To build big biceps at home, you need to start by doing the right exercises. Doing things like the bicep curl is not going to help you in your quest for bigger arms. In this video I'm going to show you exactly, by breaking down the movement, the lack of real function of the biceps in this increasingly popular calisthenics exercise. To start, it's imperative that you understand that a muscle is developed through tension with overload and resistance. In the case of the bicep curl this is not present. In fact, the only muscle group getting the necessary attention as well as overload is the one on the opposite side of the joint, the triceps. If you break down any curl movement, you'll see that the work is done to overcome the flexed position of the elbow to bring the elbow into an extended position. It's crucial that you understand this. Overcoming resistance into extension with the elbow is an accomplishment that the triceps do, not the biceps. It doesn't matter if your elbows are in a flexed position at the bottom of the exercise. That happens for free. The force of gravity is going to pull your body toward the ground without any extra help from your muscles. So it helps to break down the actual function of the biceps to better understand what's going on here. First and foremost, the biceps have the ability to flex or bend the elbow (bring the hand closer to the shoulder by bending the elbow joint). As I mentioned, while this flexed position is achieved at the bottom of the biceps curl, you're not actively working to get into this position. Your body simply falls toward the ground yielding to the force of gravity and diminishing any work done by the biceps. Second, the biceps have the ability to supinate the forearm. Again, while the forearms are in their supinated (forward) position at the bottom of the exercise, that doesn't mean they were actively contracting to get there. In fact, you are locking the forearms into this forward position by placing your hands on the ground, further negating any active biceps contraction to hold you there. Third, the biceps are capable of a weak flexion at the shoulders. This is the only element of the three that is perhaps even slightly taking place in this biceps exercise variation. That said, even here you are not pushing the shoulders to the level necessary, but rather simply taking them from a position of great extension behind the body to one with less extension (thus flexing slightly to get to the end position). However, the amount of biceps contraction that contributes to this is minimal to say the least. The only thing they can contribute to, even minimally, is stability in the body during this exercise. If you think about it, the body has a tendency to lose balance and lean forward either at the top or bottom of the movement. This is because the hands are positioned far behind the hips, shifting the centre of gravity further back and creating the tendency for forward imbalance. What the biceps will do here is simply try to contract to pull your body back and bring the balance back to the centre of mass. Again the problem is that the biceps can't do this as the hands are unable to move or slide on the floor, meaning there is no active shortening of the elbow. Again this minimises any real significance to the muscle. If you are trying to build big biceps at home you need to look elsewhere. The first place you can look is with other bodyweight bicep exercises if you don't have any equipment. There are quite a few to choose from. The key element of all of them is that they resist the elbow into flexion not extension. Realise that all of these, whilst good options, there are better things you can do with a pull up bar. With a pull up bar things like the chin up, weighted chin up, eccentric chin up, biceps chin up curl and even the one arm biceps chin up are all exercises that can be performed to build big biceps without even stepping foot in the gym. The key is to understand what you are trying to achieve with the home exercises you are using and that is when gains in your arms and getting big biceps can be achieved. For more home exercises for biceps and videos of the best routines to build them make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel through the link below and don't forget to turn on notifications so you never miss a video. Build Muscle Without Equipment - http://athleanx.com/xero Subscribe to this channel here - /athleanxespañol