Are you someone who longs to have great biceps but has no time or money for expensive gymming? Well, fret not. Try these simple and effective home bicep workouts and you will love the results.
It is easy to replace gym cardio with brisk walks, swimming, running or cycling. However, what becomes difficult for many is to replace the Biceps Workout at the gym along with its heavy-duty equipment. If you are serious about building an effective biceps workout at home, you will be happy to read this collection of exercises.
Can I Build my Biceps with a Workout at Home?
Yes, it is possible to build your biceps with a home workout. However, it is important to remember here, that it’s a relatively slower process and will involve a little more effort from your end.
At the same time, since you are exercising at home you will have the flexibility of time. It will be much easier on your pocket as well and over time you can invest the money you save to buy some basic, at-home exercising equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells, or a bar.
Tips to Start Biceps Workout at Home
- Make sure that you put together a regular routine in place. Create a timetable for yourself and make slots for everything starting from the time you get up to the time you go for work, exercise, rest, and sleep. Follow it religiously and try not to cheat, else your workout will be affected.
- Be determined and consistent. Home biceps exercises if done regularly also give you strength results over time in addition to building those muscles.
- Put together a biceps workout chart with a step-by-step list of all the exercises that you want to do in each session. List out the routine clearly with details of the number of sets, reps, and rest duration. Paste this routine where you can easily see it while exercising so that you are not confused while you are working out.
How Can I Increase Resistance in Bicep Workouts At Home?
As you won’t be using the heavy duty gym equipment during your biceps exercises at home; here are some great tricks that will help you increase resistance in your exercises for better results.
- Reduce the wait/rest time between exercises as you keep progressing each day. This acts as a means of natural resistance that helps tighten muscles.
- While performing exercises, always try to hold the position for a few seconds instead of releasing immediately. This forces your muscles to put in more effort.
- With time it will get easy for you to complete the routine. This when you need additional resistance in your biceps workout. So try to increase the hold time in each exercise by a couple of seconds.
What Do I Need For My Biceps Workout At Home?
You really do not need much to carry out a successful workout for biceps at home. In fact, some creativity and modification serve the purpose very well. Here are some basic things you will need to get started –
- An exercise/yoga mat
- A sturdy and stable chair
- An exercising bar that can be fixed on a doorway at variable heights
- A resistance band or towel
- A pair of dumbbells (optional; you can include dumbbell exercises for biceps but it purely depends on you)
Bicep Exercises for Home Workout
1. Arm Rotations for Biceps Workout
It appears to be a fairly simple exercise but arm rotations work well to loosen up your arms for the exercises to follow. Also, when you add a resistance band to the mix, arm exercises can really become workout-worthy. So extend your arms on both sides at the same height as your shoulders and start rotating them. Move horizontally, first clockwise and then anti-clockwise. You can hold the resistance band across your shoulder blades in both hands for that extra burn.
2. Downward Dog Push-Ups
A derivative of the popular yoga posture, the downward dog push-up works wonders to shape up your biceps. In fact, it is one move that is a must-include in every biceps and triceps workout at home. It not only works on your arms but also strengthens your shoulders. To take proper form move into the standard push-up position and slowly bring your hands and feet closer. Ideally, your body should look like an inverted ‘V’. Keep palms shoulder distance apart and feet in line with your body. Make sure the feet are placed flat on the ground and you are not on your toes. Now using your arms and shoulders move your face towards the ground. Use your arms to move back into the original position to complete one rep. Do not bend the knees or move/lift your feet.
3. Chair Dips for Bicep Workout
It is actually great news that some of the best biceps and triceps workouts at home do not need specialized equipment. In this particular bicep exercise, all you need is a sturdy chair (preferably one which is not cushioned), which can take your weight without toppling over.
Start by sitting straight on the chair with your feet placed together in front and hands gripping the chair’s edges. Now gently raise yourself from the seat, straightening your arms. Then move your body forward and downward towards the ground without touching the chair. In doing so your elbows will bend, that’s ok. Make sure that your knees and feet remain aligned. Hold the position without letting your hips touch the ground and then push back up straightening your arms back into the original position. This is one rep.
As time passes and you master the position, you can increase the crunch by placing your feet on an elevated surface but still below the chair seat.
4. Elevated Pike Push-Up
This is a great modification on the chest building pushups to make them work on your biceps as well. In Pike push-ups, your feet are placed on an elevated platform. As a result, in addition to the biceps, the exercise helps chisel those shoulders, which are otherwise difficult to target in any of the biceps workout at home.
To start, place your feet on a sturdy chair and let your butt point upwards in a manner that you have formed a relaxed, inverted ‘v’. Let your palms be a foot apart. Now bend your arms to lower your head and torso down towards the ground, but do not touch it. Instead from your lowest point, push yourself back to the starting position to complete one rep. Make sure your stomach is tight all this while to let the abs burn too.
5. Towel Curl Bicep Exercise
Use a bath towel for this exercise and fold it to create a sling. Hold both ends of the sling in your hands and lean your back against a wall. Your feet should be spaced a foot apart. Use the sling to hold one foot of yours in a manner that you feel some resistance. Keep your other knee bent slightly. Let your upper arms be still. As you curl the towel’s edges towards you using your wrists and lower arms, let your foot resist the action. At the peak of the action, pause for a second or two and then return to the position you started in. Switch legs when halfway to complete one set.
6. Single-Leg Dip Workout For Biceps
A super effective bicep workout, this dip is a must-do for your arms to intensify your workout at home. Get down on all fours and then extend out one leg of yours. Now with one leg extended start doing your dips as usual. This increases the resistance and offers extra burn. Do 10-12 dips on one leg and then change sides to do the same on the other leg as well. When you feel you can crunch it up; challenge yourself with single leg dips using a bench or a chair for additional resistance.
7. Inverted Row to Shape Up the Biceps
This is an easy bicep exercise that can be performed without any gym equipment with ease. To top it up, its effects are tremendous, both on your arms as well as your upper back. Simply position a kids’ hanging bar on any door of your home at about two to three feet above the ground. Now place your mat under the bar in the doorway and lie on it. Hold the bar with both hands and make sure that the hands are placed at a distance wider than your shoulders. Now start pulling your chest closer to the bar as you rise. Stop at the top and move back to the start position to complete one rep. If you do not have a bar, opt for a sturdy tabletop or a park bar to do this exercise.
8. Resistance Band Push-downs
Take a resistance band and find its center. Now step on it with both feet in a way that the band should not be able to slide or shift. Hold its ends in each hand. When you take a position, your arms must be lowered and straight on either side of your body. Slowly start pulling up one hand up, with the upper arm pinned to your side; until your elbow is no longer net. Then return to starting position and repeat with the other arm to complete one rep. You can easily aim to complete 50-75 reps of this workout for biceps.
9. Lateral Plank Walk
Fairly easy to look at; this core burning exercise is also great to chisel those biceps. The plank itself is a position that spells total body workout. This variation here is perfect for the arms. All you have to do is get down into the basic plank position and then start moving in one direction – right arm, right leg outward followed by left arm left leg inward. Repeat this for maybe six steps in one direction and six in the other to reach the starting point. You can crank it up with as many steps you want to add to each direction.
10. Towel Pull-Ups
For every successful biceps and triceps workout at home, it is important that the forearm muscles too are strengthened. These small muscles offer great support to the upper arms during the workout and thus, must be strengthened as well for a better grip and maximum results.
For this exercise, all you need is a hanging bar fixed on any doorway in your home and a towel. Make sure that the bar is fixed above the level of your head, just like you would have it for pull-ups. Now sling the towel over the bar and hold the ends in your hands. Pull yourself upholding the towel and perform your pull-ups like this. Keep on lowering and pulling yourself up. However, many may find this task challenging and for them, it is advisable to remain in the pulled-up position for as long as possible to add resistance even though you might not be able to finish the
The Routine for Biceps Workout at Home
For each of the exercises mentioned above, you must carry the following –
- Sets – Perform at least three sets of these exercises in every workout session.
- Reps – Perform at least 12 reps of each exercise before moving to the next one
- Rest – Take only 20 seconds of rest between exercises, as you have to build resistance.
- Frequency – Three to four times a week. Team it with a cardio workout for great results.
Slowly with time as your body gets used to the routine, you can increase this Biceps Exercises to four sets. Perform 15-20 reps, with just 10 seconds rest to increase resistance over time and pop out those muscles.
