Upper arms are notoriously trick to target. It can sometimes feel like no matter how much pilates or yoga or weightlifting you do, it’s one area that never seems to show much progress.

Luckily, there are a few hacks you can try to get results quickly for more upper arm definition. If you’re not someone who enjoys hitting the gym too hard but are wanting to achieve a little more definition on your arms, I have excellent news — making this one simple change to your routine will help you do just that.

While this tip requires consistency, it’s low lift and can be done from the comfort of home, with no need to even step foot in the gym or an exercise class. Intrigued?

The simple trick to achieve defined arms

In a lot of cases, sports requires a lot of time and effort, so I’m always open to any tricks that help me do good for my body without having to sacrifice countless hours in the gym. After all, who has time to spend an hour a day on an arm workout?

What if I told you, you could achieve toned triceps and biceps without having to do any (conscious) exercise at all?

So what is this magical trick? It’s really very simple: wrist weights. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. By wearing the weights in daily life, arms are trained almost by accident without you having to do anything or restrict yourself in any way.

Every single time you use your arms — to cook, to reach for something on an upper shelf, to carry your laundry upstairs, you name it — you’ll be sneaky in a little arm workout.

How can you integrate this hack into daily life?

It’s simple — strap on those weights and wait for the results. There are no exact instructions here, because I just wore the wrist weights pretty much all the time — except at night, of course. Even when I was just sitting at my desk I wore them, because if you pay close attention, you move your hands and arms quite a lot even when typing on the keyboard. The purpose of the wrist weights is to increase each movement of the arms, no matter how small, by the extra weight.

It’s worth mentioning that it’s not like you need two kilos on each arm, but a few hundred grams are plenty to train without limiting your activities.

While I started ambitiously with 500 grams per cuff, I quickly realised that this was a bit too much and I had sore muscles in my upper arms and shoulders each evening. A good sign, but I didn’t want the wrist weights to restrict me and ideally I wanted to not even be able to notice them. Eventually, I settled in at 300 grams per wrist. If you really wanted, you could definitely increase the weight gradually over time.

The benefits of toning your upper arms

Working on toning your upper arms isn’t just about looking good in a sundress — there are plenty of practical benefits that come from including arm workouts in your routine. Working your arms will ensure your body is more balanced and you have functional strength for everyday tasks. Plus, having strong arms will also prevent injuries in your workouts and in your daily life.

Tone your lower body, too

While you’re at it, why not try this nifty this trick on your lower body, too? Strap on a pair of ankle weights throughout the day and turn every trip up the stairs into a glute burn.