Training your biceps without equipment at home is near impossible. You can’t drop to the floor and start banging reps like you can for other muscle groups. But there are options if you are serious about getting bigger biceps which I will share with you.
But first, we must understand basic biceps anatomy to know which exercises are suitable for developing sleeve-busting biceps.
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Biceps Anatomy
The biceps brachii are made of two muscle heads:
Both heads originate at the shoulder and insert on the radius bone in the outer forearm [1]. The primary function of the biceps is to flex the elbow and supinate the forearm.
They also help flex the shoulder. The biceps brachii elicit the most significant muscle activation when the forearm is supinated.
However, two other muscles are part of the biceps group since they perform elbow flexion. The brachialis muscle is the strongest elbow flexor and is targeted with a neutral hand position.
It originates on the bottom of the upper arm and inserts on the ulnar bone in the inner forearm. Its primary function is elbow flexion [2].
The brachioradialis contributes to elbow flexion and pronates and supinates the forearm. The most significant activation occurs when performing curls with a pronated hand position [3]. Therefore, maximizing biceps growth requires performing elbow flexion with various hand positions.
How To Get Bigger Biceps At Home With No Equipment
The biceps are among the most challenging muscle groups to grow without equipment. You can use items around the house as equipment to do curls with, like pots and pans, but you are severely limited in application.
Further, bodyweight exercises for the biceps are impossible without something to hang from. So here are some exercises you can do at a park nearby using only your bodyweight.
Chin-Up
The chin-up is the ultimate compound exercise for getting big biceps. But because we don't have the equipment to load the chin-up, you can modify how you perform the chin-up to hit the biceps more. Here’s how to do the chin-up for biceps:
Supinated Inverted Row
If you can't do chin-ups or only have lower bars, the supinated inverted row is easier. You can scale the exercise to your fitness level by controlling how horizontal you get. Elevating your feet and being horizontal is the most challenging variation.
Standing and leaning back reduces the load on the biceps, making it easier to perform. Here's how to do it:
Bodyweight Biceps Curl
If you have an appropriate height chin-up bar, you can use it to perform bodyweight biceps curls. It’s performed the same way you’d perform the TRX curl, except you’ll let your hands slide around the bar. Here’s how to do it:
How To Get Bigger Biceps At Home With Minimal Equipment
This is a list of exercises with minimal equipment needed to train your biceps: resistance bands and a pair of dumbbells. You can pick these up cheaply on various online marketplaces, which take up minimal space in your home.
Band Biceps Curls
Band biceps curls are the most accessible exercise at home with minimal equipment. You can stand on a strength band and do curls or attach separate bands at chest height and curl with your arms extended.
I like the second option, as shown in the video, because you can walk further back to create more tension in the lengthened position. When standing on a band, you're limited by the length of the band for tension. Here's how to do it:
If you’re interested in resistance bands to use at home that can attach to your doorway or squat rack, the Iron Neck Resistance Bands are what I’m using in this video.
Band Reverse Curls
The band reverse curl is the same as the band biceps curl but with a pronated hand position. I only started doing these recently, and the brachioradialis pump is on another level to the traditional reverse curl with the barbell or EZ bar. Here’s how to do it:
DB Biceps Curls
The dumbbell biceps curl is a classic biceps exercise. It has advantages over the barbell biceps curl because your arms can sit directly by your side, stretching the biceps a little further. You can do these seated or standing, but I prefer doing all my exercises standing. Here's how to do it:
DB Hammer Curls
Hammer curls are how you smash the brachialis muscle rounding out your biceps development. You’ll be able to use much heavier weight than the regular biceps curl. Here’s how to do it:
DB Reverse Curls
While I prefer using bands for reverse curls, dumbbells make a great variation. The perk of using dumbbells over a barbell is wrist flexibility. The barbell can cause wrist and elbow discomfort because you’re locked into a straight bar.
The dumbbells let your hands and arms move freely, so while you may not be fully pronated, it's good enough. Here's how to do it:
DB Zottman Curls
Zottman curls are a way to overload your brachioradialis, as you can biceps curl more than you can reverse curl. Therefore, as you turn your hands, you can load the biceps curl concentrically and overload the brachioradialis eccentrically. Here's how to do it:
Best Biceps Workout At Home With Minimal Equipment
Exercise | Set/Rep | Load |
|---|---|---|
A1) Bodyweight Biceps Curl | 3 x 8-12 | 8 RPE |
B1) DB Biceps Curl | 3 x 12-15 | 8 RPE |
C1) DB Hammer Curl | 3 x 10-12 | 9 RPE |
D1) Band Reverse Curl | 3 x 15 | 9 RPE |
E1) Band Biceps Curl | 2 x 20 | 9 RPE |
Summary
Getting bigger biceps at home requires some equipment. There no bodyweight biceps exercises that can be done on the floor like there are for other muscle groups. However, going to a local playground or park provides enough equipment to train your biceps with your bodyweight.
Even better is having a set of dumbbells and resistance bands. These are small enough to be stored in any room and add various exercises to train your biceps.
References
1. Tiwana, M. S., Charlick, M., & Varacallo, M. (2018). Anatomy, shoulder and upper limb, biceps muscle.
2. Plantz, M. A., Bordoni, B. (2022). Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Brachialis Muscle.
3. Kleiber, T., Kunz, L., & Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015). Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position. Frontiers in physiology, 6, 215.