These bicep push-up variations differ from traditional push-ups, with increased focus on the biceps. They use altered approaches such as reversing the palms, using a narrower palm placement and working each arm individually. Focus on contracting the biceps during each movement to maximize their engagement.

Your biceps are crucial muscles for daily functional tasks involving lifting, pulling, and carrying objects. Among other benefits of push-ups, these exercises improve bicep functional performance, tone the upper arms, and enhance elbow joint stability. Furthermore, they utilize a compound approach targeting multiple muscles, including the chest and shoulders, for balanced upper-body development.

These bicep push-ups are effective additions to an upper-body routine and can be performed in the gym or at home. You can also perform them with traditional push-ups to enhance the stimulus on the biceps. Read on for programming tips and details on muscle activation rates and benefits.

5 Push-Ups To Target Your Biceps

The following exercises strengthen your biceps and surrounding muscles for an effective and balanced stimulus. You can perform them as listed or based on training goals and preferences.

Bicep Push-Up

The bicep push-up uses a unique approach compared to traditional push-ups, requiring you to perform it with palms reversed. This challenges the biceps by targeting them from a different angle. It contributes to a more well-rounded workout.

This exercise has many benefits, including increasing strength and definition in the biceps and chest. It also improves forearm stability to maintain control while lowering your upper body. It is also extremely versatile, making it a beneficial part of an at-home workout routine. 

Research shows the biceps can reach maximum voluntary contraction of 70%–80% on the downward phase of the standard push-up. This indicates how hard the muscle can work during the bicep push-up.

How To Do

1. Start in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders, with the fingers facing the wall behind you. The balls of your feet should be on the ground.
2. Inhale and engage your core.
3. Flex your elbows and lower your chest down to the floor. Pause at the bottom and squeeze your biceps and chest muscles together. 
4. Exhale as you push your body back up to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions and sets.

Tips

• Don’t round the shoulders or back during the movement. Focus on keeping your back straight to avoid straining the spine.
• Use slow and controlled movements during the lowering and pushing-up phases.
• Avoid tucking your head into your chest or lifting your head. This decreases the chance of neck strain and injury.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Close-Grip Push-Up

The close-grip push-up uses a narrower grip than the classic version, which increases upper-arm engagement. It is particularly beneficial for eliciting tricep activation as the narrow grip reduces the load from the shoulders and chest. This enhances balanced muscle engagement as the triceps can sometimes be overlooked on arm day.

Although the triceps are the prime movers, the biceps still engage during this movement. They support the forearms during elbow flexion and extension and improve shoulder stability.

This exercise is beneficial for building upper arm strength and enhancing stability and definition. It is a great option to add to your functional full-body or upper-body routine. 

How To Do

1. Begin in a plank position with your hands slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart and your arms straight.
2. Inhale as you bend your elbows, keeping them close to the body. Lower your chest to the ground.
3. Pause, then exhale as you push up to the full plank position.
4. Repeat for the desired repetitions and sets.

Tips

• Ensure your shoulders are directly over your arms, and don’t flare your elbows out. This is one of several common push-up mistakes that can diminish your results.
• Form a straight line from your head to your toes. This helps maintain stability and balance throughout the movement.
• Keep your head in a neutral position, looking straight ahead. This reduces neck strain, which can cause injury.

Optimal Sets And Reps

One-Arm Push-Up

One-arm push-ups are one of the more difficult push-up variations. This is because they require you to push up on each arm individually. This maximizes upper-arm engagement and increases focus on the core to maintain balance.

This exercise effectively enhances upper arm hypertrophy, especially if performed until the prime movers are fully fatigued. In this exercise, the prime movers are the triceps, shoulders, and chest, with the biceps as secondary movers. Additional benefits include improving overall trunk stability and core strength required to maintain spinal alignment.

How To Do

1. Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart for better balance.
2. Slowly shift your body weight to the side with the working arm.
3. Place your free hand behind your lower back.
4. Keep your body straight, and engage your core, glutes, and legs for stability.
5. Slowly bend your working arm, lowering your chest toward the floor.
6. Stop just before your chest reaches the ground. Maintain control and balance.
7. Exhale and press through your hand, extending your arm to return to the starting position. Keep your body aligned throughout.
8. Perform the desired number of repetitions before switching arms.

Tips 

• You can start with a modified variation with your knees down to build strength before progressing to the full one-arm push-up.
• Keep your back flat and core engaged to avoid the hips sagging or arching during the movement.
• Spread your feet wider if needed for stability, and avoid shifting your hips too much.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Archer Push-Up

The archer push-up is another challenging variation that tests your upper-body coordination in addition to building strength. It involves moving your upper body side to side instead of just up and down, targeting balance and stability.

A wide-hand position increased bicep muscle activation in similar exercises compared to a narrow stance. It also engages the core and obliques to stabilize the torso as you move from side to side. The obliques help protect the spine by preventing the hips from dropping during the exercise.

How To Do

1. Kneel on a mat or comfortable space with enough room to perform the exercise.
2. Lean forward and place your hands twice the length of shoulder width apart on the floor. Your fingers should be pointed out to the sides.
3. Straighten your legs out to rest on your toes.
4. Keep your arms straight and your body aligned from head to toe.
5. Inhale and engage your core.
6. Exhale and slowly lower down towards your working hand. Keep the stable arm straight as the working arm bends to lower your chest toward the floor.
7. Inhale to push back up with the working arm.
8. Exhale and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
9. Repeat for the desired reps and sets.

Tips 

• Squeeze your obliques and avoid twisting the hips during the movement. Focus on tightening the core muscles to stay balanced and maintain spinal stability.
• Use a wider foot stance initially if needed for extra support. Gradually bring the feet closer together as you build strength and confidence.
• Notice if one side feels stronger than the other. Aim to improve the weaker side’s strength when performing this workout in future sessions.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Diamond Push-Up

Diamond push-ups are an effective push-up variation that strengthens the biceps and multiple other upper body muscles. It increases focus on the triceps using a narrow palm placement.

This is a beneficial and accessible exercise for all fitness enthusiasts. It tones and strengthens the upper arms, requiring only body weight for maximum accessibility. Push-up variations like the diamond push-up were also found to improve core endurance and stability.

How To Do

1. Begin in a plank position facing down. Your hands should be placed close together with your thumbs and index fingers forming a diamond under your chest.
2. Your legs should be extended behind you, forming a straight line with your body from your head to your feet.
3. Inhale to engage your core. 
4. Exhale as you slowly bend your elbows, tucking them into your body. Lower your chest to just above your hands. 
5. Hold at the bottom for a count and engage your triceps.
6. Inhale to push back up, extending your arms fully back to the starting position.
7. Repeat for the desired number of reps and sets.

Tips

• Keep your core engaged throughout, and avoid letting your hips drop or raise out of alignment.
• Focus on maintaining control throughout the movement to encourage stability and correct technique.
• Use a modified variation (knees on the ground) until you gain strength. This ensures you keep the proper form and protect the lower back.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Anatomy Of The Biceps

The biceps brachii are a large muscle group of the upper arm located between your shoulders and forearms. They consist of two heads — the biceps short head and the biceps long head. 

The biceps are responsible for elbow flexion and forearm rotation, which are essential in most upper-body strength and endurance exercises. They also support shoulder stability in nearly all functional activities involving lifting, carrying, and pulling. 

Each bicep head functions slightly differently and is targeted at varying degrees during these bicep push-ups. However, both heads activate to flex the elbows and maintain joint stability when lowering down and pushing up. They also engage against tension and support the shoulders throughout the full range of motion.

Biceps Long Head

Most outside part of your bicep.The front of your upper arm.

Biceps Short Head

Most inside portion of the biceps. Located at the front of your upper arm closest to your chest.

Other Bodyweight Exercises To Target Biceps

Many valuable bodyweight exercises target the biceps in addition to these push-up variations. They all demonstrate you can effectively build upper-body strength without weights when following the proper form and approach. 

Using progressive overload will help you achieve maximum results by gradually increasing the intensity and volume as you progress. Read on for other beneficial bodyweight exercises that target your biceps for maximizing gains without weights.

• Chin-Up — The chin-up primarily targets the biceps, triceps, and chest muscles. Using an underhand grip (palms up) will lead to greater bicep muscle activation. It also engages the core throughout the movement to stabilize the torso.
• Reverse-Grip Inverted Row — The reverse-grip inverted row is a slightly altered version of the classic inverted row exercise. This compound movement involves pulling your upper body up to a stable bar, mainly targeting the biceps and chest. The biceps also engage to provide forearm and shoulder stability throughout the movement. 
• Bodyweight Bicep Curl — The bodyweight bicep curl is a variation of the classic version that typically uses weights. It involves sitting on a chair while placing your arm under your thigh and curling it upward. Squeezing the biceps during this movement will create isolated engagement on the muscle and maximize your results.

Conclusion

The biceps are key for many upper-body functional activities and fitness applications. Push-up variants like those discussed help improve bicep strength and muscle tone and enhance posture by improving shoulder stability. They also contribute to a more symmetric and sculpted upper-body physique.

As we discussed, the biceps have two heads and are frequently activated to support multiple upper-body movements. Therefore, training them requires a structured approach. Add these bicep push-ups to your routine to create a balanced, effective upper-arm workout.

They use compound movements to target all major upper-body muscles while increasing focus on the biceps. Follow our guidance to maximize your benefits and achieve the best results!