Welcome to our site about how to get strong arms and building upper body strength.

Like a lot of people, we were just going along thinking we were pretty healthy. But then a while back, we each started to notice unwanted flab creeping on. Jeans were getting a bit too tight in the waist, arms were looking soft – plus we just didn’t seem to have as much energy as we should.

We didn’t sleep well at night, didn’t feel really healthy during the day. Life just didn’t seem to be as good as it used to be.

Maybe you know what that’s like.

We both have desk jobs and crazy schedules…well, let’s just say it was time for a change. It had to be something enjoyable so we’d be motivated to stick with the plan. Also easy to do anytime or just about anywhere. And FAST.

Because there’s always lots of other things we either have to do or would rather be doing than plodding along on a treadmill – not to mention the waste of time driving to the gym, or sitting in traffic trying to get to the gym.

So, we decided some form of at-home fitness was the answer. But what?

We tried doing fitness DVDs, power walking and jogging, doing some of those exercises we remember from gym class like push-ups, and we bought fitness equipment. We did at-home versions of Pilates, yoga, even pole dancing.

After getting great results with some of what we found, and not-so-great results with other attempts, we decided a site that talks frankly about what’s out there for cheap, fast, at-home fitness would be something worth talking about, so we started this site.

What we’ve learned is it doesn’t take boring hours at the gym to tone up and get the body you can be proud of. Also, we aren’t into denial, as in denying yourself everything you really want to eat. So we went in search of a sensible eating plan it was possible to stick with.

Getting fit and shedding the flab IS totally doable, at home, doesn’t have to take much time and not having the money isn’t really a valid excuse, either.

While I still wouldn’t call it my favourite leisure activity, getting healthier doesn’t have to be drudgery, either. We found some fitness strategies that work and are pleasant enough (and the results motivating enough) to keep at it for life.

Here’s what we’ve learned about how to get strong arms fast and tone your upper body and, in the process, get to feeling better, healthier and more alive.

Best Ways To Get Strong Arms Fast & Strengthen Your Upper Body

Shake Weight – Is It For Real?

Have you seen those ads on TV for Shake Weight? It looks like some crazy fitness fad, but we found that these dumbbells that you shake actually do give you an intense workout.

Combining weight resistance (similar to lifting weights) and aerobics (the shaking) you could call Shake Weight a hybrid dumbbell. The innovation is an internal spring, and that’s what provides the resistance.

Though it looks in the ads as if you just have to hold it and the Shake Weight does all the work, in fact you provide the power. The result, the makers say, is a real workout for arms in just six minutes a day.

There are three models, as of late 2011 – the Shake Weight for Women, which is useful for fighting upper arm bat wings or bingo wings; Shake Weight for Men, and the new Shake Weight Pro, which has the extra advantage of adjustable resistance.

In Shake Weight Reviews, we tell you more about just how these Shake Weights work, including user reviews from people who bought a Shake Weight and talk about the results they got.

Push-ups are Great for Strength-Building!

Good old-fashioned push-ups. Hated them when I was in school, but it turns out, though I’m still not crazy about them, they are just about ideal as a bodyweight exercise to build arm and upper body strength, so now we both include push ups in our daily routines.

The benefit of bodyweight exercises is you can get plenty of variety, yet need just about no equipment to do these exercises at home, or almost anywhere (they don’t take much space).

If you can drop now and do 25 push-ups, you probably already know how beneficial they are for your arms, chest, shoulders and back.

If not, you might want to start with a less challenging form of push-ups, called wall push ups. They’re for you if you have sore joints, or in the later months of pregnancy, or if you’re just starting a fitness program.

Big Get Strong Fast Impact – Suspension Trainers

Suspension Trainers are just heavy-duty straps that attach to a door frame, and you use them to do bodyweight exercises (your own weight provides the resistance). The ones we like are Rip 60 for being strong and well-made. They have the advantage of being inexpensive, and you can use them in a fairly limited space – all you really need is a sturdy door frame or a bracket anchored in the ceiling.

Though not as portable as some other methods, suspension trainers don’t take up space, can be used by everyone in the family, and there are a lot of exercises you can do with them, including excellent ones for strengthening and toning arms and your upper body.

Healthy Means Doing Something Every Day for Cardio

Cardio is anything that gets your body moving. Skiing, snorkelling, swimming in the ocean, wave-boarding, kayaking – these are kinds of activities we love while on vacation, but the rest of the year we didn’t do much more that push a cart around the grocery store, cardio-wise.

Sure, there were the odd times we would play pick-up basketball with the kids, or street hockey, or take the dog for a brisk walk.

To get more cardio in, you could just turn on the radio (or any device that plays music) and dance like crazy, which is fun and also feels good. Or get out for a walk every day. Or take the stair instead of the elevator and always park further away from the door.

To get in more of a routine, and also target problem areas like upper arms or abs or thighs, we like the convenience and versatility of exercise DVDs.

You can play them on the TV or your computer, just about any time and anywhere. If you don’t have, say, 30 minutes, you can do them in 10-minute sections (though the experts say you get the most out of your cardio when you do it early in the day, right after you get up in the morning).

There are a lot of programs out there – one we like is called The Firm Express Get Thin in 30. It is 12 DVDs of cardio and sculpting exercises you do with hand weights (dumbbells), taking just 20 minutes, three times a week. The promise is faster toning and fat burning than traditional (boring) cardio.

All of the Shake Weights come with an exercise DVD. The one included with Shake Weight for Women has three dance cardio routines.

Lifting Weights For Strong Arms & Upper Body

It doesn’t get much more traditional than lifting weights, or dumbbells – they’ve been around for at least the last 2,000 years and probably a lot longer than that.

Modern dumbbells may be made of metal or plastic rather than stone, but the exercises you do with them haven’t changed (Shake Weights are the exception). They remain one of the best basic pieces of fitness equipment there is for arms and upper body strength.

You can buy basic dumbbells and they are very inexpensive, or spend a bit more for a set of adjustable dumbbells if space is an issue. For fighting arm flab, women may start out with 2.5 pound or 3 pound dumbbells, working up to no more than 15 pounds; men will want to start at 5 pounds or 8 pounds and work up.

Or, if space is an issue, you can do resistance exercises with resistance bands, which are sturdy stretchable bands with handles.

Another alternative is using kettle bells, which are similar to dumbbells but shaped more like a cannonball with a handle. The exercises you do with kettle-bells are more like swinging them than lifting them, which just works muscles a bit differently.

Healthy Eating – You Can’t Really Feel Good Without It

If you need to tone up and lose weight and you want to be happier as well as healthier, you have to watch what you eat, which is one of those things easy to agree with but not so easy to do.

There’s just a mind-numbing mountain of weight loss eating plans out there – some good, some terrible, most just so-so. Good ones put the emphasis on eating fresh, healthy foods – more lean meat, chicken and fish, more fruit and veg, and less of anything with a lot of sugar or salt or preservatives (yeah, we know, all the junkie but delicious stuff).

Something we (finally) learned is that if you feel deprived, you aren’t going to succeed. It just goes against everything that’s human to put up with food that isn’t satisfying.

The Firm Express comes with a basic healthy eating plan (more aimed at women), and so does Rip 60 (guy-friendly meals), where everything takes just 15 minutes or less to prepare, a real advantage. There is a more detailed, full eating plan by men, for men (it even teaches basic food preparation) included with ShapeShifter Body Redesign.

The fact is, there are several quality eating plans out there that work. Another one we like because burn fat, build muscle and strength and achieve lifelong health – the actual promise made by Fat Burning Furnace, maximum fitness and health in minimum time, which was exactly what we were searching for. They had us with their biggest up-front promise, “no more boring cardio!”

If you prefer something planned out with military precision that works (in fact, it’s designed by a for U.S. military trainer) but still lets you have an evening snack every night (something we love about this plan) we’ve got it on this site – it’s called Combat The Fat.

Getting Strong Arms & Upper Body Doesn’t Have To Be A Grind!

Somehow, in the Western world, we’ve developed this crazy belief that fitness has to be MISERY – an awful ordeal you suffer through, so no wonder so many people just skip it and struggle with their weight just like we did.

Reality TV has reinforced this myth (along with some gym teachers – maybe you had someone like that once, too, that taught you to hate exercising?).
Time to let all that go and see this as a gift you can give yourself.

Start today. Work your way up. Pick one thing you can do now, and go from there.

Here’s what we found that works for us and our friends and everyone we talked to for suggestions for this site (plus, we’d like to hear your suggestions – please comment about anything you see on this site, or would like to).

We hope these suggestions will help you get strong arms fast, build your upper body strength, and get healthier.