Boost the calorie burn of your walks by adding these three trainer-recommended arm exercises
Get bonus benefits from your walk with these moves
One of the most effective and often overlooked strategies for weight loss is to simply walk more frequently, or farther.
NASM-certified personal trainer Peter Conroy has another idea. The founder of The Difference App suggests adding a variety of arm exercises into your walks to make them more effective.
“Adding additional exercises to your walks can add a new dimension that is both challenging and fun,” he explains.
“These exercises can also help you reach weight goals more quickly, if you have them.”
Adding dumbbells, wrist, or ankle weights is not necessary, but can make your walk—and these exercises—even more challenging, strengthen your muscles and further boost your calorie burn.
Conroy recommends a basic rep count of 10. But as you become stronger, he suggests gradually increasing the number of reps in each set from 10 to 20, or even to 30.
He suggests three sets during your walk but feel free to reduce or increase the number of sets, depending on the length of your walk.
Try the arm exercises below during your walk.
1. Arm circle
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Rest: 30sec
Muscles worked: Arm circles primarily strengthen your deltoids (front, side, and rear shoulder muscles).
How to do it:
- Start with your hands at your sides, swinging gently in time with your steps.
- Decide which direction you will rotate, then begin your circles in wide sweeping arcs. Aim to move your arms 360° to get as much shoulder rotation as possible.
- Let your arms move naturally during your rest periods, then repeat, alternating direction with each set.
“This is a bodyweight exercise, meaning you use your own physique to provide resistance without additional equipment,” says Conroy.
“However, you can also opt to hold light dumbbells in your hands—or attach weighted wrist cuffs—weighing 1-5lb if you want an additional challenge.”
2. Alternating overhead reach
Sets: 3 Reps: 5 each side Rest: 30sec
Muscles worked: This exercise strengthens muscles in the core and trunk, including your obliques, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae, as well as your deltoids.
It also stretches the latissimus dorsi (your big back and side muscles), obliques (side waist muscles), and intercostal muscles (the muscles between your ribs).
How to do it:
- Start with your hands by your sides, swinging gently to match your pace.
- Reach one hand up and then slightly over your head while at the same time reaching down the outside of your thigh with the other hand.
- Alternate sides until your set is complete.
- Let your arms move naturally during your rest periods.
Conroy says that this is not only an effective bodyweight exercise, but also an excellent dynamic stretch when you hold your hand at its apex for two to three seconds.
Like the previous exercise, you can increase the difficulty by holding dumbbells or wrist weights.
“When this exercise is performed while standing still, the raised hand moves further over the head, and you bend farther at the waist,” says Conroy.
He adds that your range of motion is likely to be smaller when you do this exercise on the go, as it will feel more natural to reduce your reach.
“The timing can be a little tricky to match your steps, so watch your balance,” he adds.
3. Arm clap or swing
Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Rest: 30sec
Muscles worked: This exercise primarily strengthens the front and rear deltoids (shoulders), pectoralis major (chest), and trapezius (upper back stabilizer).
Like the alternating overhead reach, this exercise also serves as a stretch, targeting the pectorals (chest) and anterior deltoids.
How to do it:
- Start with your arms extended straight out from your shoulders, fingers pointed.
- Open your arms out parallel to the ground and as wide and far behind you as possible.
- Swing your arms forward and either clap your hands or allow your arms to cross over each other—alternating which arm goes above and which goes below.
- Let your arms move naturally during your rest periods, then repeat.
“This exercise is often a warm-up exercise, but it works just as well during a walk. You can time each swing to match your cadence rhythmically.”
Peter Conroy is the founder and CEO of The Difference, a weight-management technology designed to be predictive, intuitive, and affordable.
He holds a certificate in personal training from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and has over a decade of experience in health advocacy and awareness.
