21 Best Biceps Exercises Without Training Equipment (3 Insane Biceps Workout Inside) – Fitness Volt (2024)

Advocates of home and minimalist workouts often say that exercises like push-ups and air squats are all you need to do to get in shape. And while those simple movements are very effective, they’re also very limiting.

For starters, none of them work your biceps!

When it comes to building bigger, more muscular arms, curls are the king, and no self-respecting bodybuilder wants to skip their biceps workout.

That begs the question: how do you train your biceps when you don’t have access to weights or machines?

The good news is that there are numerous ways to work your biceps, even if some require a little out-of-the-box thinking!

In this article, we reveal the best biceps exercises without weights and equipment.

21 Top Biceps Exercises Without Weights or Equipment

No gym? No problem! Use these exercises to build your biceps at home, on vacation, or any other time you don’t have access to traditional weights or training equipment.

1. Chin-Up

No, you haven’t accidentally stumbled onto an article about back training! While chin-ups ARE a great lat exercise, they’re also a very effective biceps exercise.

When you do pull-ups, you curl your chin up to an overhead beam or bar instead of curling a barbell or dumbbell up to your chin. So, if you can find somewhere suitable to hang from, the chin-up is an excellent at-home biceps exercise.

How to do it:

1. Hold an overhead bar or beam with an underhand, shoulder-width grip. You could also hang from a tree branch, a playground climbing frame, or a ladder leaning against a wall.
2. Bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar without swinging or kicking with your legs.
3. Lower yourself smoothly and slowly, and repeat.

Benefits of Chin-Up:

1. The chin-up is an accessible exercise. Most people have access to a pull-up bar or an equivalent.
2. It helps improve your functionality, making you better at other exercises and daily chores.

Chin-Up Variations:

1. Single-Arm Chin-Up
2. Behind-the-Neck Pull-up
3. Archer Chin-Up

How To Program Chin-Up in Your Workout

Chin-ups are usually done at the beginning of a workout. You could, however, program them at the end of your training session to annihilate your pythons. Do 3-5 reps of 8-15 reps.

Check out our complete chin-up guide here!

2. Underhand Inverted Row

Not strong enough to do chin-ups? Or maybe you want to do a higher-rep workout? Either way, you can work your biceps by doing underhand inverted rows. Also known as Australian pull-ups, this back exercise gives your biceps a great workout.

How to do it:

1. Find yourself a waist-high barrier. Alternatively, you can do this exercise between two tall-backed chairs using a strong broomstick for your handle.
2. Sit below the barrier and hold it with an underhand, shoulder-width grip.
3. Lean back, straighten your arms, and lift your hips off the floor so your weight is supported by your hands and feet only.
4. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms and pull your chest up to the bar.
5. Extend your arms and repeat.

Benefits of Underhand Inverted Row:

1. Besides helping you build bigger and stronger biceps, the underhand inverted row improves your forearm size and strength.
2. A low-impact exercise that saves your joints from undue stress.

Underhand Inverted Row Variations:

1. Suspension Trainer Curl
2. Door Frame Body Weight Curl
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Underhand Inverted Row in Your Workout

Do the underhand inverted row in the middle of your workout for the best results. Perform 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.

Check out our complete underhand inverted row guide here!

3. Resistance Band Curl

A set of resistance bands is all you need to train your entire body. Resistance bands are light, portable, and cheap. They’re ideal for home use and perfect for traveling, too.

Resistance band exercises are also very joint-friendly, as there is no initial inertia to overcome at the start of each rep. Instead, the tension comes on gradually. Resistance band curls are a very effective biceps exercise you can do anywhere and anytime.

How to do it:

1. Stand on the center of your resistance band and hold one end in each hand. The wider your feet, the shorter the band, and the more tension on your biceps. Pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your abs.
2. Bend your elbows and curl your hands up to your shoulders.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.

Benefits of Resistance Band Curl:

1. Resistance bands keep your biceps under tension throughout the range of motion.
2. Resistance band curls are the closest you get to dumbbell curls.

Resistance Band Curl Variations:

1. Shopping Bag Curl
2. Self-Resisted Curl
3. Water Jug Curl

How To Program Resistance Band Curl in Your Workout

You can do the resistance band curl at any point in your workout. Perform 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps. Use a slow and controlled motion to get the best bang for your buck.

4. Suspension Trainer Curl

There are very few strength training exercises you can’t replicate with a suspension trainer, such as a TRX. For example, you can use a suspension trainer to mimic free-weight and machine exercises and add an extra dimension to bodyweight training. Suspension curls feel a lot like cable preacher curls and are a very effective bodyweight biceps exercise.

How to do it:

1. Attach your suspension trainer to a high anchor point and take a handle in each hand. Then, lean back and extend your arms. This is your starting position.
2. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms and curl your body forward and your chin up to your hands.
3. Straighten your arms and repeat. The longer the straps and the more you lean back, the harder this exercise becomes.

Benefits of Suspension Trainer Curl:

1. Besides building bigger biceps, this exercise helps you develop a stronger core.
2. Changing your grip works both biceps heads.

Suspension Trainer Curl Variations:

1. Underhand Inverted Row
2. Body Curl
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Suspension Trainer Curl in Your Workout

Perform 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. Follow a full range of motion for optimal biceps stimulation.

5. Suitcase/Backpack Curl

Are you going on vacation or traveling for work? Chances are, you’ll have a suitcase or backpack. You can use your luggage as a make-shift barbell for biceps training.

How to do it:

1. Pack your bag with a few of your belongings and hold it as best you can in front of you. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the weight up to your shoulders.
3. Lower it and repeat.

Benefits of Suitcase/Backpack Curl:

1. Performing exercises like these improve your functional fitness.
2. A great exercise to perform while on the go.

Suitcase/Backpack Curl Variations:

1. Shopping Bag Curl
2. Water Jug Curl
3. Rock Curl

How To Program Suitcase/Backpack Curl in Your Workout

If you’re performing this exercise on the go, do it at the beginning of your workout. Stick to 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps.

6. Shopping Bag Curl

Dumbbells are perfect for biceps training but don’t worry if you don’t have any, as you can do dumbbell-type curls with a shopping bag. The handles are ideal for unilateral training as you can work one arm at a time.

How to do it:

1. Load a strong shopping bag with canned food, books, water bottles, etc.
2. Hold the handle with an underhand grip and stand up straight, arm by your side.
3. Bend your elbow and curl the weight up to your shoulder.
4. Extend your arms, lower the bag, and repeat.
5. You can also do this exercise with both arms simultaneously, i.e., with a bag in each hand.

Benefits of Shopping Bag Curl:

1. Improves functional fitness.
2. A great way to incorporate working out into your daily life.

Shopping Bag Curl Variations:

1. Backpack Curl
2. Water Jug Curl
3. Rock Curl

How To Program Shopping Bag Curl in Your Workout

Shopping bag curls are best done while on grocery runs. Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps. Switch this exercise with backpack curls if you’re training at home.

7. Isometric Towel Curl

Most biceps exercises involve movement at the elbow joint. The isometric towel curl is different because your muscles will be working isometrically or statically, meaning your muscles produce force but no movement. Isometric exercises are good for building muscle size and strength and are very joint-friendly. Plus, all you need is a long towel.

How to do it:

1. Kneel on the middle of your towel with your knees together. Hold one end of the towel in each hand.
2. Bend your elbows and attempt to curl your hands upward. Of course, they won’t move. Still, you should try as hard as possible to bend your arms.
3. Keep flexing until your biceps begin to fatigue. The harder you contract your arms, the sooner you’ll need to stop.
4. Do not hold your breath during this exercise, as doing so may elevate your blood pressure.

Benefits of Isometric Towel Curl:

1. It is a great exercise you can do at home or while traveling.
2. Since it is an isometric exercise, it places minimal stress on your joints.

Isometric Towel Curl Variations:

1. Resistance Band Curl
2. Suspension Trainer Curl
3. Self-Resisted Curl

How To Program Isometric Towel Curl in Your Workout

Perform this exercise at the beginning of your arm workout to pre-exhaust your guns. Alternatively, you could do it at the end for a muscle-ripping pump. Do 3-5 sets and hold the contraction for 10-20 seconds.

8. Dynamic Tension Curl

Dynamic tension is a form of training popularized by old-school strongman Charles Atlas that was also used by martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Dynamic tension is a form of isometrics but, unlike that method, is not completely stationary and involves slow, deliberate movements.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your arms by your sides. Clench your fists and contract your biceps as hard as you can.
2. Keeping your muscles tense, bend your elbows and curl your empty hands up to your shoulders. Imagine lifting a heavy weight and tensing your muscles as hard as possible.
3. Keeping your muscles tense, extend your arms and repeat.
4. As with isometric curls, take care not to hold your breath, as doing so could elevate your blood pressure.

Benefits of Dynamic Tension Curl:

1. Since this exercise requires no equipment, you can do it anytime.
2. Places zero stress on your joints.

Dynamic Tension Curl Variations:

1. Isometric Towel Curl
2. Self-Resisted Curl
3. Suspension Trainer Curl

How To Program Dynamic Tension Curl in Your Workout

Do this exercise at the beginning or end of your biceps workout. Hold the contraction for 15-20 seconds and complete 8-12 reps of 3-5 sets.

9. Self-Resisted Curl

With this exercise, you will use the triceps of one arm to overload the biceps of the other. That means once you’ve done both sides, you’ll have worked your biceps and triceps in just a few minutes.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. With your left arm by your side, reach across with your right arm and clasp your hands together.
2. Pushing down with your right arm, bend your left elbow and curl your hands toward your shoulder.
3. Use your right arm to push your left hand back down and repeat.
4. Swap sides to work the biceps of your opposite arm.

Benefits of Self-Resisted Curl:

1. A great exercise to do while on the go.
2. Allows you to change the resistance throughout the range of motion.

Self-Resisted Curl Variations:

1. Isometric Towel Curl
2. Dynamic Tension Curl
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Self-Resisted Curl in Your Workout

Perform the self-restricted curl at any point during your biceps workout. Perform 3-5 reps and 12-20 reps.

10. Water Jug Curl

Water is pretty heavy stuff, and one pint weighs about a pound. You can use a water jug as a makeshift weight for biceps curls and should have no problem adjusting the load to match your current strength level. Water jugs with handles are perfect for biceps training.

How to do it:

1. Hold your water jug by its handle, arm down by your side. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
2. Bend your elbow and curl your hand up toward your shoulder.
3. Extend your arm, lower the water jug, and repeat.
4. You can also do this exercise with two water jugs and train both arms simultaneously.

Benefits of Water Jug Curl:

1. The jug’s handles mimic a dumbbell’s bar, delivering a better training experience.
2. The neutral grip works the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

Water Jug Curl Variations:

1. Shopping Bag Curl
2. Isometric Towel Curl
3. Bucker Curl

How To Program Water Jug Curl in Your Workout

Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps at any point during your biceps workout.

11. Rock Curl

Stone lifting is a traditional form of strength training that often features in strongman competitions. It has a long and storied history, and many countries have famous lifting stones, some of which are centuries old.

If you’ve got access to rocks, stones, or even some bricks, you’ve got the perfect tool for training your biceps. Just watch your toes!

How to do it:

1. Hold your rock in both hands, preferably with the weight distributed evenly between both hands. Stand with your feet apart and your shoulders down and back. Brace your abs.
2. Bend your elbows and curl the rock to your shoulders, not letting it crash into your chest.
3. Extend your arms and repeat.

Benefits of Rock Curl:

1. Lifting odd objects such as rocks helps build functional strength.
2. It also improves your core strength as you must balance the rock throughout the range of motion.

Rock Curl Variations:

1. Log Curl
2. Bucket Curl
3. Water Jug Curl

How To Program Rock Curl in Your Workout

Perform 5-8 sets to failure. Keep your torso upright and your elbows pinned to your sides to achieve an optimal range of motion.

12. Log Curl

Many gyms have thick or fat grip barbells. Thicker than the average barbell, these bars are perfect for biceps training. They’re also helpful for building a stronger grip and more muscular forearms. You can use a thick tree branch or log for the same purpose. Look out for splinters, though, as getting one in your hand or under a nail can be VERY painful.

How to do it:

1. Pick up and hold a log with an underhand grip. You may not be able to grasp it, particularly if it’s very thick. Just get the best grip you can.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
3. Bend your arms and curl the log up to your shoulders, not letting it roll out of your hands.
4. Lower and repeat.

Benefits of Log Curl:

1. Besides building strength and muscle mass, curling logs can improve your core strength.
2. Boosts your functional fitness.

Log Curl Variations:

1. Rock Curl
2. Water Jug Curl
3. Bucket Curl

How To Program Log Curl in Your Workout

Perform 5-8 sets to failure. Control your rep tempo to make the most out of this lift.

13. Paint Pot/Bucket Curl

Paint pots and buckets with handles are great substitutes for dumbbells. The handles can be thin, which makes for an uncomfortable grip, so place a sponge or folded washcloth between your hand and the handle for comfort. Alternatively, wear a pair of work gloves.

How to do it:

1. Using one or two paint pots or buckets, hold the handle with an underhand grip and stand with your arms by your sides. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
2. Bend your arms and curl the weights to your shoulders.
3. Extend your arms, lower the weights back, and repeat.

Benefits of Bucket Curl:

1. It is easy to change resistance in the bucket curl.
2. The handles make performing the exercise easier.

Bucket Curl Variations:

1. Rock Curl
2. Log Curl
3. Water Jug Curl

How To Program Bucket Curl in Your Workout

The bucket curl is a great exercise to be done at the beginning of your biceps workout. Do 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps.

14. Biceps Push-Up

The biceps push-up is an incredibly effective bodyweight biceps workout. Warm up your wrists and forearms before performing this exercise to avoid unnecessary joint strain. Perform this exercise on your knees if you’ve never tried it before.

How to do it:

1. Lie prone on the floor.
2. Place your hands at your sides in line with your belly button. Your palms should face the wall in front of you, and your fingers should be toward the wall behind you.
3. Get into a push-up position by extending your elbows.
4. Find a comfortable position where your shoulders are not under undue stress.
5. Lower your chest toward the floor by bending at your elbow. Your lower arm should be parallel to the floor throughout the movement.
6. Explode to the start position and contract your pythons.
7. Repeat for reps.

Benefits of Biceps Push-Ups:

1. One of the best bodyweight biceps exercises.
2. It helps focus on your biceps peak.

Biceps Push-Up Variations:

1. Chin-Up
2. Underhand Inverted Row
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Biceps Push-Ups in Your Workout

Perform the biceps push-up at the beginning of your workout, as it can help improve blood flow to the target muscles. You can also use it as a superset exercise or at the end of your workout for a muscle-ripping pump. Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps.

15. Door Frame Body Weight Curl

The world is your gym when you think outside the box. This exercise involves using the door frame to work your guns. You can do the bilateral or single-arm version of this exercise, depending on your experience level.

How to do it:

1. Stand facing a door frame and grab each side with a neutral (palms facing each other) grip at waist level.
2. Plant your feet on either side of the door frame.
3. Your lower leg should be perpendicular to the door frame at the starting position.
4. Slowly extend your arms until they are parallel to the floor.
5. Pull your chest to the door frame while contracting your biceps.
6. Rinse and repeat.

Benefits of Door Frame Body Weight Curl:

1. A convenient exercise you can do anywhere.
2. Since your arms are in front of your body, it helps you engage them better.

Door Frame Body Weight Curl Variations:

1. Body Curl
2. Reverse Chin-Up
3. Biceps Push-Up

How To Program Door Frame Body Weight Curl in Your Workout

Do the door frame body weight curl at the beginning of your biceps training session to pre-exhaust your muscles. Completing 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps will do the trick.

16. Body Curl

The body curl is an underhand inverted row variation that requires a sturdy elevated surface. Consider this exercise the mirror opposite of a triceps skull crusher. A strong core will improve your performance on the body curl.

How to do it:

1. Lie under a sturdy object such as a table. Your head should be under the table.
2. Plant your hands flat on top of the table.
3. Raise your body off the floor by bending your elbows.
4. Your body should be in a straight line from head to heels throughout the exercise.
5. Raise your head to the tabletop by bending at your elbows.
6. Pause and contract your biceps at the top.
7. Slowly return to the starting position.
8. Repeat for repetitions.

Benefits of Body Curl:

1. Besides building bigger and stronger biceps, It helps develop core and upper body strength.
2. It is a convenient exercise that you can do anywhere.

Body Curl Variations:

1. Underhand Inverted Row
2. Suspension Trainer Curl
3. Biceps Push-Up

How To Program Body Curl in Your Workout

To perform the body curl using a full range of motion, you must use a high-enough table for your height. The table should be at least at your waistline. Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps. Note: Avoid using a glass table for this exercise.

17. Reverse Chin-Up

The reverse chin-up is a chin-up and dips hybrid. Perform this exercise on sturdy parallel bars or a rail. Gripping the bar will allow you to achieve better biceps stimulation, delivering a better pump.

How to do it:

1. Stand with your back toward a parallel bar.
2. Grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing the floor).
3. Walk toward the bar so your toes are under the bar. Your back should be touching the bar at the start position.
4. Slowly lower your body toward the floor by leaning forward. Your body, from head to toe, should be in a straight line throughout the exercise.
5. Your arms should be fully extended at the bottom.
6. Pull your body to the starting position while contracting your biceps.
7. Repeat for recommended reps.

Benefits of Reverse Chin-Up:

1. The behind-the-back biceps curl exercise helps build biceps thickness and size.
2. Reverse chin-ups help build a stronger core.

Reverse Chin-Up Variations:

1. Pelican Curl
2. Body Curl
3. Underhand Inverted Row

How To Program Reverse Chin-Up in Your Workout

You should do the reverse chin-up at the beginning or end of your workout. Do 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps. Use a wide grip to target your inner biceps heads and a narrow grip for your outer heads. Focus on pulling through your biceps. Using your chest or shoulder will reduce your biceps engagement.

18. Pelican Curl

The Pelican curl requires gymnastics rings and is one of the most advanced exercises on this list. This exercise is for intermediate and advanced lifters with decent upper body mobility and strong biceps and core.

How to do it:

1. Stand with a shoulder-wide stance in the center of the rings and grab them with an overhand grip. The rings should be at your waist level.
2. Extend your arms forward so the ring bands are taut.
3. Keeping your toes planted, lean forward until your arms are fully extended behind you.
4. While keeping your elbows pinned to your side, perform a biceps curl to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat for recommended reps.

Benefits of Pelican Curl:

1. Pelican curl can help build stronger and bigger biceps while improving your functional fitness.
2. It improves your core strength.

Pelican Curl Variations:

1. Biceps Push-Up
2. Body Curl
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Pelican Curl in Your Workout

Perform the pelican curl at the beginning of your workout while you’re still fresh to maximize your output. Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps. If you’re a beginner or new to this exercise, you might have to start with three sets of 5-8 reps.

19. Behind-the-Neck Chin-Up

Behind-the-neck pulling exercises result in greater biceps engagement than front-of-the-body lifts. You’ll need decent overhead mobility to follow a full range of motion on this exercise since you’ll be using a supinated grip.

How to do it:

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with a shoulder-wide supinated (underhand) grip.
2. Your body should be in a straight line from hands to heels at the starting position.
3. Pull the back of your neck to the bar by bending at your elbows and using your biceps.
4. Push your head forward when you are a few inches away from the bar.
5. Your neck should be at the bar level at the top.

Benefits of Behind-the-Neck Chin-Up:

1. Behind-the-neck chin-up helps focus on your biceps peaks more than the conventional chin-up.
2. It is a compound movement that helps build upper-body strength.

Behind-the-Neck Chin-Up Variations:

1. Chin-Up
2. Underhand Inverted Row
3. Reverse Chin-Up

How To Program Behind-the-Neck Chin-Up in Your Workout

Like the other chin-up variations, do this exercise at the beginning of a workout to achieve a full range of motion. Complete 3-5 sets of 15-20 reps. Beginners can target three sets of 8-12 reps. Feel free to use assistance to complete the recommended sets and reps.

20. Archer Pull-Up

If you think pull-ups can’t work your biceps, the archer pull-up is here to prove you wrong. This calisthenics move will set your biceps on fire. Notably, you need tremendous upper body and core strength to pull off this move.

How to do it:

1. Grab the pull-up bar with a wider-than-shoulder-width overhand grip.
2. Pull your chest to the bar.
3. You could extend your legs in front of you for better balance while performing archer pull-ups.
4. While holding your body at the top. Extend your left arm and bring your mid-chest to your right hand.
5. Contract your right biceps at this point.
6. Return to the bar’s center.
7. Repeat on the left side.
8. Alternate between sides for recommended reps.

Benefits of Archer Pull-Up:

1. Besides building bigger biceps, the archer pull-up improves back aesthetics and strength.
2. Improves your endurance and stamina.

Archer Pull-Up Variations:

1. Reverse Chin-Up
2. Chin-Up
3. Pelican Curl

How To Program Archer Pull-Up in Your Workout

The archer pull-up is a taxing move; perform it at the beginning of your bodyweight biceps workout for optimal results. Do 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps on each side.

21. Commando Pull-Up

The commando pull-up is a great exercise to focus on your biceps peaks as it helps achieve a solid contraction at the top of the movement. This lift might take some time to get used to if you’ve never done it before. Mind your head with every rep until this movement becomes second nature.

How to do it:

1. Grab the bar using a staggered grip. One hand in front of the other.
2. Your body should be in a straight line from hands to heels at the start position.
3. Pull your shoulders to the bar by bending at your elbows. Bend your head to the right side during the upward motion.
4. Your left shoulder should touch the bar at the top of the movement.
5. Pause and contract your biceps at the top.
6. Slowly return to the starting position.
7. Repeat on the left side.
8. Alternate between sides for recommended reps.
9. Switch your hand placement with every set.

Benefits of Commando Pull-Up:

1. The commando pull-up helps focus on one bicep at a time.
2. It helps improve your functional fitness.

Commando Pull-Up Variations:

1. Chin-Up
2. Behind-the-Neck Chin-Up
3. Archer Pull-Up

How To Program Commando Pull-Up in Your Workout

You should ideally do the commando pull-up at the beginning of your bodyweight biceps workout. Do 3-5 reps and 15-20 reps of this exercise.

3 Biceps Workouts That Don’t Require Any Training Equipment

Biceps workouts without training equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, and cable machines might sound ineffective, but you’ll change your opinion after you try one of these workouts.

Spend 5-10 minutes before each workout to warm up your target muscle group. It helps get the blood flowing in your biceps, which helps achieve a better muscle pump and lowers the risk of injury.

Bodyweight Biceps Workout

This is a beginner-friendly biceps workout. Since this is a bodyweight routine, keep the rest duration between sets short to maintain a high training intensity.

Wilderness Biceps Workout

Use appropriate gear like gloves and a weightlifting belt while performing exercises such as the rock and log curl. Lifting odd objects needs getting used to; don’t lose hope if you don’t achieve the desired pump in the first couple of training sessions.

Advanced Biceps Workout

This training session involves a mix of supersets and dropsets to ensure optimal biceps stimulation. Complete the recommended reps without sacrificing form.

Biceps push-ups and behind-the-neck chin-ups are the first superset of the workout. After completing the recommended sets of resistance band curls, move into the shopping bar curl dropsets. These dropsets involve completing 15-20 reps of the exercise, lowering the weight, and performing another set to failure without stopping for rest. Wrap up the training session with another superset that includes switching between self-resisted curl and isometric towel curl.

Warming Up Your Biceps For a Non-Equipment Workout

Many lifters perform bodyweight exercises to warm up before a workout, as they can help increase blood, oxygen, and nutrient supply to the target muscles. It helps achieve a better mind-muscle connection, pumps, and reduces the risk of injury. [1]

But what do you do before a bodyweight biceps workout? Should you skip warming up your muscles and get right into the training session?

The answer is — no!

You should do a few dynamic stretches before a bodyweight biceps workout to prime your muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments for the mayhem. Alternatively, you could perform a few warm-up sets of the exercises you’ll be doing in the workout.

Here are a few warm-up exercises you can do before a bodyweight biceps workout:

• Wrist Stretches
• Isometric Towel Curl
• Dynamic Tension Curl
• Self-Resisted Curl

Biceps Anatomy

Understanding your biceps anatomy can go a long way in helping you build bigger and stronger biceps. Different exercises work your guns uniquely. Understanding your bicep’s structure, the movement pattern of an exercise, and how it works your muscles will unlock new doors for you.

Biceps is a Latin word that translates to “two-headed muscle of the arm.” It’s quite a literal translation if you ask us, as the biceps consists of two heads — short and long.

Both muscles perform opposing functions. The long head pulls the arm away from the trunk (abduction) and turns it inwards (inward rotation), whereas the short head pulls the arm back towards the trunk (adduction).

The short head originates on the shoulder blade, whereas the long head originates just above the shoulder joint. These two heads merge into a single muscle belly, which inserts onto the radius — the larger of your two forearm bones.

The biceps primarily help flex the elbow and turn the wrist. Your biceps kick into action when you lift something off the floor or press something over your head. Not to mention, it adds to your physique’s aesthetics.

The Short Biceps Head

The short biceps head is located at the inside of your front upper arm. It helps with elbow flexion and forearm or wrist supination. The short head helps achieve the coveted biceps peak. It is most prominent when you flex your arms. If you have developed short biceps head but a lagging long head, your arm might look skinny when relaxed.

The Long Biceps Head

The long biceps head is present at the outside of the upper arm. Like its sibling, it helps flex the elbow and turn the forearm and wrist. The long biceps head gives your guns a fuller, denser appearance when you flex your arms. Furthermore, it makes your arms look thicker when your elbows are extended.

Must Read: Long Bicep vs. Short Bicep: Everything You Need To Know

How To Train Your Biceps For Best Results

You must follow the same training principles in your non-gym biceps exercises as a conventional biceps workout to maximize your strength and muscle gains.

Frequency and Intensity

Beginners must start their strength training routine by doing 14-20 sets of biceps exercises per week. You could progress to 40-50 sets per week as you gain more experience, endurance, and stamina.

Recovery is an overlooked aspect in most training regimens. Lifters forget that they break muscle tissue during training, and they grow back bigger and stronger when they are not working out. Since the biceps are a small muscle group, you must wait at least 48 hours before training them again.

You can also invest in active recovery tools like a massage gun, sauna, and cold plunge to speed up your recovery. Ensure you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night to give your muscles enough time to recuperate from your training. [2]

Most pulling movements engage your biceps. Hence, you must consider your back workouts, too, while scheduling your biceps workout.

Most lifters like the typical bro training split, where they train their biceps and triceps on the same day. However, pairing your biceps and back workouts is a better option if you have lagging biceps.

Sets and Reps

Your recommended sets and reps will primarily depend on your experience level. Folks just starting should stick to three sets per exercise and do the lower end of the reps recommended for the exercises above. Beginners should not do more than 15 sets per workout. It ensures they give their muscles the right amount of stimulus and time for optimal growth. [3]

Conversely, more advanced lifters can put the pedal to the metal. Many Pro bodybuilders do 25-30 sets in a workout. You could use the same volume if you can handle it. However, ensure you are not compromising your training intensity to achieve the high volume.

Most lifters can achieve a greater training intensity in shorter workouts. Their intensity, power, and output drops as the workouts grow longer. You must analyze your workouts to gauge your performance and design your workouts accordingly.

Furthermore, you could adapt to a new training protocol by making small changes to your regular training regimen. Use high-intensity training techniques like supersets, dropsets, and intraset stretching to boost your overall volume while keeping your intensity high.

Following these advanced training principles for extended periods will help you keep your training intensity high during longer workouts. Remember, the gains will be small initially, but they are worth it in the long run.

Full Range of Motion

This is a big one for the non-equipment biceps workout. Most bodyweight exercises on this list can be difficult for beginners and folks that lack mobility and experience. Furthermore, some exercises like rock, log, and bucket curls require lifting odd objects, which can throw off your form and limit your range of motion.

Before going hard and heavy on these exercises and meeting the recommended number of repetitions, you must ensure that you have nailed your form. Start by performing 1-5 reps of an exercise with a full range of motion until you are comfortable with the movement. Studies have shown that lifting with a full range of motion delivers better strength and muscle gains than a limited ROM. [4]

Avoid locking out your elbow at the bottom of a biceps curl, as it can remove tension from your biceps and put it on your elbow joints. Contract your muscles throughout the ROM for optimal muscle tissue stimulation.

You could also experiment with your grip width and hand placement to target your biceps from different angles. Use exercises that focus on the biceps brachii for building bigger and rounder guns, add brachialis exercises to add thickness to your upper arms, and brachioradialis movements to build bigger and thicker forearms.

While performing added resistance exercises like the rock curl, water jug curl, bucket curl, and shopping bag curl, ensure that you’re not prioritizing lifting heavy over following a full range of motion. Besides suboptimal weights, using more weights than you can handle can lead to injuries.

Designing a Workout

Putting together a bodyweight biceps workout can be tricky. You shouldn’t group exercises that train the same muscle from the same angles, as it can lead to substandard results. For example, you shouldn’t limit your non-training equipment biceps workout to pelican curl, body curl, and underhand inverted curl. Although these exercises will deliver results, you could get a better bang for your buck by adding exercises like the commando pull-up, biceps push-up, and behind-the-neck chin-up to your workouts.

Advanced training principles like supersets, dropsets, intraset stretching, and rest-pause sets can take your biceps gains to the next level. They can help you break through a plateau by adding variety to your training regimen.

Effective bodyweight exercises are limited; you must make the most of them by programming challenging workouts. Consider the biceps anatomy while designing your workouts, and ensure that the exercises target each muscle in your arms.

Tips for Building Your Biceps Without Weights or Equipment

Get more from your biceps workouts with these tried and tested training tips!

1. Be consistent

One workout a month won’t do much for your biceps size. Instead, train your arms twice a week on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Monday and Thursday. Choose 2-3 exercises and do a couple of sets of each.

The more workouts you miss, the slower your progress will be!

2. Make your workouts progressive

You are only as strong as your last workout, and if you want to build strength and muscle, your workouts need to get progressively more demanding. You can lift more weight, do more reps, take shorter rests between sets, do more sets, or more exercises to keep challenging your muscles to grow.

Doing the same workout with the same exercises, sets, reps, and rests will bring your progress to a shuddering halt. Progressive workouts are essential!

3. Train to failure – or close to it

Training without weights or equipment means you may struggle to overload your muscles enough to trigger growth. Get around this problem by repping out to failure or very close to it. That means you do as many reps as it takes to fatigue your muscles fully.

Stopping your set before your muscles are tired will make your workouts less productive, so do as many reps as you can, be that 5, 15, or 50!

4. Don’t forget your triceps

As crucial as biceps training is, you must not neglect your triceps. The triceps are the most prominent upper arm muscle, so if you want “big guns,” you need to train your biceps and triceps pretty evenly.

Good low-tech bodyweight triceps exercises include:

• Triceps parallel dips
• Bench dips
• Push-ups
• Diamond push-ups

So, for every biceps workout, do one for your triceps, too.

5. Eat well for better gains

While it’s beyond the scope of this article to give you a muscle-building diet, it’s important to stress that if you want to build bigger, more muscular arms, you need to eat right.

Intense training takes a lot out of you, and for muscle repair and growth to happen, you need to provide your body with the energy and nutrients it needs.

Make sure your diet supports and doesn’t hinder muscle growth by:

• Consuming one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight
• Eating healthy carbs for energy
• Consuming lots of nutritious vegetables
• Eating adequate healthy fats for hormone production and balance
• Drinking sufficient water – at least half a gallon
• Avoiding too much junk food
• Cutting down on sugar and refined sugars

Related: The 21 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Muscle Size and Strength

Benefits of Non-Gym Biceps Workouts

Given below are the advantages of adding biceps workouts to your training regimen:

Convenience

Bodyweight biceps workouts are great for folks that don’t have access to a gym. Plus, they come in handy while you’re traveling. You can do most exercises in this article in the comfort of your home. For the others, you might have hit a trail.

Furthermore, bodyweight biceps workouts are just as effective at inducing hypertrophy and strength gains as workouts that consist of dumbbells and barbells. How is that, you ask? Your muscle tissues cannot differentiate between resistances. It doesn’t matter if you use your body weight or fancy equipment. You’ll see results as long as you can progressively overload your muscles.

Improves Functionality

Using your body weight as resistance or lifting odd objects like logs, rocks, and tubs can improve your functionality. It will enhance your performance in day-to-day activities and also boost your strength, endurance, and stamina.

Most of the exercises in this article can help build solid grip strength, which is always a good thing. It will help reduce your grocery trips and make you the ladies’ favorite for opening jammed jar lids. Who doesn’t love that?

Boosts Your Gym Lifts

Not only will adding the exercises listed in this article to your training regimen improve your bodyweight exercise performance, but it will also boost your performance in the gym.

Strong biceps translate to better performance on pulling movements such as the deadlift, bent-over row, and seated row. They will make you better at compound movements and help you break through strength and muscle plateaus.

Aesthetics

Who are we kidding? Big and chiseled biceps look awesome. They are the most popular muscle group for a reason. Developed biceps make you look stronger. It is so effective that most folks do not want to mess with a dude with jacked guns.

Gyms would lose their charm overnight if biceps training was outlawed. That’s how much lifters love to train their upper arms. No one goes to the gym to do squats, after all. If truth be told, lifters end up on the squat rack once a week to save themselves the embarrassment.

Wrapping Up

While there is no denying that weights and equipment can add a lot to your biceps workouts, the truth is that you can build great-looking arms without fancy training tools. There are bodyweight biceps exercises to beef up your arms and numerous everyday objects that you can use instead of weights or equipment.

Ultimately, your muscles cannot differentiate between a state-of-the-art biceps curl machine and lifting a heavy rock; they only know work and tension. So long as you push yourself and train with intensity, your muscles will respond by growing and getting stronger.

Use the exercises in this article to build arms you can be proud of, even if you don’t have access to weights or workout equipment.

Learn More About Biceps Training

Learn more about the bicep exercises and step up your biceps training even more. Check out the following articles.

• Biceps Exercises For Building Bigger and Stronger Guns
• Simple Old-School Methods to Grow Your Biceps
• Bicep Curl vs. Hammer Curl – Which one is Best?
• Simple Old-School Methods To Grow Your Biceps
• Rules of Arms Workout by Lee Priest

References

Fitness Volt is committed to providing our readers with science-based information. We use only credible and peer-reviewed sources to support the information we share in our articles.

1. Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Jan;24(1):140-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0. PMID: 19996770.
2. Chen Y, Cui Y, Chen S, Wu Z. Relationship between sleep and muscle strength among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2017 Dec 1;17(4):327-333. PMID: 29199194; PMCID: PMC5749041.
3. Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.
4. Pinto RS, Gomes N, Radaelli R, Botton CE, Brown LE, Bottaro M. Effect of range of motion on muscle strength and thickness. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Aug;26(8):2140-5. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31823a3b15. PMID: 22027847.

This article was written by Patrick Dale, a Training Editor with 30 years of experience in Personal Training and Strength & Conditioning. Passionate about accuracy and reliability, Patrick delivers content that is both informative and engaging. Should you have any questions or require further clarification on this article, please leave a comment below. Patrick is dedicated to addressing your queries promptly.