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It’s a common desire amongst beginner and veteran weight lifters alike is to build the muscle within their arms and flaunt some massive biceps to either increase their strength or show off how quickly they can burst out of their sleeves. Whatever your reason, it’s perfectly admirable because you’re trying to improve yourself and that requires no shortage of determination and commitment. To help you navigate the various fitness routines and keep you pumping iron during the COVID-19 quarantine, let us teach you some of the best exercises to sculpt bigger biceps at home.
Not to immediately go off on a tangent, but nutrition is an important aspect that we need to cover in order to make your exercises as effective as possible. Building muscle is an incredibly energy-consuming process, and your body thus needs to be properly fueled so that you can not only perform these exercises. However, your muscles will also need the energy to repair and build upon themselves. Without a proper diet, you simply won’t make progress.
So, what should you be eating? Without going too far off-topic, protein will be your best friend. There are tons of protein supplements like protein shakes and bars to help you get as much of the nutrient as you need.
Next, if you’re going to be building muscle at home, you need to make sure you have the right environment for you to exercise in. For effective muscle building, you will need some strength training equipment, and thus, is best that you use a space with ample room like a garage or basement. This initial investment of creating a home gym may seem off-putting, but it will be better in the long run than paying continuously for a gym membership after the quarantine has ended. Besides, committing to such a large initial investment will provide further motivation to commit to your strength training.
Alright, now we can finally start talking about the best exercises to sculpt bigger biceps at home. The barbell is a weight lifting classic and recognizable as the long bar with weights on either end in case you’re completely new to weightlifting. First, stand upright with your barbell and hold it with your knuckles facing upwards. Your barbell will stop at your thighs and you’ll slowly lift up towards your chest before doing the reverse and lowering it back down to your thighs. Ensure you keep your legs slightly bent during this process to keep your movement efficient and prevent injuries to your back.
In terms of routine, it’s recommended you do 3 sets of 10 reps each.
For this bicep exercise, you replace the barbell with two dumbbells, one for each hand, and stand upright with your arms set against your sides and the dumbbells against your thighs while pointing forward. Your upper arms will stay at your sides as you lift the dumbbells up towards your chest – ensure you keep the dumbbells facing forward as you lift. Return the dumbbells to your thigh in a controlled movement.
You’ve probably noticed that this exercise is very similar to the barbell curl, just with two dumbbells in its place This makes it a good option for those lacking the space to have a barbell in their home, as it’s also recommended you do 3 sets of 10 reps each for this exercise.
Triceps are the muscle under your biceps, making up the back of your upper arm. You’ll want to make sure these muscles get some exercise in order to better complement your biceps and create a more balanced appearance and performance in your arms. After all, your biceps will look more impressive if your triceps compliment them.
For tricep dips, you’ll need to get ahold of a pull up machine so that you can use your own weight to exercise your triceps. To begin, you’ll lift your legs and have your arms almost fully extended in order to support yourself. From this position, keep your elbows tucked in and lower yourself until your arms are nearly at a 90-degree angle before lifting yourself back up.
You can achieve a similar effect by using a workout bench. Stretch your legs out in front of you while your arms are behind you with your palms on the bench. It’s like doing pushups backward.
Alternatively, you could invest in a pull-down machine for tricep exercises. This allows for a more customizable experience as you can adjust the weights to what is comfortable and increase the weight as you progress. After adjusting the weights to a comfortable limit, grab the bar with your elbows bent and knuckles facing upwards before using your triceps to lower the bar to your thighs and then slowly lowering the weights in a controlled movement, just like the other weightlifting exercises.
For well-rounded and balanced arms, you should use some exercises that focus on your forearms as well. Much like hammer curls, you’ll stand upright with dumbbells on either side of your thighs. However, you’ll keep the dumbbells facing horizontally and your knuckles facing upwards.
While keeping your arms close to your sides, you’ll use your forearms to raise the dumbbells to your chest and then lower them back down again. This exercise is easy to do alongside your hammer curls, as it’ll give your biceps a chance to rest for a few minutes while you work out your forearms. Being able to use dumbbells for multiple purposes will also help you cut down on the amount of equipment you need to buy and find space to store away.
For the last exercise, we’ll go over, you’ll be returning to the cable pull-down machine you used for your tricep pushdowns. Set up the weights in a low position and, with a straight back, hold the bar against your thighs with your knuckles facing upwards. From there, slowly bring the bar upwards so that your biceps contract and your forearm muscles are the focus. Keep your elbows in close to ensure you’re using your forearms and don’t accidentally use a different muscle group.
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