In this article we will tell you a technique on how to pump up your arms at home without dumbbells and barbells using your own weight for girls and guys. Guys want to pump up their biceps and triceps to make their arms bigger. Girls need to train their arms to be slim and keep them in good shape.
These hand exercises at home are suitable for both women and men. To make the complex universal, each exercise is offered in different variations to increase the load for men and reduce it for women, respectively. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and get an answer.
How to pump up your arms at home without dumbbells
Muscular arms, just like pumped up abs, make a huge impression on others. That is why their development is so important.
Developed biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms - you are not born with them (unlike the calf muscles, the size of which is largely determined by genetics), this is achieved through long training.
The owners of fitness rooms know this, so everything there is equipped for convenient arm training.
But if you travel or work somewhere far away, you will have to use a trick. In addition to regular classes in the gym, you will need to do arm training without exercise equipment.
Luckily, there are a number of at-home arm exercises that you can do almost anywhere. They mainly use your own body weight.
To understand how to build up arm muscles at home without dumbbells, you need to study the anatomy of the arms and understand what makes them what they are.
Is it possible for a man to build muscle at home without dumbbells, barbells and horizontal bars?
Making your arms massive and sculpted without sports equipment is quite difficult. Although there are guys who manage to pump up their arm muscles without dumbbells, barbells or horizontal bars. They achieve such results thanks to genetics and body characteristics, but not everyone is so lucky.
If you don’t have sports equipment at home, you can pump up your muscles with the help of auxiliary materials: bottles of water, sand, backpacks, etc.
As you can see, it is very difficult to pump up a man’s arms without dumbbells. In order for muscles to grow quickly, they must contract with weight, so training without sports equipment will not be as effective as training with weights.
Anatomy of arm muscles
The main muscles of the arms are the biceps and triceps. These are the areas we will focus on to improve the appearance of our arms and increase their strength.
You should reconsider your attitude towards training with light weights and high repetitions (15+). This is suitable for both women and men.
To make the muscles grow (which gives them shape and relief / makes the muscles toned) you need to load them with exercises that can be performed with excellent technique 6-12 times per approach.
It is normal for you to focus more on training one muscle than others if you are faced with such a task (for example, if that muscle is lagging). But provided that the remaining muscles are sufficiently developed to avoid disproportion and injury.
Triceps
Men often neglect the development of the triceps muscle, which is located on the back of the arms. They prefer to pump their biceps because its shape is clearly defined and visible to the eye.
But the triceps are a larger muscle group than the biceps, and if you want bigger arms, you should add a little more emphasis on pumping them up.
Triceps training is important not only for men. The fact is that women are genetically more inclined to accumulate fat than men. And their fat is located in different places. As a rule, in men in the upper part of the body (hence the “beer” bellies), and in women on the thighs and arms.
The most effective way to lose fat is through diet. But it is also important to combine it with training to strengthen the muscles of the arms, in particular the triceps, to give the arms a beautiful shape and “fitness”.
Biceps
Although it is a relatively small muscle, this does not mean that it should receive little attention. Located on the front of the shoulder, it's perhaps most commonly associated with strength and power—just ask any child to imitate a bodybuilder's workout routine and they'll start doing a bicep curl.
Strong biceps are needed in back exercises. They help maintain a straight posture and help avoid injury.
Now let's get down to the main thing - how to pump up arm muscles at home. And for this we have prepared the best exercises with varying degrees of difficulty.
Warm up before training
Before performing exercises, you should thoroughly warm up your muscles and prepare them for a more serious load:
- Mill. From a straight position with your feet shoulder-width apart, you need to alternately rotate your arms in a circle: the right arm is brought up through the back, and the left one is brought down, then the right one in front is lowered and at the same time the left one is raised through the back. Do the exercise at an accelerated pace for 30 seconds.
- Swings with a jump. Take the starting position: join your legs and lower your arms down. During the jump, spread your legs at shoulder level, while your arms shoot up and spread to the sides. Another jump - return to the starting position. Repeat at an accelerated pace for half a minute.
- Swing your arms. Stand up straight and bend your arms in front of your chest so that your elbows point in different directions. Squeeze your shoulder blades and perform 2 movements towards your back, then straighten your arms to the sides and perform the movement in the same way. Do the exercise 10 times.
See also: Hand exercises for every day
The best triceps exercises without dumbbells and machines
With these exercises you can pump up your arms at home without dumbbells, barbells or even exercise machines.
The great thing about triceps (and chest) exercises is that they can be done anywhere. This requires nothing more than the floor and walls. Here are the 3 best exercises:
1. Push-ups with narrow arms (diamond or diamond push-ups)
Close-grip push-ups (here we are looking at a variation called diamond push-ups) are not an easy exercise, but when done correctly they are one of the best for the triceps.
In regular push-ups, your arms are placed slightly wider than your shoulders, so the load is distributed between the chest and triceps. And with a narrow grip, only the triceps are loaded, because in it the palms are placed together and the elbows are kept close to the body.
Here's how it should be done:
- Place your hands on the floor, connecting the thumbs and index fingers of both hands, creating a “diamond” (triangle) shape.
- Keeping your elbows as close to your body as possible, lower yourself down until your chest touches the outside of your palms.
- Keep all muscles (abs, buttocks, thighs) tense
- Raise your body up to the starting position. Then do it all over again.
Lightweight options (if the usual method is too difficult):
- Close-grip wall push-ups
- Close-grip push-ups with emphasis on a bench (or any other elevation)
- Regular push-ups
Complicated options (if the usual method is too easy):
- Close-grip push-ups with feet resting on a height (for example, a chair)
- Close-grip push-ups with weights (such as a backpack)
Triceps push-ups
This is another exercise that works the chest and triceps to varying degrees, depending on the variation you choose.
For most people, this exercise will be a good place to start, but your goal should be to progress to dips (they involve more muscles in the work).
The only downside to dips is that you have to find something suitable to do them. On playgrounds, bars are most often present, but instead of them, you can use the corner of a table or two strong chairs.
Here's how to do this exercise according to the video above:
- Maintain balance between two benches or chairs, keeping your feet on one and your hands on the opposite side.
- Push your chest forward and keep your back straight.
- Lower yourself until your elbows are bent at about a 90-degree angle.
- Then rise up, straightening your arms.
Lightweight options:
- Triceps push-ups with bent knees (feet on the floor)
- Bench push-ups for triceps with feet on the floor
More complicated options:
- Triceps push-ups with weights. Place your backpack or suitcase on your hips.
- Dips
- Weighted dips (hang a heavy backpack or use something that can be secured between your legs).
Triceps extension
All of the previous exercises are great because they work multiple muscles at the same time.
But single-joint, or isolated, exercises are very useful for working out lagging muscles. The video above shows the exercise using a TRX machine and a weighted vest, but you can use a wall or other surface.
Here's how it's done:
- Stand in front of the TRX, table, or wall and place your hands about 15 centimeters apart.
- Place your feet about a meter from the wall. Maintain tension in your abs and glutes to keep your body in a straight line.
- By bending only your elbows, lower your entire body so that your head drops just below your hands.
- Do not make any movements with your elbows other than flexion and extension.
- Lift your body using only triceps strength.
Lightweight version:
- Triceps extension from the wall (the position of your hands and the smaller the angle between your body and the wall, the easier)
Complicated option:
- Triceps extension from the floor
How many times a week should I train and with what muscles should I combine biceps training?
For example, you can follow this scheme: on Monday you train your legs, chest and triceps, on Wednesday you train your back, biceps and triceps, and on Friday you train your back and shoulders. This technique is only an example, and those who read this article do not need to follow it blindly. Look for information, combine muscles according to your own feelings and, most importantly, always listen to your body!
Reverse grip biceps pull-ups
This is my favorite exercise after the deadlift.
Here, as in regular pull-ups, the back works. But thanks to a different grip, a lot of the load falls on the biceps.
I have always believed that pull-ups are better than dumbbell curls due to the inclusion of more weight (your own body weight) and a greater range of motion.
This is another exercise that can be difficult for beginners, so some modifications are given below. But if you think you can handle it, here are the instructions:
- Grasp the bar with both hands. The grip width is narrower than shoulder width. Palms pointing towards you.
- Do not relax your abs and buttocks so that your body in profile resembles a straight line.
- During execution, bring your shoulder blades together and, as it were, pull them down.
- When your chin reaches the bar, stop and slowly lower yourself down.
Lightweight options:
- Negative pull-ups
- Isometric holds on the horizontal bar
Complicated option:
- Regular grip pull-ups
- Bicep pull-ups with weights
Exercises to pump up your biceps
How to pump up biceps at home? It is important to know a few simple exercises. They do not require the use of dumbbells, a barbell or a machine.
It is recommended to use an EZ bar. It has a curved neck that provides a comfortable hand position.
Take with a direct grip and lift until your fists touch the collarbone. Repeat the exercise in six sets of seven to eight repetitions.
You can use a regular plastic bottle.
When filled with water, you get a projectile weighing 1.5 kg. It is easy to increase weight if you replace water with sand.
It is recommended to use an elastic bandage instead of a block trainer. They increase the load by folding it in two layers.
To create conditions for muscle growth, it is necessary to conduct classes twice a week. Between classes, muscle tissue will have time to recover.
Start with 10 repetitions, gradually increasing the number to 20 repetitions. Subsequently, 3-4 episodes are made.
Many trainers suggest using this exercise to pump up your biceps without dumbbells.
Bend your arms while standing with an elastic bandage. To do this, stand in the middle and take the product by the ends. Palms up. Stand straight, press your elbows to your body.
As you exhale, bend your arms so that you feel a full contraction of the biceps. If you bend your back and move your arms, this will take the load off the biceps muscle.
The best exercises are those that can be done in a place where you can hang.
You should use pull-ups:
- reverse biceps grip;
- horizontal on the table;
- perform biceps curls with an expander.
You can pump up your biceps on the horizontal bar. When practicing on it, use a direct and reverse grip.
It is important to do the exercises, slowly controlling the movement throughout the entire amplitude, and to concentrate on performing movements specifically with the biceps muscles.
Horizontal pull-ups
Even when I'm working on my back at the gym, I choose horizontal pull-ups.
You may have heard of the bent-over barbell row. You grab a barbell, bend over, and pull the barbell toward your chest. This is a good exercise if done properly. But if the weight is heavy, it becomes difficult to perform the exercise with proper technique.
Horizontal pull-ups solve this problem. The technique of performing this exercise is difficult to spoil; weights can be added without the risk of increasing the risk of injury.
In addition to the back, they are also a great workout for the biceps and core.
Watch the video training for this exercise and follow these instructions:
- Lie on the floor under a bar or table.
- Grab the bar or edge of the table so that your palms are facing away from you.
- Maintain tension in your abs to keep your body in a straight line.
- Pull your body up until your chest touches the bar or table.
- Then lower yourself.
Lightweight options:
- Pull at the doorway
- Traction with a rag
More complicated options:
- Horizontal pull-ups with increased leg support
- Horizontal pull-ups with weights (for example, a backpack)
Exercise with an expander
Some people seem to want to learn an effective way to “pump up their cans,” but quite often they deliberately ignore really good exercises. One of these is the expander pull.
The technique is simple and somewhat reminiscent of the classic biceps curl.
The ends of the expander must be taken in your hands, and its middle pressed down with your foot. Next, without changing the position of your elbows, you need to perform several lifts. To make the task more difficult, you can wrap the resistance band around your hands two or three times.
Hand push-ups
No matter how much effort you make, you can’t pump up a girl’s arms at home without doing push-ups. They help pump up muscles and increase their mass.
From the wall
Rest your palms against the wall, placing them in front of your chest. Perform several push-ups (start from 10 repetitions), while moving closer and further away from the wall at equal intervals.
Bench push-ups
Bench push-ups are also called reverse push-ups.
It's easy to do:
- You should lean on the bench so that the bench is behind you.
- Bend your elbows while lowering your torso. It is necessary that your back does not touch the bench.
- Straighten your arms and lift your body up.
Classic push-ups
Execution order:
- Lie down with your hands on the floor. Place your palms shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your elbows and lower your body down. Keep your back straight.
- Then straighten your arms, lifting yourself up.
