Yoga guide
Yoga asks a lot of your arms: every plank, downward dog and slow lower from plank presses your body weight through your hands. In small trials, people new to exercise did better on push-up tests after 6 to 12 weeks of yoga. But no trial has measured arm muscle growing with yoga, yoga has almost no pulling, and no pose burns fat from your arms: in 13 studies, working one part of the body didn't take fat off that part.
This guide covers how to make yoga count as strength training (work until you need a short rest, then make the pose harder), the poses that work your arms and shoulders most, the band row that fills yoga's gap, how to look after your wrists and shoulders as you build up, arm balances, and a 20-minute class. Arms of every shape do the same jobs, and stronger ones make lifting, carrying and getting up off the floor easier.
In small trials, push-up endurance improved after 6 weeks of yoga in young women, and push-up tests improved more than in a waiting-list group after 12 weeks in middle-aged adults. Elbow strength rose 19% to 31% in 10 beginners, though with no comparison group.
We found no trial of yoga and arm muscle size, and none comparing yoga with progressive weights for the arms. For the most strength and muscle, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends resistance training you keep making harder.
The NHS counts yoga as strength exercise when you work "to the point where you need a short rest before repeating the activity", on at least 2 days a week.
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Training one arm for 12 weeks didn't take more fat off it on scans, and 13 studies found no spot reduction. Most yoga is light activity. Fat comes off your whole body, not the part you work.
A sun salutation bends your wrists back to about 85 degrees under load, and hand, shoulder and head stands are the practices most often linked with acute yoga injuries. Use fists, forearms or a wall, and progress in steps.
Pressing poses work your chest, shoulders and triceps; yoga has almost no pulling for your upper back and biceps. A band row fills the gap (our strength guide).
Plank, downward dog, chaturanga (lowering from plank), side plank, upward plank, crow and handstands press through your hands. In a sun salutation, the large back muscle under your arm works hardest in cobra, eight-point pose and downward dog, and muscles work harder moving between poses than holding them. Fewer points of support make a plank harder for the shoulders, and a high plank uses more triceps than a forearm plank. Locust with your arms forward worked the middle and lower trapezius hardest of 15 yoga postures, while warrior II and reverse tabletop barely used the shoulder-blade muscles.
A sun salutation takes the wrist from about 85 degrees of bend back towards straight. The forces in common hatha poses are low compared with impact sports, but bending the wrist back raises pressure in the carpal tunnel steeply: in people with carpal tunnel syndrome, from 32 to 110 mmHg at 90 degrees. In an online survey, 56.7% of 321 people who practise handstands had chronic wrist pain.
In a survey of 1,702 practitioners, hand, shoulder and head stands were linked with 29.4% of acute harms, and practising alone without supervision raised the risk. In US emergency departments, the arms and hands accounted for 8.8% of yoga injuries.
"Toning" means a bit more muscle with less fat over it (our weight loss guide). Muscle comes from hard enough work; fat loss comes from your whole body. A yoga session is mostly light activity, about 3 METs (metabolic equivalents), though sun salutations can reach moderate or vigorous intensity.
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In 47 young women (26 doing yoga, 21 controls), 6 weeks of yoga, three 1-hour sessions a week, improved upper-body (push-up) and tummy endurance; the abstract gives no numbers. In 173 adults with an average age of 52, 12 weeks of hatha yoga improved push-up and curl-up tests more than a waiting list; the abstract doesn't say how many more, and the groups weren't described as randomised. In 10 untrained young adults with no comparison group, elbow extension strength rose 31% and flexion 19% after 8 weeks.
Eight weeks of hot (Bikram) yoga raised deadlift strength but not grip strength in 21 young adults. In 44 breast cancer survivors, 24 weeks of yin yoga didn't raise upper-body strength, while impact training did. In sedentary women, once-weekly yoga didn't raise shoulder strength, while stabilisation training did.
In older adults, yoga improved arm curls as much as stretching and strengthening classes. Reviews find moderate strength gains, mostly in the legs. In 21 older people with a rounded upper back, 6 months of yoga improved a timed upper-limb task by 26.4%, with no comparison group.
We found no trial measuring arm muscle after yoga, or comparing yoga with progressive weights for the arms (as our strength guide says). A 3-month yoga programme in 75 adults raised core strength but didn't change muscle mass.
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Band push-ups as hard as a 6-rep bench press gave the same strength gains over 5 weeks in 30 trained students, and push-ups grew the triceps and chest as much as a light bench press over 8 weeks. Light loads build as much muscle as heavy ones when each set is hard, while heavy loads build more maximal strength.
The American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 position stand: progressive resistance training, at least 2 sessions a week, at least 10 sets per muscle a week for muscle size, and heavier loads for maximal strength.
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In 104 adults who trained one arm for 12 weeks, scans showed the same fat loss in both arms. A 2022 review of 13 studies (1,158 people aged 14 to 71) found no spot reduction: as many comparisons favoured the untrained limb as the trained one.
Six weeks of tummy exercises didn't reduce belly fat, and training one leg took fat off the arms and trunk rather than that leg. One trial of 16 men reported more trunk fat loss when tummy exercises were added to running; it is the exception, and not about arms.
Across 17 studies, yoga sessions averaged about 3 METs and single poses about 2.2, mostly light activity. Fat loss comes from your overall food and activity (our weight loss guide).
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Build some strength and endurance, especially if you're starting out, and count towards the NHS's strength guideline. How your arms look depends on your genes, body fat and age, and no exercise changes skin; stronger arms are worth having whatever they look like.
The NHS: do strengthening activities that work your chest, shoulders and arms, among other muscles, on at least 2 days a week, "to the point where you need a short rest before repeating the activity". Yoga and pilates are on its list.
When a pose gets easy, make it harder: knees up in plank, slower lowering from plank, a leg lifted, then full push-ups and arm balances. Holding the same pose longer mostly builds endurance (our strength guide).
Yoga hardly pulls. Add a band row twice a week, and keep locust with your arms forward for your upper back (our strength guide's suggestion).
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Twice a week meets the strength guideline; the trials used 2 or 3 sessions a week for 6 to 12 weeks. Give your arms a day's rest between hard sessions (our editorial suggestion).
Spread your fingers and press through the base of your fingers. If your wrists hurt, make fists, come onto your forearms (dolphin for downward dog, a forearm plank), or put your hands on a wall or table: push-ups with the hands raised or knees down put less force through the hands. With carpal tunnel symptoms, keep your wrists out of deep bends under load (our wrists and carpal tunnel guides).
Wall push-ups, then hands on a table or chair seat, then knees down on the floor, then a full plank and downward dog (our shoulder pain guide's order). Lower from plank with your knees down, and only until your shoulders are level with your elbows.
Hand, shoulder and head stands were linked with more acute harms than other practices, and self-study without supervision raised the risk. Learn crow and handstands with a teacher once planks and push-ups are easy, over something soft.
In 9,151 older Australian women, practising yoga wasn't linked with more joint problems, and across 94 trials yoga caused no more side effects than usual care or other exercise. Build up gradually rather than avoiding weight on your hands altogether.
Wrist and forearm flow: 60 seconds (our wrists guide). Shoulder circles: 10 to 15 slow circles each way (the move's page). Cat-cow: 8 waves, slower than feels natural (the move's page).
Wall push-up: 2 to 3 sets of 10; incline push-up: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12; knee plank: 3 holds of 10 to 20 seconds; downward dog: 3 holds of 5 breaths (our wrists guide). Straight-arm plank: 3 holds of 15 to 30 seconds (the move's page). Chaturanga: 3 to 5 slow lowers, knees down at first; dolphin: 3 holds of 5 breaths; side plank: 2 or 3 holds of 15 to 30 seconds each side (our strength guide, editorial). Upward plank: 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times, starting in reverse tabletop with knees bent (the move's page).
3D demoWall push-upBeginner · A wall
3D demoIncline push-upBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoKnee plankBeginner · No equipment
3D demoStraight-arm plank (high plank)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoFour-limbed staff pose (Chaturanga Dandasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoDownward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoDolphin pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoKnee side plankBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoUpward plank pose (Purvottanasana)Intermediate · No equipmentBand row: 3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 2 to 3 reps short of failure (the move's page, an editorial starting point). Locust with arms forward: 3 to 5 lifts held 3 to 5 seconds (our strength yoga workout). Y, T and W raises lying face down: 2 sets of 8 of each shape (our editorial starting point; not in later pregnancy).
Warrior II with arms at shoulder height: 5 breaths each side, twice; chair pose with arms up: 3 holds of 30 to 45 seconds, lowering your arms if your shoulders or blood pressure complain (our strength yoga workout).
Push-up: 2 to 3 sets, stopping 2 to 3 reps short of failure; crow: 3 to 5 tries of a few seconds over a cushion; half handstand at the wall: 3 holds of 3 to 5 breaths, coming down before your arms shake (our editorial starting points). Skip the half handstand with glaucoma, uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetic eye disease or in pregnancy (the move's page).
Thread the needle: 30 to 60 seconds each side, 2 rounds; overhead triceps stretch: 15 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times each side; kneeling forearm stretch: 15 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times, skipped with carpal tunnel symptoms (the moves' pages). Doorway chest opener: 2 holds of 30 seconds, elbow low after a dislocation (our editorial starting point).
These follow our wrists, carpal tunnel, shoulder pain and strength guides and the move pages' cautions.
Dolphin for downward dog, a forearm plank for a high plank, sphinx for cobra and upward dog, and fists or forearms on all fours. Leave chaturanga, crow and handstands until last.
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Lower from plank with your knees down, go only halfway, or leave chaturanga out; swap upward dog for a low cobra; build up to downward dog from the wall; skip binds.
Keep your arm in front of you, and stop if the shoulder feels about to slip. After a dislocation, the NHS says there's an increased risk it could happen again.
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Keep your elbows soft rather than locked in planks and downward dog: "do not overextend your joints just because you can" (our wrists guide).
Leave out handstands, forearm stands and headstands, and keep downward dog and dolphin brief.
In pregnancy, leave out arm balances and handstands, and plank on your knees or against a wall as your bump grows. With heart failure, avoid planks and swap full push-ups for wall push-ups. After surgery through the breastbone or breast cancer surgery, follow your team's advice before pushing or lifting with your arms (the move pages).
No trial has compared yoga with progressive resistance training for arm strength or size. Yoga improved arm curls as much as stretching and strengthening classes in older adults, but resistance training you keep making harder builds the most strength and muscle.
If you want bigger or much stronger arms, add 1 or 2 resistance sessions a week with weights or bands, as our strength guide suggests, and keep yoga for strength through range, balance and recovery.
Our 20-minute class builds the press in steps and adds a band row; do it twice a week (our editorial starting point). The strength yoga workout is the longer version, and the wrist and shoulder classes suit sore joints.
Twenty minutes of yoga for your arms and shoulders: a wrist warm-up, a stepped build-up to plank and slow lowering, side plank, a band row and stretches.
20 minBeginner15 movesA bench or box, A bandThirty-five minutes of yoga built for strength: long standing holds, slow lowering from plank, single-leg balances and a band row, with harder options.
35 minIntermediate18 movesA step, A bandA 20-minute yoga class for wrists: a gentle warm-up, poses with the hands free, then weight through the hands in stages, from a wall to all fours to the forearms.
20 minBeginner18 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 20-minute yoga sequence for shoulder pain: gentle movement, standing poses with the arms low, shoulder strength, and weight on the arms built up from the wall.
20 minBeginner16 movesA bench or box, A wallA 20-minute way into sun salutation A: learn the standing half, then the floor half with your knees down and cobra, then link them into 3 slow rounds.
20 minBeginner11 movesNo equipmentA 20-minute Pilates class for your arms: planks and push-ups, side and back support, face-down work and a standing series with light weights or a band.
20 minBeginner16 movesA bench or box, A dumbbellWork up to full push-ups: wall, incline and knee push-ups, then the floor push-up and harder variations.
15 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or boxThirty-day challenges for arms and push-ups, with or without weights.
A free 30-day arm challenge with or without weights: three 20-minute sessions a week, rest days, a ladder for every move and honest words on arm fat.
3 training days20 minBeginner3 days a weekA free 30-day push-up challenge, from wall to archer push-ups: 3 short sessions a week, optional practice days and a push-up test at each end.
3 training days15 minBeginnerThese follow our Pilates for arms, wrists, shoulder pain and hand pain guides word for word. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Call 999: arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest.
Call 999, even if it passes: sudden weakness or numbness in one arm, with a drooping face or slurred speech. These are signs of a stroke.
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Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E: severe arm pain that makes it difficult to move, a snapping noise or a change in shape after an injury, or an arm that tingles or feels numb.
After a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, or you cannot move your arm. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E after an injury (don't drive yourself) if the arm, wrist or hand is numb, tingling or has pins and needles; a bone is sticking out or a bad cut is bleeding heavily; or the wrist, thumb or a finger has changed shape, is at an odd angle, or has turned blue, grey, white or cold.
Same day: you have lost the feeling in part or all of your hand.
Same day: both hands numb or clumsy (dropping things, trouble with buttons or handwriting), especially with unsteady walking or falls. Pressure on the spinal cord in the neck can do this, and it is often first mistaken for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111: sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder or arm that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm or shoulder, or an arm or shoulder that's hot or cold to touch.
Get help from NHS 111: an arm that hurts when you exercise but the pain goes away when you rest.
Shoulder pain that is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Pins and needles that you have all the time, or that keep coming back: see a GP.
Carpal tunnel symptoms that are getting worse, not going away, or not helped by treatment at home; sooner if the thumb is weak or the muscle at the base of the thumb looks thinner.
A shoulder that slips, clunks or gives way with your arm out to the side needs a GP or physiotherapist before you carry on (our suggestion); our shoulder dislocation guide has more.
Call 999 if:
Stop for sharp pain, a feeling that the shoulder is slipping, pins and needles or numbness down the arm, or pain that is still worse by your next session after strengthening.
Discomfort up to about 5 out of 10 that settles within half an hour and isn't worse the next morning is fine while you build back up. Stop a pose for sharp pain, pain that builds through a session, clicking with weakness on the little-finger side, or tingling or numbness that doesn't fade quickly, and come onto your forearms or a wall (our suggestion).
Talk to your GP. If you're worried about your eating, the eating disorder charity Beat is on 0808 801 0677 (our Pilates for arms guide).
No exercise burns fat from the part you work, and most yoga is light activity. Yoga can add a little strength; fat loss comes from your whole body.
No exercise lengthens muscles into a different shape (our Pilates for arms guide). Light and heavy loads build similar muscle when the effort is hard; how big muscles get depends mostly on how much hard training you do, your genes and your food.
No trial has measured it. Most yoga has no easy way to keep adding load, which is what builds the most muscle.
Long holds build endurance. For strength, make the pose harder, the same principle as adding weight.
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Hand, shoulder and head stands are the commonest source of acute yoga injuries, but yoga wasn't linked with more joint problems in older women, and across trials it was as safe as other exercise. Build up in steps.
The forces in common poses are low, and no study has shown bone gains in the arms from yoga (our strength guide).
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Yes, a little, especially if you're new to exercise: push-up endurance improved in small yoga trials, and elbow strength rose in beginners. It works when the poses are hard enough that you need a short rest, the NHS's test for strength exercise.
It can add a little muscle, but no pose burns the fat over it: training one arm doesn't take more fat off that arm. Toned arms come from some muscle plus less body fat overall.
No exercise targets arm fat: across 13 studies, working one part of the body didn't take fat off that part, and most yoga is light activity. Fat comes off your whole body with your overall food and activity. Upper arms vary with genes and age, and stronger arms are worth having whatever they look like.
Plank, slow lowering from plank (chaturanga), downward dog, dolphin, side plank and upward plank press through your arms. Locust with your arms forward works your upper back, and warrior II builds shoulder endurance.
No trial has compared them for the arms. Resistance training you keep making harder builds the most strength and muscle, while yoga can meet the strength guideline for beginners. Adding a band row fills yoga's biggest gap, pulling.
Make the pose harder rather than longer: knees up in plank, slower lowering from plank, a leg lifted, then full push-ups, then arm balances such as crow over a cushion. Holding the same pose longer mostly builds endurance.
A sun salutation bends your wrists back to about 85 degrees under load. Spread your fingers, use fists, forearms or a wall, and build up slowly; with carpal tunnel symptoms, keep weight off bent-back wrists. Our yoga for wrists guide has the swaps.
No study has measured its load, but it's the hardest press in most classes. Lower with your knees down, and only until your shoulders are level with your elbows, and skip it with a current shoulder or wrist injury.
Build up to them: hand, shoulder and head stands are the practices most often linked with acute yoga injuries, and practising alone raised the risk. Learn them with a teacher once planks and push-ups are easy, and skip them in pregnancy and, for handstands, with glaucoma or uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Twice a week meets the strength guideline, and the trials used 2 or 3 sessions a week for 6 to 12 weeks. Give your arms a day's rest between hard sessions.
Unlikely. Bulk comes from a lot of hard training, enough food and your genes, and there's no such thing as a long, lean muscle versus a bulky one. Yoga builds modest strength.
Call 999 for sudden arm pain with pressure across your chest. Go to A&E if a shoulder looks out of place after an injury, and don't try to put it back. Get same-day help if you lose feeling in your hand, and see a GP for shoulder pain that isn't better after 2 weeks or pins and needles that keep coming back.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
