As a beginner in calisthenics you definitely want those guns out in the summer. It comes as no surprise that biceps exercises are popular in calisthenics. But very often, calisthenics coaches and trainers give beginners in calisthenics biceps exercises that are to hard at the start of their calisthenics journey. Our vision is to keep things simple and realistic for beginners. This article gives the 3 best biceps exercises for beginners in calisthenics.
Resistance Band Assisted Chin-up
Starting Position
Grab a pull-up bar with a supinated grip. The palms of your hands are facing towards you. A supinated grip engages your biceps more. The function of the bicep muscle is elbow flexion and supination. Therefore, executing exercises with supinated grip will always engage your bicep muscle.
Start pulling yourself from an active hang. In other words, do a scapular pull-up to engage your shoulder girdle the right way.
How to Use the Resistance Band
When you are in a calisthenics park you often see people struggle with their resistance bands There is actually one simple trick to use this band the best way. Turn your hand palms out to the side. Grab the resistance band at the lower quarter of its length. Then do a simple triceps extension and you are able to step inside the band. If you can’t do the triceps extension then jump and use your bodyweight to pull the band downwards.
How to Perform the Exercise
Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Then lower yourself back down while using an eccentric contraction.
How to Progress
Start with a heavy resistance band and continue by using more light and thinner bands. Start with a band with which you are able to do at least 5 sets of 10 reps. If you manage 5 sets of 15 reps easily you can progress to a thinner band. Continue this process until you are able to perform the chin-up without assistance.
Since you are a beginner, it may be hard to get a perfect form without a band. If your form is not correct you are more likely to compensate with other muscles. In that case you won’t get the results you want. Therefore, we always recommend resistance bands for beginners in calisthenics. Actually, using resistance bands has many advantages.
Supinated Incline Push-up
Starting Position
Grab a low push-up bar in a supinated position.
How to Perform the Exercise
As a beginner in calisthenics, the best way to start this exercise is with an eccentric muscle contraction. After you progress you can add concentric muscle contractions or isometric holds.
How to Progress
You can progress by adding more reps to your sets, increasing the range of motion or using other contraction forms.
Reversed Australian Pull-up
This one is actually pretty straightforward. It’s in the name. You do an Australian pull-up in areversed way. Another name for this exercise is: Hefesto pull-up or Korean pull-up.
Starting Position
Again, supinated grip, feet on the ground and grab the bar behind you.
How to Perform the Exercise
Pull yourself as close to the bar as possible by bending your elbows. Try to focus on bending your elbows.
How to Progress
We discovered that beginners in calisthenics don’t need any assistance from bands in this biceps exercise, but if you want you can use one by placing the band in front of your body. In addition, you obviously could progress by using thinner bands.
On the other hand, you could progress by increasing the range of motion (ROM). Start pulling with a straight back until you hit the bar with your back. After that, you can increase the ROM by adding a back extension around the bar.
More for Bigger Arms
If getting bigger arms is your goal, you can do more than just biceps exercises. Getting strong and having big arms is often caused by building triceps strength. If you need any of the equipment we mentioned above, like resistance bands or pull-up bars, check out the recommended equipment that we use ourselves.
