Updated: January 21, 2011

By Caitlin Murphy

It doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl just about everyone wants to know how to get strong shapely arms. We've complied five workouts that will get your "guns" totally toned!

These workouts are especially effective since they target the arm muscles while you're active and burning calories. That's important because burning calories decreases your body fat which makes it possible to see all those great looking muscles. So give one a try and pretty soon you"ll be ready to welcome everyone to the "gun show".

Boxing

Boxing is a lot of fun but did you know it's also a great way to get strong arms? Throwing all those punches sculpts your biceps, triceps and shoulders. While most workouts involve wearing gloves and punching a boxing bag, no need to worry if you don't have that equipment. Boxing video games and cardio boxing DVDs like Tae-Bo use shadow boxing (boxing with an imaginary opponent) to get you the results you're looking for.

To get the most out of your workout focus on squeezing the muscles in your arms with each punch. When you're boxing don't simply go through the motions; put some power behind those punches! I guarantee with a boxing workout you'll be jabbing and hooking your way to strong toned arms.

Swimming

Think of the swimmers you've seen in the Olympics like Michael Phelps and Dara Torres...they all had some pretty killer arms, right? When you're swimming the water creates resistance against your body that helps to tone and shape all your muscles including the ones in your arms.

Try this...while freestyle swimming focus on using your arms to pull you through the water. To change things up a bit you can flip over for backstroke or if you want a real challenge give the butterfly stroke a try. To do the butterfly start with your feet together and your arms out in front of you. Kick your feet together for a dolphin kick while you pull both arms behind and your head comes up out of the water. Then pull your arms forward over your head and return to the starting position. This one's tough but it will carve some mean shoulders!

Strength Training

Strength training is pretty straightforward and lots of people know lifting weights can sculpt muscles. But did you know there are certain strength training moves that give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to toning your arms? Bodyweight exercises like pushups, pull-ups and bench dips work the entire upper body and the bonus is you don't need fancy equipment so you can do these exercises anywhere.

One quick strength-training tip: The number of times you do an exercise (called repetitions) will change depending on your goals. For example, if you want "bigger" arms aim for 8-10 repetitions of each exercise and if you want more "toned" arms aim for 12-15 repetitions of each exercise.

Yoga

Looking for long lean arm muscles that are also super strong? Well if so, then yoga is for you. Yoga uses something called isometric training to sculpt the arm muscles. Isometric training means strengthening your muscles though simply holding your body in a certain position for anywhere from 10 seconds to two minutes. In yoga you'll hold lots of chaturangas which are similar to a pushup.

To do a chaturanga start in pushup position and place your hands directly under your shoulders. As you lower your body let your elbows sweep by your sides then push back up to the starting position. Yoga also has you performing plenty of planks and regular pushups all of which target the back of your arms and your shoulders. Yoga is one of the reasons celebs like Madonna have strong arms. Also, even some professional athletic programs, including the Philadelphia Eagles, have a yoga training program.

Racquet and Paddle Sports

If you play tennis or you've ever tried kayaking or rowing you know how these sports zero in on the upper body. Tennis and other racquet sports use the shoulders and having toned shoulders is a key to getting good-looking arms. Even if you don't have a partner you can still get the toning benefits of tennis with simply hitting the ball against a wall.

If you want to try paddle sports you're in for some super sculpting benefits. The pulling motion in paddle sports like rowing, canoeing and kayaking targets the shoulders plus working against the water resistance really tones the biceps.