In the fast-paced hustle of modern life, finding the time to hit the gym while keeping a consistent routine can be challenging. Because of this, the desire to achieve a sculpted body often takes a back seat. But what if we told you that you can build biceps at home, without needing to sign up for expensive training or fancy gyms?
First, let’s dissect the basics.
The biceps are the large, thick muscles on the upper arms between elbow and shoulder that work to allow flexing at the elbow(4). Training them helps with many daily activities, particularly those that include lifting and holding heavy items. Strong and muscular biceps can provide solid support in movement and stabilization. Keep reading to learn how to work out your biceps with minimal equipment to achieve maximum outcomes.
The best part about these workouts is that you don’t need to travel anywhere. You can achieve toned and powerful arms right in the comfort of your own home!
Training biceps at home isn’t as difficult as it may sound. It only requires a little motivation and determination. Persistence is something you should strive for. You should also choose the best at-home bicep workout that best suits you and your body. For example, you can perform resistance training exercises using your body weight as the sole resistance.
Some examples of bicep exercises at home for beginners include chin-ups, ITYWs, reverse snow angels, and wall handstands. You can also use a dumbbell and practice different curls, such as hammer curls and wide-lifted curls, to train your biceps more efficiently.
Those who wish to build and train stronger muscles but also want to save time by not going to the gym at the same time ultimately turn to at-home bicep workouts. The most used and convenient weight equipment used for bicep workouts is a dumbbell.
There are various bicep workouts with dumbbells, and the easiest and most common are bicep curls. As mentioned, there are many other curls, but these solely target the biceps and not multiple muscle groups (5).
To perform bicep curls:
Unbox the BetterMe Pilates Essential Kit and say hello to smart workouts at home or on the go. Slip into the grip socks and stand your ground in style, or loop in some fun with our resistance bands. It’s everything you need to stretch your limits and sculpt your body!
With time, many new machines and equipment have been introduced to provide resistance in strength training and muscle-building workouts. However, dumbbells still remain the most affordable and basic weight training equipment.
The purpose of using dumbbells is to enhance strength training and tone the arm muscles. They’re versatile and can be used in several exercises. Such exercises target and train many muscle groups such as the biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulders. They also come in varying weights, so you can start with lighter ones and gradually increase the intensity by using heavier ones to achieve maximum results.
Therefore, if you want to grow and strengthen your biceps, don’t fret! Simply grab a pair of dumbbells and kickstart your at-home bicep workouts using dumbbells.
At-home bicep workouts can also be done without weight equipment such as dumbbells, although it can be more challenging to see results without any added resistance. In this case, use your own body weight as resistance for strength training. This kind of workout can be considered a calisthenics bicep workout as calisthenics is based on the principle of toning and strengthening muscles using only body weight as resistance.
The exercises are designed to yield a similar result when working with weight equipment. They help train and strengthen various muscle groups, including the biceps. However, they’re comparatively more convenient as they can be done at home without equipment. These include isometric bicep holds, ITYW, superman, reverse snow angels, and chin-ups (9).
You can also use simple household items as weights for strength training when doing at-home bicep workouts.
Just as building biceps is possible with no weights, in the same way, it can be achieved with lighter weights. It’s recommended not to go with weights that are too heavy. Also, bicep workouts at home for ladies, beginners, and those with an injury should begin with lighter weights.
Studies have also shown that you only need a minimum of 60% of your one rep max (the maximum weight a person can lift). This is found by performing a one-repetition maximum test for effective muscle building and training (10) (6).
With lighter weights, you can simply increase the volume and duration of your workout. At the same time, keep a check on your calories and nutrition. Train more often, and design your workout so that you take more time lifting the weights. This may increase your muscle’s time under tension and will provide better results.
In short, being consistent with your workout routine and increasing the number of reps until your muscles feel fatigued will enable you to enjoy the same benefits as with heavier weights.
If you’re doing an at-home bicep workout, and dumbbells are unavailable or you’re uncomfortable using them, don’t worry. You can use other items for your weights from basic household items. This includes gallons of milk or water, filled water bottles, sacks of rice or grain, a stack of books, a backpack filled with cans, and much more (7).
Read more: Calisthenics Bicep Workout: 5 Ingenious Exercises With & Without Bars
Progressive overload is the key principle of a strength training and muscle-building workout. It’s commonly understood in the sense that you need to gradually increase the weight and resistance in your workout.
This phenomenon only means increasing muscle tension and exercise intensity. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to increase the weight. Instead, the principle of progressive overload can be practiced while using the same weight throughout all the workouts.
This can be done simply by increasing the duration of your workout, performing the lifting movements slowly, performing more strenuous exercises, and working your muscles until exhaustion (when you cannot perform any more reps). In this way, you’ll be able to perform progressive overload without increasing the weight and grow and strengthen your biceps using the same weight.
When performing a bicep workout with dumbbells, it’s convenient to use moderate weights rather than complicated modern equipment. It is also recommended that when beginners start with at-home bicep workouts, they opt for lighter and easier exercises first to allow their bodies to adapt to the sudden change.
Here are some common bicep exercises for beginners that use dumbbells:
This exercise is a type of bicep curl. The following are the steps to follow when performing a hammer curl:
This is considered to be one of the best exercises for training upper-arm muscles. It may take some time for your body to adjust to this one, as it has a range of motion for all upper-arm and forearm muscles.
Here are the steps to follow when performing a Zottman curl:
The incline dumbbell curl is a variation of a dumbbell curl. It elongates the dumbbell curl and creates a stretch on the biceps muscle tissue.
For this type of bicep workout, you need to:
This inclined method helps increase the range of motion of your arm and exerts more stretch on your biceps (8).
Unbox the BetterMe Pilates Essential Kit and say hello to smart workouts at home or on the go. Slip into the grip socks and stand your ground in style, or loop in some fun with our resistance bands. It’s everything you need to stretch your limits and sculpt your body!
According to a study, this is one of the most effective at-home bicep exercises for training and growing the biceps (1). It stimulates the biceps the best, ensuring maximum range of motion. This exercise is performed while sitting on a bench or chair, so it increases stability and the whole focus of the nervous system is on the movements of the biceps and other muscles in the arm.
To perform concentration curls:
Read more: Grow Big Guns With This “Bicep Exercise, No Equipment” Guide
The fastest way to build up the biceps is with an adequate workout, performed regularly, with exercises that specifically target the biceps. Such exercises also include bicep curls, hammer curls, and concentration curls.
In addition to the workout session, you should perform weight-lifting activities more frequently, such as lifting water gallons or bags of rice and grain. Don’t forget to eat a nutritionally balanced diet and follow a well-rounded sleeping pattern.
Progressively increasing the weight you lift is a key principle in strength training and will help stimulate muscle growth. Just ensure that you maintain proper form to prevent injury and maximize effectiveness. If the weight becomes too heavy to maintain good form, it may be a sign that you need to slightly decrease the weight and focus on proper technique until you’re ready to progress again.
Building muscles is a time-consuming process. The minimum time to notice a change in your arm muscles is four to eight weeks. Therefore, it can be said that 2 weeks is a bit too soon to see any real growth in your biceps. It may sometimes be possible, but it would require a lot of hard work.
You must follow a strict diet every day and perform extra strenuous and lengthy workout sessions. Although there is some chance that this may change your biceps within 2 weeks, it won’t be much. There is a high risk of injury as a hasty change to the body is never beneficial. You could actually end up harming your body and damaging your muscles.
Building muscles is a time-consuming process. The minimum time to notice a change in your arm muscles is four to eight weeks. Given this, it can be said that 2 weeks is a bit too rushed for growing biceps. It might become possible but that would require a lot of hard work.
You must follow a strict diet daily and have extra strenuous and lengthy workout sessions. Though there is some chance that this might change your biceps within 2 weeks, but it won’t be much. It has a high-risk of injury as a hasty change to the body is never beneficial. You might instead end up harming your body and damaging your muscles.
Some may think that working out with your biceps every day will help build bigger biceps in a shorter time. Sadly, this is not the case. Having at least one to two rest days between bicep workout periods is advised. This is because if you overexert your biceps, you may end up losing strength and power instead.
Bulky upper arms and stronger biceps are a dream come true for many people, particularly fitness freaks. They improve your physique and help with many daily activities. Lifting heavy objects can become easier when all arm movements are stabilized and strengthened.
To train your biceps, there’s no need to rush to the gym regularly. Instead, you can easily perform a bicep workout with minimal equipment. A consistent workout pattern at home can also yield similar results.
For a bicep workout, you can simply use dumbbells as weight. There are various types of dumbbell curl workouts available, each of which targets your biceps and upper-arm muscles differently and aims to provide the desired outcomes.
It’s important to remember to prioritize proper form and consistency. Embrace the simplicity of these exercises and enjoy them as you take a step closer to your fitness goals!
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