Everyone wants a massive pair of biceps bulging out of their shirts. You will gain a significant amount of strength by having stronger biceps and you will look like a million bucks as well. That said, guys are not the only ones who wish to have good biceps, girls do too. Their goals however are often different from guys, instead of having massive pythons for arms, they want their biceps to be as toned and as shapely as possible. Whatever your goal is, this is the right place to find out all about effective bicep workouts.
Common Misconceptions about Bicep Workouts
If have ever been to the gym, you will notice that most of the people working out there are quite focused on growing their biceps. There will be tons of dumbbells and machines lying around in your gym but you will find most of the people doing all sorts of curls to grow their biceps.
There is no shortage of exercises to grow your biceps – you can do dumbbell curls, barbell curls, preacher curls, spider curls, and all sorts of other biceps exercises to make your arms look huge. There are also some pieces of equipment that are particularly dedicated towards a certain head of a bicep. The cable extension and preacher curl machine and incline curl machine come to mind. Any of these biceps exercises come in more than handy to strengthen your biceps and grow them.
That said, barbells, dumbbells, and machines are not the end all and be all to exercise your biceps. Quite a lot of people will argue otherwise. They will say that you need to target your biceps in order to grow them, something that is only achievable if you do heavy curls and perform several reps while you are at it. Not to say that this strategy will not yield results for you but contrary to what many “experts” might say, it is not the only way to make your guns grow.
Calisthenics and Weight Training
There are tons of people who do not lift weights. Everyone has his or her own reasons. Some prefer not to lift kilos and kilos of weights every day, some cannot afford a gym membership, while there are others who like to try out alternative forms of training in comparison to traditional power lifting and body building exercises.
Whatever the case may be, they still want to grow their biceps without going through the conventional weightlifting route. If you happen to be someone from the same boat, you may be wondering if there is an alternative to it. Well, to make things short and sweet, there is in fact and alternative and that alternative is calisthenics biceps workouts.
Although calisthenics workout routines have been there for decades, most people were not and some are still not able to define what calisthenics precisely means. Well. Before we proceed any further, let us understand the meaning of calisthenics exercises in order to get a better understanding of how calisthenics bicep workouts work.
Understanding Calisthenics
Calisthenics is essentially a type of synchronized physical exercise. You can use calisthenics exercises in a variety of fitness institutions to improve discipline and group cohesion. This form of exercise is often common for physical education in secondary and primary schools all over the world.
Besides its advantage of improving general fitness, callisthenic workouts help evaluate physical fitness in various organizations, especially the militaries all around the globe. This proves that callisthenic exercises are indeed functional and do improve overall fitness in comparison to weight lifting routines where there is more focus on time over tension rather than dynamic movement and repetition.
You may be surprised to find out that you probably have done and still do some popular calisthenics exercises. Renowned exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and bodyweight squats are all callisthenic exercises.
The Benefits of Calisthenics Training
As mentioned earlier, we often think of the gym whenever we think of working out. That is not true at all; you can work out and see excellent results without going to the gym or lifting massive amounts of weights. With calisthenics, you can exercise at any place you want to simply by using your body weight and your surroundings. As a matter of fact, you can even perform calisthenics workout routines from the comfort of your room. No equipment and no gym will be required whatsoever.
If you take a close look at today’s fitness scene, you will notice that things like Olympic lifting, Crossfit. And bodybuilding receives most of the limelight. When in reality, callisthenic exercise should be receiving its fair share of the limelight as well, if not more. Compare callisthenic routines to other forms of exercises and you will realize that it is far more functional, dynamic, quick, and efficient. It is also cheap as you do not need to invest in any equipment or gym membership in order to get started.
By no way does this mean however that other exercise forms are bad – all this means is that people should try exploring callisthenic routines as they are more effective than what they get credit for.
Instead of targeting a particular muscle in your body, callisthenic workout routines work multiple muscles in your body. These exercises make the muscles work in unison, which not only increases some muscle mass but also, improves the body’s overall functionality.
Can I Really Grow or Tone My Biceps with Callisthenic Workouts?
This is a common question that people ask quite often. They mostly ask this because they are not aware of the concept of calisthenics. Since, callisthenic workout routines mostly focus on functional exercises rather than exercises to target a certain muscle, people believe that their biceps or any other muscle for that matter would not grow as much as it would with a weight lifting routine.
You may find it surprising that there are several callisthenic exercises that will strengthen and grow bicep muscles better than a mundane curling routine. What’s more impressive about this form of exercise is that it offers numerous variations of certain exercises to make sure that they are suitable for beginners, intermediates, and advanced exercise enthusiasts.
Best Calisthenics Bicep Workouts
There are a plethora of exercises that you can do to make your biceps grow along with various other muscles. Since there are plenty of these exercises, mentioned below is a list of some of the best ones. Every exercise has a different skill level required to execute it; therefore, it would be wise to play it safe and start from the basics and make your way up slowly and steadily.
Chin Ups (Beginner Friendly)
Virtually everybody knows about chin-ups. It is a pretty simple exercise but yields fantastic results if you execute it with good form. You must also focus on increasing your reps as time passes. You will require a pull-up bar in order to execute chin-ups. Either that or any other
elevated platform that you can hold onto to pull your body upwards.
Most parks often have chin up bars and goal posts where you can perform this exercise easily. You can also install a sturdy rod between your door’s frame and get an affordable pull up bar for your house. There is also the option of creating your own chin up platform at home. It is a relatively cheap investment that comes in handy for the long run.
You hold the rod with an underhand grip and pull your body upwards making sure that your chin goes over the rod/bar. Start with one rep if you are doing chin-ups for the first time. Get your form right before you increase your reps. Avoid using jerking motions to pull your body up. Instead, use your strength to complete your rep.
Beginners: 3 Sets - 3 to 5 Reps
Intermediate: 4 Sets – 6 to 8 Reps
Advanced: 5 Sets – Reps until failure
One Arm Chin Ups (Intermediate to Advanced)
Once again, just like the name suggests, these chin-ups are almost the same as the previously mentioned exercise. The only difference is that you have to use one hand to pull your body up. Of course, one-arm chin-ups are a level above the regular chin-ups, so you will need to become perfect in regular chin-ups first. You must at least be on an intermediate level to give single arm chin ups a try.
What makes this such a great biceps exercise is that it really isolates the biceps while you are pulling yourself up. You will feel a great burn on your forearms and biceps when doing one arm pull ups. Do this exercise every day and your biceps will pop out in no time. Word of advice, make sure that your hands and the pull up bar are not greasy while doing this exercise as the lack of grip can cause you to fall.
Intermediate level: 3 Sets – 1 to 3 Reps
Advanced: 5 Sets - At least 10 Reps (Try until failure)
Push Ups (Beginner Friendly)
Workout enthusiast or not, if you tell someone you do not know what a pushup is, they will think you are lying. Almost everyone knows how to do it as it is quite simple. However, what a lot of people do not know about push-ups is that it is a great exercise for biceps. Sure, it will not isolate the biceps like a chin up would, but enough reps and time under tension will make your biceps grow.
You can do this beginner-friendly exercise anywhere. Be it in your lawn, inside your room, or a park. Once again, you need to keep your form in check when performing a push-up. Avoid doing half reps – it will do you no good. Focus on quality rather than quantity. Take your body all the way down and get it all the way up, until you extend your arms fully.
Place your hands within a thumb’s distance from your chest when you lay down to do a push-up. Do not use your knees as leverage and keep them straight. Pushups work your chest, shoulders, upper back, abs, triceps, and biceps at the same time. Not only does it build muscle, it makes you strong, and improves your endurance as well.
Beginners: 3 Sets - 5 to 8 Reps
Intermediate Level: 5 Sets - 10 to 20 Reps
Advanced: 5 Sets - Until Failure
Reverse Pushups (Intermediate to Advanced)
In case you know about the coveted extended bridge pose in yoga, visualizing how to do reverse pushups will become really easy for you. To do a reverse pushup, lay down on the floor while bending your knees comfortably. After this, put your hands on the ground near your head, making sure that your fingers face your body (similar to the starting position of a backflip.
While you are doing this, make sure that you do not have any pain while executing this movement. In case you feel pain at any point, stop immediately as it could injure your wrists and shoulders significantly. You must have good strength and flexibility to execute this move without feeling pain.
If you feel like you have enough experience, flexibility, and strength to proceed, keep your hands like mentioned earlier. After that, push your body in an arc like position, making sure that nothing but your feet and hands touch the ground. Once you get the hang of it, lower your upper back towards the ground by bending your back, and then, push your body back up.
Once again, this is quite a risky exercise. Avoid doing it on what floors. Choose an area where the grip is good. It would also be wise to keep a pillow or something soft underneath your head for safety.
Since calisthenics exercises require you to focus on multiple muscle groups, mentioned below are workout routines that consist of various exercises that are particularly favorable for bicep growth and strength among other muscle groups.
Beginners Calisthenics Bicep Workout
(2 Minute Rest Period between Sets)
Full Body Stretching: 5 to 10 minutes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcfxrrR1cNI)
Chin-ups: 3 Sets - 3 to 5 Reps
Body Weight Squats: 3 Sets - 3 to 5 Reps (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1v152b72lo)
Pushups: 3 Sets - 5 to 8 Reps
Intermediate Calisthenics Bicep Workout
(1 Minute 30 Seconds Rest Period between Sets)
Full Body Stretching: 10 to 15 minutes (Follow the same stretching video link mentioned in the beginner section)
Chin-Ups: 4 Sets – 6 to 8 Reps
Pushups: 5 Sets - 10 to 20 Reps
Body Weight Squats: 4 Sets – 7 to 10 Reps
Reverse Pushups: 5 Sets - 3 to 5 Reps
Abdominals: 4 Sets: 7 to 10 Reps (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekowbKbBNSM)
Advanced Calisthenics Bicep Workout
(1 Minute Rest Period between Sets)
Full Body Stretching: 15 minutes
Chin-Ups: 5 Sets – Reps until failure
One Arm Chin-Ups: 5 Sets - At least 10 Reps (Try until failure)
Body Weight Squats: 5 Sets – 15 Reps (Try until failure)
Pushups: 5 Sets - Until Failure
Reverse Pushups:5 Sets – 8 to 10 Reps
Abdominals: 10 Sets – Until Failure
Bottom Line
Do these exercises every day and you will see great improvements not only in your biceps but your overall physique. Although the article mentions sets and repetitions, there is no set limit for these exercises. You can increase the sets and reps if the workouts are getting too easy. Similarly, you can decrease your intensity if you cannot perform the exercises in the above-mentioned set and rep ranges. Just remember to test your limits and strive for improvement in every workout.
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