Forget dumbbell curls. There are many ways you can build strong, defined biceps at home using your bodyweight – and they’re definitely more fun and creative than curling dumbbells twice a week.

Bicep bodyweight exercises offer several benefits. You can do them at home, for one, with minimal equipment. They’ll also help you to unlock more advanced bodyweight exercises, such as the full chin up and all its impressive variations.

So even if you prefer weights, bodyweight exercises shouldn’t be neglected.

But how can you build stronger, bigger bicep muscles with just your bodyweight?

Here’s how with a list of the 8 best bodyweight bicep exercises you need to start doing.

These exercises will build muscle through resistance training and help you to lose weight by burning calories. So add them to your next pull day workout!

1. Chin Up

The chin up is essentially a pull up performed with an underhand (supinated) grip. It’s a small change that provides a big difference, as the chin up puts greater emphasis on the bicep muscles during the pulling phase, meaning more bicep activation than pull ups.

And if you think about it, the chin up is essentially a bicep curl using your bodyweight. The curling contraction is the same, except that there are more factors to consider, such as technique and stability.

Yep, chin ups are hard. The good news, though, is that it’s more than possible to achieve a full chin up with resistance training and progression exercises (more on those later).

How To Do A Chin Up

1. Position yourself beneath a pull up bar
2. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, with your hands shoulder-width apart
3. Hang from the bar (dead hang)
4. Engage your core, then pull your chest to the bar
5. Lower yourself back into a dead hang to complete on rep

2. Band Assisted Chin Up

Not everyone can do a chin up on their first attempt. But that’s where band-assisted chin ups come in, as they can help you build strength (and improve your technique) for the real thing.

Using a resistance band will decrease the resistance, as well as provide some momentum during the concentric (pulling) phase, making the exercise much easier.

A resistance band-assisted chin up simply involves tying the band to the pull up bar and securing your feet inside the band. Start with a thick resistance band at first, then gradually increase the difficulty by using thinner bands.

How To Do A Band Assisted Chin Up

1. Knot a resistance band to a pull bar
2. Grip the bar with an underhand grip (hands shoulder-width apart)
3. Secure one of both your feet inside the band
4. Hang from the bar (dead hang)
5. Engage your core, then pull your chest to the bar
6. Lower yourself back into a dead hang to complete one rep

3. Wide Chin Up

If you’ve done bicep curls before, you’ll know that performing wide curls targets the inner bicep muscles (the bicep short head). Well, the wide chin up is the bodyweight version of the wide bicep curl, perfect for building bulging 3D biceps.

Wide chin ups are slightly harder than regular chin ups, since the exercise forces the smaller bicep short head to work harder than the larger bicep long head. But don’t forget that you can perform wide chin ups with a resistance band to decrease the difficulty!

How To Do A Wide Chin Up

1. Position yourself beneath a pull up bar
2. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, with your hands wider than shoulder width
3. Hang from the bar (dead hang)
4. Engage your core, then pull your chest to the bar
5. Lower yourself back into a dead hang to complete on rep

4. Archer Chin Up

Archer chin ups are similar to wide chin ups, except that you’re pulling your body to each side. These are an advanced variation of regular chin ups, but super effective at building strength and muscle, as well as correcting muscle and strength imbalance!

You’ll need to be comfortable with regular chin ups before attempting archer chin ups. You can make the exercise easier, however, by using resistance bands. And if one of your goals is achieving the insane one-arm chin up, then doing archer chin ups is one exercise that’ll get you there.

How To Do An Archer Chin Up

1. Position yourself beneath a pull up bar
2. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, with your hands wider than shoulder width
3. Hang from the bar (dead hang)
4. Engage your core, then pull your chest towards one of your hands
5. Lower yourself back into a dead hang
6. Perform the same movement on the other side to complete one rep

5. Australian Chin Up

Australian chin ups are one of the most effective progression exercises for achieving a full chin up. The bicep and back contractions are the same, except that your feet will remain on the ground, decreasing the resistance and difficulty of the exercise.

You’ll need a low exercise bar to do Australian pull ups, such as a tall parallette bar or barbell racked at waist level. You can also make the exercise easier by using a resistance band or by performing the exercise with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.

How To Do An Australian Chin Up

1. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart
2. Lower yourself underneath the bar
3. Extend your legs and put your heels on the ground to lock your feet in place
4. Pull your chest to the bar
5. Lower yourself back down to complete one rep

6. One Arm Australian Chin Up

If you find Australian chin ups too easy, but full chin ups too hard, then the one-arm Australian chin up is a great in-between exercise that’ll help you build more muscle, strength, and pulling technique.

The exercise is essentially the same as a regular Australian chin up, except that you’ll be pulling your bodyweight using just one arm (don’t forget to alternate sides). As a result, one-arm Australian chin ups are a great exercise for working towards one-arm chin ups.

As mentioned above, you can also make this exercise easier by placing your soles on the ground with bent knees.

How To Do A One Arm Australian Chin Up

1. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, using only one hand
2. Lower yourself underneath the bar
3. Extend your legs and put your heels on the ground to lock your feet in place
4. Pull your chest to the bar
5. Lower yourself back down
6. Perform the same movement with the other arm to complete one rep

7. Pelican Curl

Not many people know about this bodyweight bicep exercise. Despite that, it’s a guaranteed bicep killer, with a greater focus on the eccentric (lowering) phase of the exercise for maximum hypertrophy.

You can do pelican curls using a low exercise bar (a tall parallette bar or barbell racked at waist level) or a pair of gymnastic rings. It’s not an easy exercise, it has to be said, but you can still practice negative reps to build bicep strength and muscle.

How To Do A Pelican Curl

1. With your back facing a low exercise bar, bring your arms behind you and grip the bar with an overhand grip
2. Take a few steps back so that you are leaning forwards slightly, standing on tiptoes
3. Lower your upper body forwards as your arms extend
4. (Optional) Pull your upper body back to the bar to complete one rep

8. Band Assisted One Arm Chin Up

Last but not least, the band-assisted one-arm chin up – one of the most sought-after moves among climbers, gymnasts, and calisthenics athletes.

One-arm chin ups require a significant amount of strength (muscle strength and tendon strength) and technique, but it’s possible to work towards achieving them—as well as build insane strength and bicep muscle in the process—by practicing them with resistance bands.

Like band-assisted chin ups, band-assisted one-arm chin ups use a resistance band to decrease the difficulty and provide some momentum during the pulling phase.

It’s worth getting comfortable with one-arm Australian chin ups before trying band-assisted one-arm chin ups, however, as this exercise is the opposite of easy!

How To Do A Band Assisted One Arm Chin Up

1. Knot a resistance band to a pull bar
2. Grip the bar with an underhand grip, using one hand
3. Secure one or both of your feet inside the band
4. Hang from the bar (one-arm dead hang)
5. Engage your core, then pull your chest to the bar
6. Lower yourself back into a one-arm dead hang to complete one rep

Conclusion

So there you have it, the 8 best bicep bodyweight exercises you need for both muscle gain and fat loss. Resistance training isn’t easy, after all, so you’ll definitely burn a few calories by including the above exercises in your workout routine.

Just don’t forget to practice each exercise with good form for maximum effectiveness, as well as maintain a high-protein, caloric deficit diet for the best muscle gains and weight loss results!