Yoga is excellent for developing arm strength. And even though you might never see your biceps bulge through your T-shirt sleeves, you will notice an improvement in arm strength and endurance that might not happen with some other types of exercise.
Some fundamental Calisthenics moves like the Plank, Push-ups, and the Dive-bombers heavily borrow from yoga.
If you want to increase arm strength through yoga, the best exercises to focus on will start with Sun Salutations. This powerful combination of poses warms up the muscles for their strenuous demands. By increasing the number of Sun Salutation sequences performed to 24 or more, your arm strength will increase enough to hold other poses for longer.
You can also add Hindu-push ups (Downward Facing dog meets Cobra Pose repeated in sequence) to your Sun Salutations to increase endurance.
In addition to performing 24 or more rounds of Sun Salutations, here are some other poses to try to increase arm strength:
- Inclined Plane Pose
- Wheel Pose
- Peacock Pose (multiple variations)
- Wheel Pose
- Side Plank
- Crow Pose (multiple variations)
- Plank
Even the simple shoulder stand can help increase arm strength when combined with its counterposes, the Bridge and Fish pose. Each pose is also quite effective for sculpting the abs and sometimes provides a deep tissue massage to your internal organs.
The next time someone says that yoga doesn’t do much for their arms, suggest they try the poses listed above in addition to Sun Salutations. Remember, this is something you’ll have to try out to see the benefits. But if you do, you’ll surely see a difference in your arm strength.