An arm workout for Apple Watch trains biceps and triceps with a heavy lift, a stretched-position lift and a finisher each, 2 to 3 hard sets per exercise, logged set by set on your wrist. In RIRLift you confirm each set on the Watch, the rest timer and supersets run there, and next session's weights are set from what you logged.
EquipmentBarbells, Flat Bench, EZ Bar, Adjustable Cable +2
You train on a split with a day for arms and want it run from the wrist.
The close-grip bench and the EZ-bar curl go first, while they can be heavy. The overhead extension and the incline curl follow, training each muscle with the arm stretched.
Run it at least two days after your back day so your biceps are fresh. Start it on the Watch; with Pro it shows the plates per side for the close-grip bench and the EZ bar.
How to progress
The EZ-bar curl logged 70 lb for 10, 10 and 10 with 1 left: every set at the top of 6 to 10, so next week is 75 lb with the target back at 6. The close-grip bench logged 155 lb for 9, 8 and 8 against a target of 8: the weight holds and the target rises to 9.
EquipmentAdjustable Cable, EZ Bar, Preacher Bench, Flat Bench
You have 15 minutes, or you add arms at the end of an upper day, and want every minute used.
Biceps and triceps do opposite jobs at the elbow, so one rests while the other works. Two pairs of three rounds give each muscle six hard sets in about 15 minutes.
Start it from the Watch; it shows Superset 1 of 2 and the round. If a pair runs long, take 15 seconds off the rest from the rest screen.
How to progress
The pressdown logged 60 lb for 15, 13 and 12 with 1 left against a target of 12: the weakest set hit it, so the weight holds and the target rises to 13. When all three sets reach 15, it goes up one step on the stack.
You have one pair of dumbbells and a sturdy chair or bench, nothing else.
Hammer curls train the biceps and the forearm muscle beside it, the seated overhead extension stretches the triceps, and bench dips load them with your bodyweight.
Set your bodyweight on the iPhone before the first session; the Watch uses it for bench dips. Then start it from the Watch.
How to progress
Hammer curls at 30 lb for 15, 15 and 15 reached the top of 10 to 15, so next time is 35 lb with the target back at 10. Bench dips progress by reps: 18, 16 and 15 against a target of 15 moves the target to 16.
Curls and pressdowns are quick sets with short rests, which is where pulling out a phone costs the most time. Each plan pairs a biceps exercise with a triceps one at least once, and the Watch keeps track of the round.
It is the one triceps exercise you can load heavy, and it lets you start arm day with real weight while you are fresh. The narrower grip shifts more of the press onto the triceps than a regular bench press.
How to do it
Lie on a flat bench with your eyes under the bar and grip it with your hands just inside shoulder width.
Plant your feet, squeeze your shoulder blades together and unrack the bar over your shoulders.
Lower the bar to your lower chest with your elbows tucked about 30 to 45 degrees from your sides.
Press back up until your arms are straight, keeping the bar over your lower chest.
Cues
Elbows tucked, not flared
Touch low chest
Wrists stacked over elbows
Common mistakes
Gripping so narrow that your hands touch. It strains the wrists without adding triceps work; keep your hands about a fist inside shoulder width.
Bouncing the bar off your chest. Touch lightly and press, so the triceps do the lifting.
Swap for: JM Press, Dumbbell Floor Press, Machine Triceps Dip
Heavy biceps curl
EZ-Bar Curl
Biceps
The bar lets both arms lift more weight than any dumbbell curl, and the angled grip spares your wrists. Put it early on arm day, while your grip is still fresh.
How to do it
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and take the bar on the angled grips, palms up, arms straight.
Brace your stomach and keep your upper arms against your sides.
Curl until the bar reaches upper-chest height, moving only at the elbows.
Lower for about two seconds until your arms are fully straight.
Cues
Upper arms still
Ribs down
Straight arms between reps
Common mistakes
Rocking back to start each rep. Use 10 percent less weight and keep your hips still.
Cutting the bottom short as the set gets hard. A rep only counts if the arms straighten.
Swap for: Barbell Curl, Cable Curl, Preacher Curl
Triceps long head, overhead
Overhead Cable Triceps Extension
Triceps
With your arms overhead the long head of the triceps works from a stretched position.
How to do it
Set a rope on a high pulley and face away from the machine.
Take the rope over your head and step forward into a split stance, leaning slightly forward.
Start with your elbows bent and the rope ends behind your neck, upper arms close to your ears.
Straighten your arms until they point forward and up, then let the rope travel back behind your head.
Cues
Elbows point forward
Deep stretch behind the head
Only the forearms move
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows flare wide. Keep them about shoulder-width so the triceps stay loaded.
Turning it into a press by moving your upper arms. Freeze the upper arms and go lighter.
The pressdown is stable and simple, so you can take it to failure with clean reps. It finishes the triceps after the heavier press and overhead work, and pairs naturally with a cable curl at the same station.
How to do it
Attach a straight bar or rope to the high pulley and grip it with your elbows bent at your sides.
Lean forward slightly from the hips and brace.
Push the handle down until your arms are fully straight.
Let it rise until your forearms pass horizontal, keeping your elbows in place.
Cues
Elbows glued to your ribs
Lock out every rep
Control the way up
Common mistakes
Letting the elbows drift forward on the way up, which turns it into a press with your chest. Pin them and go lighter.
Leaning your bodyweight on the bar. Stand tall enough that the arms do the work.
Lowering the bar behind your head puts the long head under load in a lengthened position, and the EZ-bar's angled grip is easier on the wrists than a straight bar.
How to do it
Lie on a flat bench holding an EZ-bar or straight bar overhand, hands about shoulder-width, arms straight over your shoulders.
Let your upper arms tilt slightly back toward your head so the bar sits above your eyes.
Bend your elbows and lower the bar in an arc toward the top of your head, or just past it.
Extend your elbows to bring the bar back to the start, keeping the upper arms tilted back.
Cues
Upper arms angled back, not vertical
Lower to the crown, not the nose
Slow on the way down
Common mistakes
Upper arms perfectly vertical, which takes tension off at the top. Keep them tilted back a few degrees.
Letting the elbows flare out wide. Keep them about shoulder-width apart.
Swap for: Dumbbell Skullcrusher, Landmine Lying Triceps Extension, JM Press
Biceps, brachialis and forearm
Hammer Curl
Biceps, Forearms
The neutral grip puts the brachialis and brachioradialis to work alongside the biceps, so one exercise thickens the upper arm and the top of the forearm. That makes it the bridge between your biceps and forearm work.
How to do it
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing your thighs.
Keep your thumbs up and curl one dumbbell toward your shoulder.
Stop when your forearm is just past horizontal.
Lower to a straight arm under control, then curl the other side.
Cues
Thumbs to the ceiling
Wrists straight
No swinging
Common mistakes
Letting the wrists bend under a heavy weight. Squeeze the handles hard or use a lighter pair.
Swinging the dumbbells behind your hips between reps. Pause with straight arms at your sides.
A dining chair or couch edge turns into a dip station. Your triceps raise and lower your body, and bending or straightening your legs sets how hard it is.
How to do it
Sit on the front of a stable chair, hands gripping the edge next to your hips.
Move your hips off the seat and set your heels out in front.
Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are level with the floor.
Straighten your arms to come back up.
Cues
Hips close to the chair
Elbows point back
Stop at level
Common mistakes
Going so deep that your shoulders pinch: shorten the range.
Pushing with your legs: keep them relaxed and let your arms lift you.
Swap for: Floor Triceps Dip, Close-Grip Push-Up
Make it fit you
Put arms after back
Run the arm day at least two days after your back or pull day, so the curls start fresh.
Add the supersets to an upper day
Copy the two pairs from the 15-minute plan into the end of your upper routine on the iPhone. The Watch runs them as supersets.
Elbows sore on extensions
Swap the overhead extension for more pressdown sets in the 15 to 20 rep range on the Watch, and change it in the routine if it keeps happening.
Plates on the wrist
With Pro, the Watch shows the plates per side for the close-grip bench and the EZ bar.
Questions
Can the Apple Watch track an arm workout?
The Workout app records time, heart rate and calories. A lifting app logs each curl and pressdown set. RIRLift saves a session with any lifting in it to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training.
Does the Apple Watch count curls?
Apple's Workout app does not. RIRLift has an opt-in beta, Automatic rep counting in Settings › Labs on the iPhone, that offers a count like "Use ~11 reps" on curls; tap it and log the set. With it off, the reps come prefilled and you confirm them with a tap.
Can I superset biceps and triceps on the Watch?
Yes. The Watch shows which exercise of the pair you are on and the round, and the rest timer runs after the pair.
Is one arm day a week enough?
It can be, with 6 to 9 hard sets per muscle. If one long arm day leaves you flat, run the 15-minute pairs twice a week instead.
