--- title: Try This Fun, Effective Arm Toning Workout From Anna Kaiser description: Anna Kaiser, a celebrity trainer and the founder of AKT in Motion, shares a challenging and fun arm toning workout with a bath towel! canonical: https://time.com/5315983/arm-toning-workout-anna-kaiser/ author: Anna Kaiser article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-26T12:00:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:32:10.104Z og:title: How to Seriously Tone Your Arms With Just a Bath Towel og:description: This workout will leave you sore for days! og:url: https://time.com/5315983/arm-toning-workout-anna-kaiser/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0e21527e7aa6c5f/698933c5bc6cfc4f8e3e64ce/tone-your-arms-towel-workout.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2795 og:image:height: 1572 og:image:alt: Tone Your Arms Towel Workout og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Seriously Tone Your Arms With Just a Bath Towel twitter:description: This workout will leave you sore for days! twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0e21527e7aa6c5f/698933c5bc6cfc4f8e3e64ce/tone-your-arms-towel-workout.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Seriously Tone Your Arms With Just a Bath Towel > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=43bf4c10-e404-45bc-854b-01c7882c58b0&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Tone Your Arms wth a Bath Towel with Anna Kaiser [Watch (HLS stream): Tone Your Arms wth a Bath Towel with Anna Kaiser](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0LkOAv9T.m3u8) (10:53)  _Published 2018-06-25. Tone Your Arms wth a Bath Towel with Anna Kaiser_ by [Anna Kaiser](https://time.com/author/anna-kaiser/) ## Anna Kaiser Jun 26, 2018 12:00 PM UTC Tone Your Arms wth a Bath Towel with Anna Kaiser by [Anna Kaiser](https://time.com/author/anna-kaiser/) ## Anna Kaiser Jun 26, 2018 12:00 PM UTC One of the easiest ways to [fit in a ​workout](http://time.com/magazine/us/4475598/september-12th-2016-vol-188-no-10-u-s/) is to recruit an everyday item in your home. That’s why a towel is of one of my most beloved workout props for a fun and [effective arm workout](http://time.com/4824531/strength-training-women-exercise/). Almost everyone has an extra towel in their house, and unlike a resistance band, there’s no slack involved when you tug on one so ​there is little room for error and you engage all of your muscles. But beware, you won’t get much of a [workout](http://time.com/4474874/exercise-fitness-workouts/) with a towel if you don’t put in the work. There should be no slack in your towel during this routine! ​ Keep actively pulling out between each hand as though you are trying to rip the towel in half.​ From the towel gliders,​ to the towel tugs, this challenging upper body workout will leave you sore for days — and [deliver serious results](http://time.com/5294493/exercise-healthy-brain-aging/). **TIP:** If you’re not feeling the burn, you’re not pulling hard enough on the towel. There should be no slack! _Perform this routine three to four times a week._ ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Hi guys, I'm Anna Kaiser and I have a fantastic upper body workout for you with just a towel. All right, so here we go. The first section uses your body weight on the floor. You're gonna come into a half plane Just to get started, line up those shoulders over your wrists. Pull that naval to your spine. And then you're going to reach out with the hand on the towel, keeping it straight, bending the opposite elbow at 45 degrees, not directly side, 45 degrees back, so you use your back and every muscle in your arm. So come back up. Try and make sure that your shoulders stay in line with your hips. The entire time you're sliding out and back in, pulling that tummy even tighter as you come back up and making sure that you're not leading with your booty, that you're keeping it in line the whole time you're coming back up and you're working those arms eccentrically, and concentrically on the opposite side, all the way down. And all the way up, that's six. We've got four more. Four, and up. It's a nice tummy tightener too. Three, and up. Two, and up. One, and up. Then you're gonna hold it down, and we're gonna do a circle with an arm. Bend it in, and press up. Coming down, circle the opposite direction. Come back up, super challenging. Give me 2 more. Down, all the way around and in and up and then last one. Bent, all the way around, back in and up. Excellent. Take it all the way back. Breathe and we are going to do the opposite side. Switch arms, towel in the opposite arm. Bending the first arm that you kept straight. Shoulders over those wrists. All the way out. Sliding out. Opposite arm becomes bent 45 degrees. Coming back in. And nine, exhaling on exertion. Helping you all the way back up. [ MUSIC ]. And up, pressing down into those palms to come up, keeping those hips in line. 5, and 4. Try and tap it, to the ground. 3, and 2. And one. All right, we have four reps of that super- challenging exercise. Circling, so we're coming down, clear around, and up. Coming down, circling all the way around, and up. Two more. Nice, using those abs to keep your hips from moving. As you bring that towel around, in and up. Excellent, taking it back. And second part of your workout, we're gonna isolate those intrinsic muscles. Sitting up, standing on your knees. Pulling the towel out between your hands, really pull as much as you possibly can. So no limp towels, makes sure you pull as much as you can. Squeeze those inner thighs together, hold them together, squeeze your gluts, pull that tummy tight, and just hold. Here we go, hold, every muscle is turned on, hold, drop those shoulders away from your ears. Pulls, engaging your lats on the sides of your body. Hold, six, seven. Nice. Now pull it out even further. The harder you pull, the harder you make this workout. It's really up to you. You can see it in my arms. I can disengage my arms. Nothing is happening here. Or, I can turn them on. Turn every muscle on in my arm, and work against the resistance of the towel, nice. A towel has never felt so difficult, trust me. Just keep pulling out. Four, three, two, and one, keep puling out. Hold, hold, pull that tummy tight. Squeeze those glutes, six, seven, we take it up. 45 degrees up under that forehead, so not all the way back, just 45 degrees up and down. And as you lift it, get longer in your core, in your waist, pull that navel closer to your spine, squeeze those inner thighs, squeeze your glutes. So your lumbo- pelvic hip complex is also working. Nice. And support that upper body. Two more. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Really pulling out between those hands. Hold it there and then you're gonna pull those elbows back. So not up, not down. Again, 45 degrees, just like in that push up. And stretch. Pull it in. Make sure you're not letting those arms relax as you stretch them forward. Keep pulling out from the hands. This may look really easy, but trust me, it is challenging and very effective. And in. Nice. In. Not pulling your chest toward the towel. Bring the towel to the chest. Really pulling out between those hands. And three. And two. We're going to put it together, so take it up 45 degrees. Elbows back, squeezing those glutes. And back. Up, if you want to put a block or a ball between your knees to Mind you to squeeze your inner thighs together, that also helps. And up can take the focus off of your arms which should be shaking right now. Up, up, and into, two more, nice. [ SOUND ] And up, nice just pull in, eight and seven, elbows 45 degrees. Keep pulling out. I want to see you pull harder. Three train, rip that towel in half. And one last, take it up we're going to lean out to the side turning on those obliques and pull. Two, three, four, making sure to really pull that towel apart the whole way. And eight, further. Six, five, four, three, two, center up. And to the side again. Seven, and six, really pull out between those [ UNKNOWN ]. Four And three, and two, and one, other side. Can you get over? Reaching up and now those hips working side to the body, nice. Four, pulling up between those hands. I know I keep saying it, but Like that to remind you. Pull as hard as you can using your lats here. And four. You really feel that burn happening right now. Nice. Eight more. Eight, seven. Nice, long, dancer arms. Lean muscles. Four. We're gonna come center and to the side. Up, pull up using those hands. Nice, lean further. Three, four, and five, six, seven, and eight. Awesome, hold it up. Bring those elbows up. You're gonna wrap it around Back to your hand, keep the elbows up. And then, you're going to pull out between your hands, bringing the elbows in. Nice. Make sure your shoulders are over your hips, pulling your navel to your spine. Pulling out. Hold, hold, hold. And then, you're going to pulse those elbows in. Pulse it and pulse, elbow wings. As you pulse them in, don't relax those hands Keep them out. Keep pulling out. Three, four, honestly I might have to drop my arms I'm shaking so much. [ LAUGH ] So I'm right there with you. Three, and five, six, give me one more eight, navel to your spine. Eight, and seven, squeeze those glutes. Inner thighs coming together. Four, three, two, hold it up, bicep pulses. Palms toward you, keep pulling out between the hands. Four, three, two, eight more. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, hold it there at the wings, come in. And in, nice. Pulling up between those hands. Five. Six. Seven. Last three. Chest up. Shoulders away from those ears. Four. Five. Six. Seven. And up. Nice. Elbows parallel, right underneath those wrists. Eight more. Eight. Seven. Six. Alright, this is a killer. Shoulders and biceps. Take it up, all the way up. And out, remain pulling between those hands, and out. Up, and out. Pull harder, nice, four more. [ SOUND ] Three, and two. You see that sweat? Yeah. That's not the lights, [ LAUGH ] that is this damp towel, I swear to God it's working, and 4, 3, 2, eight more [ INAUDIBLE ] and 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, excellent, you're nothing yet, we're gonna work those triceps when we're done. Shoulders on your back, [ INAUDIBLE ] the waist Abs in, you're just gonna lift the arms without lifting the shoulders. So, lifting the arms up, pull out between those hands, activate every muscle in your arm, hold it there. Pull up one inch higher, pulling out between those hands, harder and harder, rip that towel apart, one inch higher. Nice. One more inch all the way up. Keep pulling, pulling, pulling, pulling. And just pulse up from there. Go. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, one more. Eight, keep pulling harder between those hands. Don't let it drop any lower. Four, three. This is the icing on the cake. Just bend the elbows and extend. Elbows and extend. Don't let those hands drop any lower. Just bending the elbows up and extend. Four, and three, and two, and one. Alternate. We go straight and bend. Straight, And bend naval to your spine. Four more four elbow coming together like there are magnets between your elbows drawing them together. Last eight put it up eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, hold it up hold hold hold. One more inch. One more inch. And relax. And use it to wipe off that sweat. 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