22 Best Bodyweight Biceps Exercises To Build Big Biceps

The Key To Bodyweight Biceps Exercises

The biceps is the show muscle of the body, is what every lifter start training when they embark on their muscle building journey. To build them, we naturally think of conventional exercises such as barbell curl, cable curls, and incline dumbbell curls.

However, there is another way. And you don’t have to step into the gym to do it. In this article, we present 22 best bodyweight biceps exercises to build your arms faster. More of this detailed below, they are very effective at working the biceps and require nothing but your body, towel, and a chin up bar.

Training the biceps just by using your bodyweight has more benefits than weight training. You can train whenever you wish and wherever you are. Bodyweight training also works well on time – you don’t have down time looking for and changing plates.

Exercising with your bodyweight is also a safe way to use your biceps. Many lifters in the gym tend to overreach with their biceps training, as a  result that they end up hurting themselves. Often the lower back is injured due to excessive momentum and swinging. However, when you use your bodyweight as resistance, you eliminate the dangers that come with using heavy weights.

Now that you know how good bodyweight training can be, here are the best bodyweight biceps exercises to blast your biceps.

Bodyweight & banded biceps exercises

These exercises require only basic equipment and/or daily household items. Having access to a resistance band or pull bar will allow you to add more variety to your workout.

1. Inverted row

 

Ranking 1st on our list the best bodyweight biceps exercises is the inverted row. For this exercise you will need a sturdy broomstick from earlier, as well as two heavy, sturdy dining chairs.

How to do it:

• Place a broom stick on the seat of the two chairs with room between the chairs for you to lie down under the broomstick.
• Lie on the floor under the bar and use your arms to pull your body up, leaving only your heels touching the floor.

2. Banded curl

• Place the resistance band on the floor and stand on it, feet wide apart. Hold one end of the band in each hand, palms facing up.
• Bend at elbows, slightly raising the ends of the band. Then return to the starting position, maintaining control over all movements.

3. Banded hammer curl

Set up with your resistance band to do a curl, but place your hands so that the palms and your thumbs face up. Keep your elbows firmly by your sides as you curl.

4. Banded reverse curl

Set with your resistance band to make a regular curl, but place your hands so that the palms are facing down (with the back of your hands facing up). Keep your elbows firmly to your sides as you curl.

5. Neutral-grip pull-up

You’ll need a pull up bar for this, or the monkey bars when you’re near the playground. Instead of using the bar in your pull up bar, you will want to use the handles.

How to do it:

• Do a pull with your hands facing each other.
• If you are unable to do a full pull, stand on a chair and practice the pull-up motion.

6. Reverse-grip pull-up

Do pull-ups with your hands and hold the bar in reverse, with your fingers facing toward you.

If you are unable to do a full pull up, stand on a chair and practice the pull-up motion.

7. Wide grip pull up

• Do the pull with your hands spread farther than shoulder width on the outside.
• If you are unable to do a full pull up, stand on a chair and practice the pull-up motion.

8. CHIN-UPS

Like the overhand pullup, the chinup is an awesome back and shoulder exercise to create that V-shaped torso. But by doing a underhand  chinup, we place more emphasis on the biceps.

How to do this:

• Hold the pull up bar with your palms facing you and your hands about shoulder width apart.
• Allow yourself to hang your arms straight.
• Keep the tension in your hands and shoulders
• Pull them up until your chin is above the bar (end point). Then return back to starting position in a slow and controlled manner.

9. ISOMETRIC CHIN-UPS

Hold the pull bar with your palms facing you and your hands about shoulder width apart. Raise yourself up until your chin is above the bar. If you are unable to do a chin up, you can still do this exercise by using a chair or a jumping step. Alternatively, with the most challenging bicep exercises, you can bend your arms up to 90 degrees.

10. NEGATIVE/ECCENTRIC CHIN-UPS

How to do this:

• Hold the pull bar with your palms facing you and your hands about shoulder width apart. Raise your body until your chin is above the bar
• Lower yourself into a hanging position in a slow and controlled way. Make sure you keep the tension on your arms and shoulders.

Note: If you can’t do the chin-up, you can always do negatives.

11. COMMANDO CHIN-UPS

With a close grip on the pull up bar. This variation of chin ups places more tension on the biceps as opposed to the back.

How to do this:

• Pull yourself with your head to the left side of the bar.
• Try touching the pull up bar with your right shoulder.
• Then lower them back to the starting position in a controlled manner.
• After that, pull yourself up with your head to the right side of the bar. Try touching the bar with your left shoulder.

12. HEAD BANGER (ADVANCED EXERCISE)

Head banger is a variation of pull up exercise that really challenges your biceps performed at the level of the chin up bar.

How to do it:

• Hold the pull bar with your palms facing you and your hands about shoulder width apart. Allow your arms to hang straight.
• Pull up until your arms are bent at a 90-degree angle.
• Still holding this position lift yourself up in an explosive manner until your head is at bar height.

13. Towels Chin-ups

Why: In this chin-up version, you will hold a towel or two to challenge your biceps and improve grip strength.

How to: Drape one or two gym towels in the gym above the pullup bar so that both ends of the towel hang down. (If you use one towel, just hold one side in each hand.) Do your chin-ups by gripping towels instead of a bar.

14. Dive-bomber Pushup

Why: This pushup variation requires a lot of use of the biceps and shoulders.

How to do it:

• Start with your hips in the air and your feet wide apart.
• Lower your head and shoulders down as if you were walking under a bar.
• Make sure to arch your back while pushing your head and shoulders into position.
• Return back to starting position.

15. Plank

Why: Plank promotes core stability, but your biceps in particular will be responsible for keeping you in good shape.

How to do it:

• Lie in a prone pushup position with your hands on the floor, elbows under your shoulders and bend 90 °.
• Push up off your elbows, and tucking your chin so that your head aligns with your body.
• Keep the head in line with your spine, and your belly button pulled inwards.
• Hold for one minute.

16. Suspension Trainer Curls

Why: With your bodyweight as resistance, this movement hits the biceps hard. You can also increase the intensity of this exercise depending on how you angle yourself.

How to do it:

• Grab the suspension trainer to handle with both hands in an underhand grip.
• Go back to fully extend your arms.
• As your feet are shoulder-width apart and back straight, use your arms to pull them up (toward the suspension trainer) by doing a curl.
• Bend your elbows and curl your handles as close to your as much as possible.

17. Monkey bars

You probably never knew you were working with your biceps like kid gliding across the monkey bars. It’s still a good exercise as an adult.

How do it:

There are three ways. Avoid one arm, each way to turn the bar. (That looks a lot like a monkey, but it can be shoulder-to-shoulder.)

• Instead, start with both hands on the bar, facing at the bars.
• Move one forward and then the other.
• Or you can move laterally, facing perpendicular to the bars, reach the other side and bring your second hand.

18. One arm pulls up

This is a very difficult move that will create a huge amount of bicep power and deserves to be on this list of the best bodyweight biceps exercises. It is also a good move for creating the split in the biceps.

This exercise should only be tried if you can handle 15 normal pulls. To work your way up to doing this move, start removing the fingers of one hand as you do a regular pull. Soon you will be repping out with one finger of your assist hand at the bar, this is now the time to give the one arm pull up a try.

How to do this:

• Using your dominant hand, grab the bar while keeping the other hand by your side.
• Pull from the bicep to bring your chin up and over the bar.
• Slowly lower to the starting position.

19. Reverse Push Ups

This is a great movement to build mass in the mid bicep. It will take a little practice for this variation of push-ups. You will be able to build your own reps quickly.

Muscles Involved:

• Main: Brachialis
• Second: Grip strength

How to do it:

• Take a regular push-up position shoulder width apart. Turn your fingers so that they are pointing towards your feet.
• Now perform your push-ups, go as low as possible and feel the isolation in the biceps.

20. Close-Grip Press-Up

How to do it

• Start by supporting your upper body weight on your outstretched arms, thumbs and forearms to create a diamond shape, and your body to form a straight line from head to toe.
• Looking forward and squeezing your core, lower your chest until it almost touches the floor, and then explode upwards to the starting position.
• This compound movement has your triceps covered and your chest and anterior deltoid.

21. Parallel Bar Dip

This exercise also hits all the three heads of the triceps while your biceps acts as a stabilizer. Use bars if you have them, seats if you don’t have them. keep your arms locked out, let them take your weight as you cross the legs behind you, then lower your body slightly until your elbows form a 90-degree angle (A). Keep them tucked. Exhale as you lift up explosively to extend your arms.

22. Bench Dip

Position your hands on the bench at shoulder width apart and stretch your legs in front of you. Straighten your arms to take your body weight (A), and then lower your hips slowly by bending your elbows. At the bottom of the movement, squeeze your triceps (B) and return to the starting position. Rest for 90 seconds before the next superset.