Biceps push-ups: how to pump up your biceps with push-ups from the floor at home

Biceps push-ups are a controversial exercise; it has both supporters and avid opponents. The former claim that with the correct technique, the athlete can easily achieve an increase in arm volume, while the latter call the exercise useless for this purpose. We have carefully analyzed this issue and come to the conclusion that both sides are right in their own way.

If you want to know how to pump up your biceps with push-ups, you will have to master two techniques to complete the task, while it is important to supplement your training with strength exercises, consume a lot of protein foods, get good sleep and strictly follow the program. Let's take a closer look at this topic, dispel the myths and list the facts.

Biceps is the biceps brachii muscle, thanks to which a person rotates the forearm and flexes the upper limb

Types of push-ups

There are two main types of push-ups - classic and with modified hand position. Let's look at both options.

Classical technique

Biceps push-ups are easy to do at home, but first master the classic technique. It works the muscles of the sternum, delta and triceps, as well as the spine, abs and legs. The last three helps keep the body in the plank.

Take a lying position, perform a stand with outstretched arms;
The palms are placed strictly under the shoulders, the legs are spaced 5-10 cm apart;
The body is held straight, without bending in the lower back;
Make sure you breathe properly when doing push-ups. The rule can be briefly formulated as follows: as you inhale, bend your elbows and lower your body down, and as you exhale, rise sharply;
In the process, strain your abs, keep your back, neck and legs in one line.

The depth of push-ups is regulated by the athlete himself, based on his own physical fitness.

Changed hand positions

Is it possible to pump up your biceps with push-ups? Let’s look at the technique for doing it. The starting position is distinguished by the location of the palms on the floor - the fingers should be turned towards the legs. During push-ups, the elbows do not spread to the sides, but are pressed against the body.

Starting position – plank on outstretched arms, palms turned towards the feet;
The body weight is slightly shifted forward so that the arms feel the tension;
When lowering, the elbows do not diverge to the sides, but, as it were, rise up. If you look at an athlete doing a biceps dip, the photo will help you understand the correct position of the elbows. We recommend watching pictures, or better yet, videos;
Inhale as you lower, exhale as you rise;

Many people ask how to do push-ups to pump up their biceps as quickly as possible; we won’t answer this question. The fact is that you won’t pump up your biceps just by doing push-ups with a changed position of your arms - this exercise can only become part of the complex.

Remember, muscle fibers grow thanks to a sufficient amount of protein, as well as regular strength training.

What muscles are used by reverse push-ups?

As I said earlier, reverse push-ups are aimed at developing the muscles of the arm. Namely triceps.

This exercise uses all three heads:

Lateral. Outer head of triceps.
Long. Located in the middle. In reverse push-ups we can stretch it properly
Medial. Inner head. Is the smallest. But at the same time it takes on most of the load.

Additional muscles are also included:

Breasts. They work especially well in the negative phase. That is, they lowered the bodies down in time. In this position they stretch as much as possible.
Anterior delta. The position of this muscle must be constantly monitored. Beginners have stiffer deltoids. And this means they are more difficult to stretch. And until they become elastic, there is a high risk of injury to this muscle group.

reverse push-ups
And of course, don’t forget about the muscles that work statically (without movement).

Forearm. I will not describe each one, since the forearm has a little less than 20 muscles in its arsenal. And almost all of them are involved in reverse push-ups. Thanks to them, our hands are fixed.
Abdominal muscles. We are talking about the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles. They fix our spine and prevent the body from tilting forward.
Back. This includes the rhomboids, erector spinae, lats, and trapezius. All these muscles allow us to keep our back straight. And they make it possible to isolate the pectoral muscles and exclude the inclusion of the anterior delta. This happens due to the convergence of the shoulder blades. As a result, the chest moves forward and the shoulders go back.

As you can see, it seems like a simple exercise. But at the same time it involves almost the whole body.

Biceps push-ups - myth or reality?

We have looked at how to pump up your biceps with push-ups at home, and now we will study the main arguments in support of the feasibility of this exercise.

Have you ever tried to pump up your legs or butt? Surely, at the same time, you actively squatted, jumped, ran, worked out on exercise machines (perhaps you didn’t ignore hack squats), pumping up the necessary muscles. Have you noticed after some time that your calves have also pumped up and become more prominent and voluminous? One way or another, you affected the calf muscles, so they also grew. The same is true with the biceps muscle - the body loves symmetry, if a person pumps the triceps, the biceps also partially works.
If you master the correct push-up technique with a changed arm position, the biceps muscle will receive sufficient load and will certainly grow. However, do not forget about other exercises that pump up the biceps, for example, pull-ups. Below we list analogues in which these muscles are involved.

Thus, if you know how to properly do biceps push-ups from the floor, feel free to apply your knowledge - your goal is quite realistic.

How to pump up your biceps with push-ups?

Pay attention to changing the position of your palms. To pump your biceps, you should turn your palms so that they look at your legs.

They need to be moved in opposite directions. However, this position can create discomfort.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to know a few simple tricks.

With their help, classes are much easier to carry out:

Your body weight should be shifted slightly forward.
Press your elbows and place your hands next to each other.
The load on the biceps can be increased by lowering your chest to the floor.
It is recommended to use dumbbells in a reverse grip. They must be stable to avoid injury.
The bar is relevant. After taking the pose, you need to stand for one minute.

Sample training program

So, we found out whether the biceps swells during push-ups, and came to the conclusion that you can start training. Familiarize yourself with the approximate scheme, the observance of which will allow you to achieve results in the shortest possible time.

Please note that to perform this technique, the athlete must stretch his hands and arm joints well. If the joints and tendons are not strong enough, there is a risk of injury or sprains.

The biceps push-up circuit includes two workouts per week (trained athletes can add one more). Rest is of great importance - overloading muscle fibers is stupid and dangerous, and it certainly will not bring your dimensions closer to those of the famous Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Start the program with two sets of 15 lifts;
After a week, add a set and increase the number of lifts (focus on your strength);
Do not stop there for more than 1 week, constantly increase the task;
Gradually work your way up to 4 sets of 50 lifts;
The break between approaches should not last longer than 1-3 minutes;
Make sure you are breathing correctly.

As we mentioned above, you need to pump up your biceps with push-ups in combination with other exercises. Be sure to follow a sports diet, take rest breaks, get enough sleep and do not miss classes.

Which push-ups for which muscle groups?

Today, there are many variations of push-ups that involve specific muscle groups. It is recommended to regularly alternate variations and shift the load in order to effectively develop all working muscles. Alas, we cannot say which push-ups will be better.

They are all good, depending on your goals. We recommend including at least several variations in your training program and alternating them.

Experienced athletes can include most types in their training program. But, we advise you to alternate them, because the muscles need rest. For example, if you do classic push-ups, and then alternate them with emphasis on the chest and triceps, and at the end add on the biceps, then you can get overworked.

Therefore, it is better to add a few more sets and repetitions than to do different push-ups on the same day:

Classic push-ups. It is with them that beginners are recommended to start. They are equally good for both boys and girls. The main advantage is that they are universal. To perform them you do not need special equipment; you can practice both at home and outdoors.
Push-ups with different hand positions. Allows you to shift the load to the chest or triceps. Wide hand placement reduces the range of motion, making execution easier. In this case, most of the load falls on the chest. When the arms are positioned narrowly, the load is taken by the triceps. A good option would be to alternate them to achieve good results.
Incline push-ups. Suitable for experienced athletes who want to work out the upper chest and deltoids as much as possible. The higher your feet are placed on the hill, the harder the push-ups will be. During the execution, the oblique and abdominal muscles, as well as the spinal erectors, work. Thanks to this, stabilization of the body position is achieved. You can also, with this variation, practice placing your hands from wide to narrow. Depending on the goals and objectives.
Deep push-ups. They effectively stretch the pectoral muscles by increasing the range of motion. The main feature is that push-ups work great on ligaments, joints and tendons. In addition, with the help of this variation, you can significantly improve your posture by engaging the back muscles. A good option when you need to rest a little and reduce the strain on your muscles.
One-arm push-ups. A very energy-intensive exercise where all the abdominal muscles are involved. They are the ones who stabilize the body during the exercise. Works the triceps and chest well. One-arm push-ups are ideal for developing strength.

All of the above different types of push-ups can be made heavier - perform them with weight. As a rule, it is better for these purposes to take a backpack with an optimal load on your back and work. It is worth noting that this is more suitable for experienced athletes who do not have enough body weight.

Analogs of exercises for training the biceps muscle

Doing biceps and triceps push-ups at home is great for increasing arm size, but there are other exercises you can do as well. To engage the biceps muscle, pay attention to the following tasks:

Pull-ups with an inside grip (palms facing the chest);
Exercises with dumbbells - there are many varieties, but they are all based on raising your arms with a weight to your chest, bending them at the elbow joint. Depending on the initial position of the body, the intensity of the biceps work changes;
Exercises with a barbell - similar to the previous point.

We are done looking at the topic of biceps push-ups at home. All the exercises proposed in the article can be performed in the gym. Work hard and efficiently - the result will not be long in coming.

Push-up option for training biceps - how to do it correctly?

To activate your biceps, you can modify your push-up technique by using dumbbells as support. To do this, you need to have the appropriate sports equipment.

Hold dumbbells in both hands so that your fingers point forward.
Straighten your arms, bring your legs together, and look at the floor.
The body should be in one straight line: do not bend your lower back, do not lower your pelvis.
From this starting position, begin to bend your elbows and release your body as low as possible to the floor.
Then straighten your elbows, pushing your body up.
Repeat the exercise 12–15 times for 3–4 approaches, depending on your individual sports and professional training.

Push-ups for biceps training

Proper Push-Up Technique to Activate the Biceps Muscles

In this case, the biceps are really included in the work, but the effectiveness of push-ups with emphasis on dumbbells in comparison with other exercises is still insufficient for explosive training of biceps and their active growth.

What happens during push-ups?

With push-ups, you're dealing with completely different mechanics. The principle of movement itself is jolting . At the beginning you go down and then push off from the floor. There is no pulling movement that works well for the biceps.

It would happen if your body remained in place and you pulled the floor towards you. In this case, ideally you should have turned the plane of the floor towards you along with your hands. Don't forget that wrist supination is also a function of the biceps.

It turns out that push-ups do not correspond to the main function of the biceps . But this does not mean that the biceps do not work in them. It still stabilizes the core, although such a load may not be enough for hypertrophy.

Warm-up

Warm-up is a very important part of every workout. It is imperative to warm up the muscles before giving them a load. Otherwise, painful sensations, sprains are very likely, and most importantly, training will have to be postponed until complete recovery. By warming up, you reduce this danger by half.

The exercises that should be used to precede the main workout will prepare each muscle group of the forearm for work:

Rotate the hands clenched into a fist outward, and then inward, until a feeling of warmth appears.
Rotation at the elbows, also in both directions.
Clenching your fists and then unclenching them into a spread-fingered position.

Thanks to these simple movements, basic exercises will be easier, their effectiveness will increase, and your muscles will not feel tired for longer.

What if you don’t have exercise equipment or a horizontal bar at home?

If home exercise equipment is really bad, and there is no horizontal bar in the yard, you can do 2 things:

You can do a pretty fancy exercise . Place your left hand on your right forearm and resist while contracting your right biceps. Bend your elbow completely, and then return to the starting position, still applying pressure with your left hand.
packs can be used as dumbbells . To do this, take stronger bags and put several heavy things in them, such as bottles filled with water.

biceps push-ups