder through its full range without any load, so the first curl or press doesn't meet a stiff joint.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your arms straight out to the sides at shoulder height.
  2. Draw small circles forward, growing them bigger every few reps.
  3. Reverse direction and repeat, finishing with a few full-size circles.

Cues

  • Small to big
  • Ribs down

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging the shoulders into your ears: keep them low and relaxed.

Swap for: Band Pull-Apart, Walkout, Plank IYTW

Build a session with Arm Circles

Mobility: hamstrings, shoulders and trunk in one move

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Each rep ends in a plank, putting weight through your hands, wrists and shoulders the way push-ups and dips will later.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, hinge forward and place your palms on the floor, bending your knees as much as needed.
  2. Walk the hands forward into a push-up position with a straight body.
  3. Hold for a breath, then walk your hands back to your feet and stand up.

Cues

  • Hands walk, feet stay
  • Long body at the far end

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag at the far end: squeeze your glutes and brace.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Plank to Push-Up, Mountain Climber

Build a session with Walkout

Wake up the stabilizers: 2 minutes

Light band and dumbbell work for the upper back and rotator cuff, plus one easy set of curls and push-ups, so both sides of the arm have moved before you add weight.

Activation: upper back and rear delts

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

It wakes up the upper back, which keeps your shoulders from rolling forward during curls and pushdowns.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms, hands shoulder width apart.
  2. Pull the band apart until it touches your chest, pinching the shoulder blades.
  3. Return slowly until the arms are back in front.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades meet
  • Slow return

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to make it easier: use a lighter band and keep the arms long.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Band Rear Delt Fly, Band Scapular Retraction

Build a session with Band Pull-Apart

Activation: rotator cuff

Dumbbell External Rotation

Shoulders

A light set for the rotator cuff before close-grip presses and dips, which ask the shoulder to stay steady under load.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light dumbbell with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and tucked at your side.
  2. Turn the forearm out, with the elbow pinned to your ribs.
  3. Return slowly until the forearm is across your stomach.

Cues

  • Elbow glued to your side
  • Light and slow

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbow drift away from the body: hold a rolled towel under the arm.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lying External Rotation, Band Pull-Apart, Face Pull

Build a session with Dumbbell External Rotation

Activation: biceps and forearms with a band

Band Hammer Curl

Biceps

One easy set of 15 gets blood into the biceps and forearms before you grip a loaded bar.

How to do it

  1. Stand on a light band and hold the ends with palms facing each other.
  2. Curl one hand up toward your shoulder, keeping the elbow beside your ribs.
  3. Lower slowly and alternate sides.

Cues

  • Elbows still
  • Squeeze, then lower slow

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the band up with your hips: use a lighter band.

Swap for: Hammer Curl, Bodyweight Bicep Curl, Dumbbell Curl

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Activation: chest, shoulders and triceps at bodyweight

Push-Up

Chest

Ten easy push-ups are a bodyweight triceps set that also warms the chest and shoulders before a press.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Ramp up the first lift

The last stage is the first exercise itself. Take 2 to 3 light sets, climbing toward the working weight, with fewer reps each step. Later exercises need one feeler set at most because the arms are already warm.

Main lift: EZ-bar curl

EZ-Bar Curl

Biceps

The angled grip is easier on the wrists, which makes it the common first curl of an arm day; ramp it from the empty bar.

How to do it

  1. Grip the angled parts of the bar with palms slightly turned in.
  2. Curl the bar toward your chest while the upper arms stay still.
  3. Lower until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Upper arms still
  • Finish with straight arms

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the bottom short: every rep starts with straight elbows.

Swap for: Barbell Curl, Preacher Curl, Cable Curl

Build a session with EZ-Bar Curl

Main lift: heavy triceps press

Close-Grip Bench Press

Triceps, Chest

If triceps go first, this is the heaviest lift of the day, so it gets the full ramp of three climbing sets.

How to do it

  1. Lie on a bench and grip the bar about shoulder width.
  2. Lower it to your lower chest with the elbows close to your sides.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • Shoulder-width grip
  • Elbows tucked

Common mistakes

  • Gripping so narrow the wrists bend: shoulder width is enough.

Swap for: Close-Grip Push-Up, EZ-Bar Skullcrusher, Cable Triceps Pressdown

Build a session with Close-Grip Bench Press

Main lift or ramp: cable pushdown

Cable Triceps Pressdown

Triceps

A simple first triceps exercise when time is short; one or two light sets on the stack are enough to find the groove.

How to do it

  1. Attach a bar or rope to a high pulley and grip it with your elbows at your sides.
  2. Push down until your elbows are straight.
  3. Let the handle rise until your forearms are just past parallel, then push again.

Cues

  • Elbows stay pinned
  • Lock out at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows rise and flare: keep them glued to your sides.

Swap for: Cable Cross Pushdown, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Cable Triceps Pressdown

Main lift: curl with constant cable tension

Cable Curl

Biceps

Constant tension makes it easy to pair with the pushdown when you superset the whole session.

How to do it

  1. Attach a bar to a low pulley and grip it palms up.
  2. Stand close and curl the bar toward your chest.
  3. Lower until your arms are straight, keeping tension on the cable.

Cues

  • Elbows pinned
  • Straight arms at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Stepping too far from the stack: stand close so the cable pulls straight up.

Swap for: EZ-Bar Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Band Hammer Curl

Build a session with Cable Curl

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Biceps-first arm day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets28 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Dumbbells, EZ Bar +1

You start your arm day with a heavy curl and want your elbows ready for it.

The rower and circles raise your temperature, the band and dumbbell work prepare the shoulder that holds the arm still, and the EZ-bar curl gets three ramp-up sets so the first working set lands at the weight you planned. Warm-up blocks stay at 4 reps in reserve so nothing here takes away from the session.

Arm day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. 3 minutes straight, no rest. Easy pace. 3 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. Light. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Band Hammer Curl 1 × 15 4 30 s
EZ-Bar Curl3 warm-up sets first 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Cable Triceps Pressdown1 warm-up set first 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
How to run it
Run the warm-up blocks in order with short rest, then do your working sets of EZ-bar curls and the triceps pushdown.
How to progress
Keep the warm-up the same every week. Add weight or reps to the working sets when they come in with more reps in reserve than planned.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Heavy close-grip press first

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Barbells, Flat Bench, Adjustable Cable

You open with close-grip bench press and want shoulders and elbows ready to press.

A heavy press loads the shoulder more than any curl, so this version swaps the band curl for push-ups and gives the press three ramp-up sets. The cable curl after it needs only one.

Arm day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Dumbbell External RotationPer arm. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Push-Up 1 × 10 4 30 s
Close-Grip Bench Press3 warm-up sets first 3 × 6–10 2 2 min
Cable Curl1 warm-up set first 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up blocks with short rest, then the close-grip press and the cable curl.
How to progress
Keep warm-up blocks light. Progress the press when the last working set ends with more than 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Short on time: superset arms

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Adjustable Cable

You have 30 minutes and will superset curls and pushdowns.

With a superset session the warm-up shrinks to one cardio burst and two band moves, and the first pair of exercises gets two ramp-up sets each, done back to back.

Arm superset
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. 2 minutes straight, no rest. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 0 s
A1 Cable Curl2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–15 1 45 s
A2 Cable Triceps Pressdown2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–15 1 45 s
How to run it
Run the three warm-up blocks, then alternate cable curls and pushdowns with little rest.
How to progress
When every superset round hits the top of the rep range at the planned reps in reserve, add one plate to each stack.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What should I do first on arm day?

Warm up for about 8 minutes, then do your heaviest arm exercise first while you are fresh. For most people that is a curl with a bar or a close-grip press.

How do you warm up for arm day?

Three minutes of easy cardio, arm circles and walkouts, a light band and rotator cuff set, then two or three ramp-up sets of the first exercise.

Do I need warm-up sets for every arm exercise?

No. The first exercise gets 2 to 3. Later ones need at most one light feeler set because the muscles are already warm.

Should I stretch before arm day?

Keep long static holds for after training. Before lifting, move the joints through their range instead.

How long should an arm day warm-up take?

About 8 minutes, including the ramp-up sets of the first exercise.