This short, intensive 9 minute Tank Top Workout focuses on the upper body in all the places you most want to look toned and tight in a summer top. If you want toned, defined, and lean arms, this is a great workout to help you reach your goals.

The upper body exercises we put together are dynamic in that most of them are a blend of several traditional exercises. Because all of the movements in this routine are ranges of motion that are not commonly used in every day life, you likely wont need a lot of weight for these. Grab dumbbells if you have them, but water bottles, cans of soup, or books will all do just fine too.

There are 7 different exercises, and you will be doing each of them for 50 second intervals. A quick warm up and cool down are recommended, but not included in this video.

About the exercises in this routine

Toning Trio; Arms, Shoulders & Upper Back: Do a ventral raise (with both arms extended, lift both weights straight in front of body), then a standing row (pull arms back to pinch shoulder blades together, and then rotate forearms so that your elbows are at a 90 degree angle. This is great for the arms, shoulders, and rhomboids of the upper back.

Bicep Curls + 2 Hooks: Do a traditional bicep curl and then raise fists to roughly in front of face; complete a hook punch with each arm. Drop arms back so that they are pinned at the side, then drop down from the bicep curl.

Reverse Fly Pulses: This one is great for posture and you will surely feel it working. Bend over with a flat back and do a reverse fly; pulse at the top of the motion. Make sure that you use slow and controlled motions – no jerking.

Chest Squeeze + Overhead Press Combo: Bend arms at a 90 at shoulder height; do a standing chest press focusing on really working against yourself & squeezing to feel those muscles flexing and working. Pull the elbows back out and then go up into an overhead press.

Windmills + Tricep Extensions: Bring arms from sides to overhead, in a large circle. Once arms are straight up overhead, bring hands in next to one another and bend at the elbows to drop for a tricep extension. Straighten arms back out, and then slowly lower back down in the same circling motion before repeating.

Arm Circles: One of the best shoulder exercises is also one of the most basic; extend arms straight out at shoulder height and draw circles with your fingertips/arms. Half way through, we will give you the cue to switch directions of your circles. These quickly begin to burn without any weight at all – really bump up the intensity by holding onto weights while you do them.

Single Arm Flys: Go into a shallow side lunge and prop yourself up with your elbow resting on that leading knee. With the other arm, go from a resting lowered position to a fly motion up over your head. Repeat this exercise on each side of the body; lunging to the other side to complete the reps on the opposite arm.


Calories burned
We estimate that our Tank Top Workout burns between 3-5 calories a minute, or 27-45 total. It might not seem like a lot but it can definitely make a difference in the tone and definition of your upper body. You can burn more calories with this routine than is quoted above by choosing a heavier, more challenging weight to lift.

Because it is a little low in the caloric expenditure department, we recommend pairing it with one of our cardio workouts. You could also do this workout for lean arms several times a day for faster results, or even combine it with some of our more challenging upper body workouts for a very comprehensive working over of those upper body muscles.