You’re looking for some stunning calisthenic bicep workouts to get a vast, defined, and powerful bicep.
But you don’t know how to pick one. You’re not alone in your case.
I’m a seasoned certified personal trainer in the calisthenics and fitness field.
Since the covid happened until now, most of my clients have chosen calisthenic as their method to maintain health and muscular.
In this post, you will:
- Own the scientific principles to build your biceps effectively.
- Get my stunning 14 calisthenic bicep workouts for biceps growth.
- Take my strategy workout program for rapid progression.
- Master my three secret tips for killing your biceps every single rep.
What Is The Secret Key To Unlocking Your Calisthenic Bicep Workouts?
Understanding the function and structure of the biceps muscle will help you know whether an exercise takes action on your biceps or not.
About the function, the biceps take responsibility for three movements: elbow flexion (curling your arm up and down), forearm supination (turning your arm in and out), and shoulder flexion.
So any workout, even gym or calisthenic, will help the biceps develop if it accomplishes one or more of these movements.
About the structure, the biceps are the muscle parts that stay on the upper arm and run from the fore of the shoulders to the elbow.
They get impacted by these different elements:
- The long head: makes your bicep look taller when flexed and is affected by the standard grip, especially by the narrow grip.
- The short head: brings width to your bicep look in curling and is developed by the medium grip, particularly by the wide grip.
- The brachialis: drives your bicep more detailed from the side view and is built by the hammer grip.
Top 14 Calisthenic Bicep Workouts For Powerful Biceps
Now it’s’ time to dive into my list of calisthenic bicep exercises. I’ve chosen them to hit every angle of the biceps, including long head, short head, and brachialis.
Firstly, let’s see workouts that help you develop both long and short head, to a lesser extent, brachialis.
#1 Standard-Grip Chin-Ups
Based on keeping your palms confronting you, rather than away from you like pull-ups), chin-ups put more tension on your biceps instead of entirely on your back and shoulder.
They’ll not only burn your biceps hard but help you feel your core better in pulling movement. You also can improve your forearm with this workout.
- Underhand grip a chin-up bar just inside shoulder width.
- Look straight ahead while arching your upper back slightly.
- Pull your head explosively upward the bar by curling your biceps and constricting your lats.
- Keep lifting your chin until it passes over the bar.
- Control your elbows and slowly lower your body down until your elbows are nearly locked out.
- Perform 2-4 sets of 4-12 repetitions.
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#2 Australian Chin-Ups
If you’re not strong enough to perform the chin-ups, Australian chin-ups are a great replacement I recommend.
The Australian chin-up, also known as a horizontal chin-up, is one of the first exercises learned by those approaching the world of Calisthenics.
They’ll grow your biceps thanks to the elbow flexing with your body weight.
Cause of putting your feet on the ground, they’ll also put a lighter pressure on the beginners.
- Grab the horizontal bar with a standard grip.
- Keep your body under the horizontal bar while the position of your shoulders is similar or front upper compared to the bar in the horizontal flat.
- Put your feet on land and keep your body in a straight line by flexing your core and pushing your shoulder blades back.
- Pull your chest explosively forward to the bar by curling your biceps while maintaining the core stable until your chest hits the bar.
- Handle your body straight and slowly drop your chest down until your elbows are nearly locked out.
- Repeat 2-4 sets of 6-15 repetitions.
#3 Headbanger Biceps Curls
Headbanger is my favorite movement for calisthenic bicep training because it is a super crazy explosive variation of the chin-ups.
It will place a high tension on your bicep for a continuous period. That’s why it’s very effective to grow your biceps not only strength but endurance as well.
- Suspend your body weight on the chin-up bar with a supinated grip shoulder-width apart and take your feet off the land.
- Curl your bicep and contract your abs to pull your chin upward to the bar until it passes over the bar.
- Keep this circumstance when your chin is upper the bar as your starting position.
- Stretch your arm thoroughly to push your chin far from the bar as much as possible, and immediately pull your chin back to the bar as in the starting position. It's an ideal rep.
- Repeat until you fail for 2-4 sets.
#4 Isometric Chin-Ups
Isometric chin-ups are one of my two chosen exercises to exhaust every bicep muscle fiber at the end of a workout.
During the isometric holding, this movement will attack deeply into your bicep and force your micro muscle fiber to work under constant tension.
That’s why it creates significant hypertrophy and helps to build your bicep from the inside.
- Underhand grip the chin-up bar with your shoulder width.
- Pull your chin upward to the bar to generate a 90-degree angle for your elbows.
- Try your best to keep this point for as long as possible.
- Let your elbows expand a bit more if you feel it is impossible to preserve them at the 90-degree angle and continue to maintain them at that.
- Keep holding until your elbow is mainly locked out.
- Reprise this action 2 - 4 times.
#5 Eccentric Chin-Ups (Negative Chin-Ups)
As I noticed, negative chin-ups are the rest workout I use to finish a calisthenic bicep workout.
It’s straightforward to do, so it will support your bicep to gain some more reps though you feel depressed to pull a single chin up or any movement. It ultimately kills your bicep.
- Grasp the chin-up bar with your underhand grip and a shoulder-width apart.
- Jump on for lighter pulling and get your chin upper the bar for the beginning position.
- Drop your body slowly with control into a dead-hang place until your elbows are almost locked out.
- Replay 2-4 sets of 4-12 repetitions.
#6 Ring Biceps Curls
Now, let’s try a change with this calisthenic bicep movement on the gymnastic rings called ring biceps curls.
They also provide flexing on your bicep but with a higher isometric because you must use your body and brain to maintain the balance between two rings.
This factor will help you not only build biceps but improve your feel of muscle connection as well.
- Hold two circles with an underhand grip with palms facing you and shoulder-width apart to place your body horizontally underneath the rings.
- Set your feet on land to keep your whole body straight by curving your abs and pushing your shoulder blades backward.
- Pull your head upward to the rings by curling your biceps while maintaining your body stable and straight.
- Keep your bicep at the 90-degree with your body for max tension.
- Drop your chest down back slowly until your elbows are nearly locked out.
- Repeat 2-4 sets of 4-12 repetitions.
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#7 TRX Biceps Curls
Another exercise I want to show you to improve your muscle connection while building your bicep is the TRX biceps curl.
It’s a suspension similar to the gymnastic rings but with D-handles.
It will bring a serious challenge to your biceps by creating pressure on them while forcing your body to be stable.
However, some of my clients said they feel more comfortable with D-handles than rings.
- Grab the handle of your TRX after hanging it above your head.
- Stretch your arms entirely by moving your body away from the anchor point.
- Slant your back while landing your feet on the ground.
- Pull your head upward to the TRX D-handles while stabilizing your abs.
- As you progressively lower yourself until your elbows are completely extended, squeeze your biceps as hard as possible.
- Act 2-4 sets of 6-15 reps.
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#8 Resistance Band Biceps Curls
Resistance band biceps curl is the best choice for beginners and women.
The factor I love most about the resistance band is that it provides many kinds of bicep curl vertically like the dumbbell.
If you’re busy, It’ll support you in frequently training your biceps strength and endurance because it’s super simple to set up and practice.
- Hold the long handles by your sides with your hands facing front and stand on the resistance band with both feet.
- Squeeze your biceps as you slowly raise your arms to shoulder height, maintaining your elbows at your sides.
- Repay your arms to the starting place gradually.
- Perform 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps.
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Calisthenic Bicep Workouts For The Best Long-Head Biceps Isolation
As I mentioned, activities that take advantage of the biceps function and use the narrow grip would vigorously develop your long-head biceps.
#9 Close Hand Chin-Ups
If you want to hit the long-head biceps especially, close grip chin-ups are a breathtaking movement.
They’ll help you firmly increase the height of your bicep from the side view. Your biceps overall will improve impressively.
- Hold the chin-up bar less than shoulder-width apart using your close underhand grips.
- Curl your biceps and contract your abs muscles to pull your chin up to the bar explosively.
- Preserve pull your chin up until it passes over the bar.
- Drop your body down slowly by controlling your elbows until your elbows are almost locked out.
- Repeat 2-4 sets of 4-12 repetitions.
#10 Assisted One Arm Chin-Ups
You’ll experience the one-arm chin-up feeling after doing this challenging workout.
Your fingers on the opposite arm will help you pull primarily from the dominant arm.
Your biceps, lats, and chest are the main muscles that get trained. Your bicep will become more powerful and enduring because of loading more tension.
- Hang from a bar using a pronated grip for the left hand and a supinated grip for the right hand. Your right side will bear more of the weight as a result. Your starting point is here.
- Pull yourself up gradually, mostly with your right arm, until your chin is in your right hand.
- Repeat after lowering yourself progressively to the beginning position. Perform this exercise for 2-4 sets of 2-4 repetitions.
- Continue with the left arm.
- To increase the resistance of the current component, use only three fingers on the pronated grip hand. Your objective is to perform a one-arm chin-up after reducing to one finger.
Calisthenic Bicep Exercises For Better Short-Head Biceps Isolation
Workouts that take advantage of the biceps function and use the wide grip will actively grow your short-head biceps.
Training short-head biceps will help your bicep bigger faster. Your arm in the T-shirt will bring a very sexy looking.
#11 Behind-The-Head Chin-Ups
Behind-The-Head Chin-Ups is an advanced variation of standard chin-ups. Thanks to using a wider underhand grip, it lets your short-head biceps load more pressure in chin-ups.
You will see your bicep vascular pumped after this exercise.
- Place your underhand grip on the bar and spread your shoulders apart.
- Pull yourself up toward the bar while maintaining a straight back and firm abs, and move your upper head toward the bar.
- Lower yourself carefully until your elbows are almost locked out.
- Repeat for 2-4 sets of 4-12 reps.
#12 Pelican Biceps Curls
You can do the pelican bicep curls on the bar or rings. In contrast to bar curls, you will pull this exercise from your back rather than your front.
This exercise takes advantage of the isometric and eccentric tension, then puts them on your short-head bicep.
So it’ll help your bicep become broader and more powerful.
- Utilize the supinated grip from behind and grab the rings with wider shoulder-width apart.
- Lean slightly forward and extend your arms fully. Maintain a straight body line by engaging your core. Your starting point is here.
- Work your biceps to pull your back toward the rings. Keep your elbow still.
- Keep moving your back as high as possible.
- Return slowly to your starting position and then repeat.
- Aim for 2-4 sets of 6-12 repetitions.
Calisthenic Bicep Movements For Brachialis Biceps Isolation
Movements that take advantage of the biceps function and use the hammer grip will thoroughly train your brachialis biceps.
Your biceps will look very defined and shredded from the side view.
#13 Commando Pull-Ups
Commando pull-ups are a specific variation of standard pull-ups. It is a light-hearted workout that emphasizes elbow flexion and some shoulder flexion.
As a result, more lateral instability will help you develop your biceps, strengthen your core, and expand your lats.
- Hold the pull-up bar firmly in your neutral hand while standing perpendicular to the bar with hands facing each other.
- To determine what feels most comfortable for yourself, think about the space between your hands. (Closer is preferable.)
- Start by raising your body toward the bar while bending your elbows.
- To ensure that your trapezius muscles engage the bar, you must tilt your head to one side of the object.
- Return to the starting position gently by lowering.
- Bring your head to the other side of the bar on the following rep.
- For each repetition, focus on gently performing the maneuver off-center.
- Jump to the top and slowly descend for a simpler variant.
- Repeat for 2-4 sets of 4-12 reps.
#14 Towel Chin-Ups
Similar to a chin-up, but using a towel. It will give your brachialis biceps and forearm twice the exercise.
By grabbing a towel instead of only the bar, you significantly increase the grip problem, making the entire activity more difficult.
Your brachialis bicep will load a lot of tension.
- Bend your arms and lift yourself as high as possible.
- Keep your balance and try not to slip down the towels.
- No swinging and focus on getting it right.
- Maintain last place for a little longer.
- Return your body to the beginning posture slowly.
- Repeat the exercise for 2-4 sets of 4-12 reps.
Custom Calisthenic Biceps Workout Program
In calisthenic, the biceps always participate in the movement of pulling workouts (like pull-ups) and skill (like muscle-ups).
If you’re a new-timer, you only need to pick one to two biceps workouts for a pulling day option.
If you stand at an intermediate or advanced level and want to train your bicep more, you can practice your bicep twice per week.
No matter which level you are or which equipment you have, try to hit the bicep through three muscle elements: long head, short head, and brachialis.
Here is a basic program that anyone can follow at home or anywhere:
If you are intermediate or advanced, try this program:
Tips For Efficient Calisthenic Bicep Workouts
Keep Your Wrist Straight To Maximize The Tension On The Biceps
In pulling movement, besides the central role of the biceps, the forearm also participates through the hand grip.
Keeping your wrist straight will decrease the effort of the forearm and put more pressure on your biceps during the training.
It means that your bicep will improve faster and more robust.
Train Your Bicep With A Low-Tempo
Low-tempo means controlling every rep. The “low tempo” will allow you to take advantage of muscle fiber status, including isometric, eccentric, and concentric.
Your bicep will develop overall, from inside to outside.
Take Full Range Of Motion For Every Single Rep
Quality is better than quantity. Every bicep muscle element gets a matching angle for the most loading.
It would be best if you did a complete range of motion for intensely training the biceps.
Frequently Asked Questions About Calisthenic Bicep Training
Does Calisthenic Help Me Build Bicep Effectively?
The answer is an absolute YES. You can see that through some famous calisthenic athletes such as Chris Heria, Andrea Larosa, and Frank Medrano.
The progress may bring a little difficulty initially, but keep going. You will achieve massive, defined, and muscular biceps that deserve what you invested.
Will My Biceps Gain From Push-Ups?
They will not because standard push-ups only hit your chest, triceps, and shoulder.
Someone said that another variation of regular push-ups named pseudo-push-ups would impact the biceps because it uses the reserve grip.
I agree, but not absolutely. Jeff Cavaliere of Athlean-X explained that these push-ups are ineffective and may injure your wrist.
What Should I Eat For Better Bicep Training?
Most calisthenic bicep workouts are compound workouts. So a high-carb diet is advantaged.
But you also keep it balanced because lots of carbs can make you gain weight.
Final Set
I’ve shown you my 14 stunning calisthenic bicep workouts that I used to help my clients achieve big, shredded, powerful biceps.
You even get a more significant effect if you take a shorter rest between sets of these exercises.
Let’s do it and check out the related helpful posts below!
