Bodyweight bicep curls are a highly effective and convenient exercise that targets your bicep muscles using your body weight as resistance instead of traditional weights or machines.
Bodyweight bicep curls are an excellent exercise for anyone who wants to build strong, toned arms without using heavy weights or gym equipment.
It’s a myth that men and women must perform different workouts to gain biceps. Anyone can perform all the bodyweight biceps curl exercises for huge gains and strength.
Get ready to use bodyweight curls to build bigger arms.
Know More: 25 Best Exercises For Flabby Arms (Lose Arm Fat)
1. Bodyweight Bicep Curl
The bodyweight bicep curl is a very effective bodyweight isolation exercise for building muscle and strength. Unlike traditional bicep curls, which use dumbbells or barbells as resistance, this exercise relies solely on your body weight.
Sometimes, we may not have access to equipment, but that is not an issue with the bicep leg curl, as you only need your arms and legs.
Since both arms work independently, bodyweight bicep curls help identify and address any muscular imbalances.
How To Do Bodyweight Bicep Curl
- Begin by sitting on a chair as close to the edge as possible.
- Then, place your right hand under your left thigh at the crease between your hamstrings and calves.
- Slowly curl your right up as high as you can. Exhale during this portion of the exercise.
- Hold for a couple of seconds. Then, slowly lower your leg back down, so your foot is just above the ground. Inhale during this portion of the exercise.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps. Repeat the exercise with your left arm.
Tips
- Try to get as much range of motion as possible.
- You can perform a variation of the bicep leg curl lying down.
Know More: Bodyweight Biceps Exercises At Home To Bigger Arm
2. Towel Bicep Curls
You can perform this exercise by standing with your back against the wall, grabbing both ends of a towel, and putting one foot on a sling.
A towel’s instability forces your bicep muscles to work harder, which results in greater muscle activation and development.
Gripping the towel tightly improves your grip strength, which helps build bigger biceps and forearms.
How To Do Towel Bicep Curls
- Stand with your knees slightly bent and your abs tucked in.
- Your non-dominant arm should be down at your side, with your palm facing forward. Put your opposite palm over your wrist.
- Make a fist with your working hand and execute a biceps curl with that arm while resisting it with the other.
- Shift the resistance on the way, so your palm pushes the working arm down. Return to the starting position.
- Finish your set, then repeat, with the other arm doing the work.
Tips
- Keep your core tight and your shoulders down while doing this exercise.
- Keep your elbows close to your sides.
- Focus on a full range of motion during each curl.
- To diversify your training stimulus, experiment with different tempos, such as slow and controlled curls or explosive power curls.
Want to take your gains to the next level? Discover your daily calorie needs with our free TDEE calculator
3. Bodyweight Bicep Hammer Curl
Unlike traditional bicep curls with a supinated (palms up) grip, hammer curls (neutral grip) effectively train the forearm muscles along with the biceps and improve grip strength.
Some people find the neutral grip of the hammer curl more comfortable on their wrists and elbows than the supinated grip of a regular bicep curl.
How To Do Bodyweight Hammer Curl
- Sit on a bench or floor with your back straight and feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a towel in both hands with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
- Exhale and slowly curl the towel upward towards your shoulders.
- At the top of the movement, when the towel is near your shoulders, squeeze your biceps for a brief pause to maximize the contraction.
- Inhale and slowly lower the towel back down to the starting position.
Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.
Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.