8 best bodyweight exercises for big strong biceps

THE BEST BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES FOR YOUR BICEPS

Having muscular arms is a sign of strength and stamina. Everyone wants to know how to improve the look of their arms. Men want them to be bigger, women want them toned and slender.

Just like abs, arms are at the forefront of most people’s mind because they look impressive. Not surprisingly, one of the most popular forms of exercise is the biceps curl. Almost everyone with a dumbbell in their hand for the first time naturally does a curl.

But what if you want to do bicep work at home without weights? Here is a list of bicep exercises you can do at home.

Do this for this bicep home workout with these exercises:

• Choose three exercises and do 8-12 repetitions.
• Do three sets of exercises each with 90-120 seconds of rest between sets.
• During exercise, try to hold the position for as long as possible. Repeat this three times for 90-120 seconds of rest between sets.

1. CHIN-UPS

“chin up” by LookBetterNaked is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Chin ups are great for targeting the back and biceps, but due to the difference in grip (palms facing you or facing each other) more emphasis is placed on the biceps. This exercise is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do for the biceps.

How to do the chin ups:

• With your hands shoulder width apart, hold the chin-up bar with your palms facing you.
• Raise yourself up until your chin is above the bar and hold for a few seconds.
• Then lower yourself back to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner.

2. Inverted row

This exercise is almost similar to a barbell row; you take a barbell, bend at the waist, and pull the weight up to your chest. It is a good exercise when done well, but when the weight is heavy it becomes very difficult to maintain good form.

This is where the inverted row comes in. It’s very easy to do unlike the barbell rows and it still targets the same muscle as with a barbell rows, which means that you can progressively make it more challenging without simultaneously increasing the risk of injury.

Not only does it work the back, but it is also a great biceps.

How to do the inverted row:

• Lie on the floor under a bar (which should be just above where you can reach from the floor).
• Grab the bar with an over hand grip (the palms facing away from you).
• Contract your abs and butt, with your body completely in a straight line.
• Pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar.
• Then slowly lower yourself back to the starting position in a controlled manner.

3. Towel pull ups

This is another great exercise which targets the biceps. This is isometric, but the combination of towel and the hold really challenges the biceps.

How to do the towel pull ups:

• Wrap your towel around the, check if your towel is firm.
• Grab one end of it in each hand, and bend your knees.
• Pull yourself up until your chin is raised just above your hands.
• Slowly lower yourself back down to the ground with your arms straight.
• This completes one rep and repeat.

4. Isometric pull-ups

This is also like a regular chin-ups but the difference in this particular of exercise is it exerts tension on the muscle without shortening and lengthening it, they don’t compress and expands, the muscle just flexes.

How to do the isometric chin-ups:

• Hold the chin bar with your palms facing you and your hands at shoulder width.
• Pull yourself up until your chest is same level with the bar. If you are unable to make a chin-up, you can still do this exercise by using a chair or a jumping step.
• Hold this position right there for as long as possible.

5. Head banging

Head banger is a challenging movement performed at the level of the chin up bar. It involves the horizontal movement of your arms while you are at the top of your chin. This exercise does wonders for the biceps and it also develops endurance and strength.

Muscles Involved:

• Primary: Brachialis
• Secondary: Forearm Flexors

How to do the head banger:

• Hold the chin bar with your palms facing you and your hands at shoulder-width apart.
• Allow yourself to hang with your arms straight. Keep the tension in your hands and shoulders.
• Pull yourself up and hold this position. Then in an explosive manner quickly push your body back and forth away from the bar extending your arms forcefully.
• This should look like as if trying to hit the bar with your forehead.

6. Resistance band pull-ups

This is a great isolation exercise for the biceps, it lengthens and strengthens the biceps.

How to do this:

• Sit with your knees flexed under you, so that you are sitting on your heels while keeping the upper body tall and the shoulders relaxed.
• Tuck the resistance band under the right knee, holding it with your right hand.
• Keep your elbows stationary and as close to the body as possible, pull your hands up towards the shoulder.
• Hold for a second at the top, then slowly lower back to the starting position.
• Do this for one side of the arm, then switch to the other side.

7. One Arm Pull Ups

This exercise requires huge amount of biceps strength to execute this, it is a fantastic exercise for creating mass of the biceps and also the biceps split that so many guys are after. this is one of the best bodyweight exercises for the biceps.

If you can do a 15 regular pull up, then you can do this. One way to work your way to doing this move is when doing a regular pull ups begin by removing the fingers of one hand, before you know it you will be repping out with just a single finger of your assisted hand on the bar that is the time to give the one arm pull ups a try.

How to do the one arm pull up:

• Using your dominant hand, grab and hold the pull up bar while keeping the other hand at your side.
• Pull yourself up with the hand holding the bar until your chin clears over the bar.
• Then slowly lower yourself back to starting position in a controlled manner.

8. Towel curl

All you need for this exercise is just a bath towel and a chair. You don’t need any complicated equipment to perform this exercise.

How to do this:

• Sit on a chair with your feet on the floor, twist your towel until it forms a noodle-like shape, place it under one foot.
• Hold one end of the towel in each hand, slowly bringing it to your face.
• Hold for as long as possible, then return to the starting position.
• This completes one rep do as many reps as you can.

Note: use your foot as a resistance to make this more challenging.

Conclusion

Here you go; an arsenal of the best bodyweight exercises for a bigger, stronger biceps where you can do anywhere, anytime. You are no longer restricted to dumbbells and barbells.