When you consider how to strengthen your biceps muscles (the muscle in the upper part of your arm, between your shoulder and your elbow), your first thought might be that you need to go to the gym and use weights and other equipment. But you can do powerfully effective bicep exercises at home – or anywhere – without using weights or other equipment.
This article will explain some of the best biceps exercises you can do with just your bodyweight or with simple items around the house.
Diamond push-ups
Regular push-ups will not involve your biceps, but diamond push-ups do. Diamond push-ups put you in a position to form a diamond with your hands, which is where the name comes from. Follow these steps to do a proper diamond push up:
- Get into the same position you used to do a normal push-up, with your back flat and opposite the floor.
- Put your hands together, but keep your arms straight.
- Move your hands inward 45 degrees and push your thumbs out so your thumbs and index fingers are almost touching.
- Tighten your core.
- Slowly lower yourself, but stop before your chest touches the floor.
- Hold this position for two seconds, and then push yourself up.
Wall handstand
Doing a wall handstand forces you to support most of your body’s weight with your biceps. Follow these steps to do a proper wall handstand:
- Stand a few feet away from a wall.
- Bend forward and firmly put your arms shoulder-width apart on the floor.
- Put your feet firmly against the wall.
- Keeping your arms and back straight, walk up the wall by pushing yourself against the floor with your hands and using your legs to move your feet up the wall.
- Keep going until your arms are straight above your head, your hands are pushing against the floor, and your toes are touching the wall.
- Try to hold this position as long as you can.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups work your back, biceps, and forearm muscles. Pull-ups are usually done using a pull-up bar, but you can hang resistance bands or a towel around a door for this exercise. Here is how to do pull-ups successfully:
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart with your palms facing forward and firmly hold your pull-up bar, resistance bands, or towel.
- Hang off with your core muscles tightened.
- Pull your elbows down and get your back muscles close together to pull yourself up.
- Keep pulling to the point that your chin is over the bar.
- Hold this position for two seconds and lower yourself until your arms are straight.
Give these bicep exercises a try the next time you want to get a workout in without going to the gym. You can try doing them at home, at work, or at the park (though you might have to use a tree instead of a wall for the wall headstand). Good luck, and be safe!
