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A standard pushup targets your pectorals (chest muscles), deltoids, and triceps. However, by shifting the positioning of your hands, you can make the biceps more engaged in the exercise.
By engaging your core and activating your glutes, the pushup move can enhance more than just your upper body.
You can even adjust your technique to target your biceps. Here are three biceps-focused variations to try, alternative biceps-busting moves, and more.
To perform a standard pushup, get into a plank position.
Place your palms on the floor. Ensure they’re stacked directly underneath your shoulders. Keep your neck neutral, back straight, core tight, and feet together.
To go down, gently bend your elbows — they should flare out at a 45-degree angle — and slowly lower your body to the floor. Make sure you maintain a straight torso and neutral neck.
When your chest reaches the floor, push yourself back up to start through your arms. Pay special attention to your lower back. You don’t want it to sag toward the floor.
Proper form is key to increasing strength and preventing injury.
Positioning your palms and elbows too far apart can result in shoulder pain. And if your lower back sags when you try to rise, it may cause back pain.
If standard pushups are painful or uncomfortable, don’t force it. Certain modifications can help relieve the pressure on your joints and allow you to safely build your strength.
You may find it helpful to practice with your knees on the ground instead of being in a full-body plank. You could also try performing pushups off of an elevated surface, like a bench or step.
The biceps brachii muscle — known simply as the biceps muscle (yes, it’s always plural!) — is the muscle on the front of your upper arm.
Its main function is to bend your forearm toward your upper arm. It also aids in turning your palm up and down.
Although a standard pushup doesn’t target the biceps muscle, changing the position of your hands can make this muscle play a larger role in the movement.
Moving your hands closer together allows you to target your biceps more directly.
To get moving:
- Get into the standard pushup position, ensuring your torso is stiff and your neck is neutral.
- Move your hands closer together, leaving just a few inches between them. The closer they are, the harder this exercise will be to perform, so adjust accordingly.
- Lower your body to the ground, allowing your elbows to flare out at a 45-degree angle.
- Push back to start and repeat, doing as many reps as you can — or working until “failure” — for three sets.
Moving the alignment of your hands down your torso and reversing their position will produce more of an arm-curling motion. This is key to targeting the biceps.
This is an advanced move, so consider starting on your knees instead of in a full-body plank.
To get moving:
- Start in the standard pushup position.
- Turn your hands so your fingers are facing the wall behind you. Move your hands so they’re aligned with your mid-back.
- Lower down, tucking your elbows in toward your body as much as possible.
- Once your chest reaches near the floor, push back up to start. Again, complete three sets to failure.
Self-explanatory in its name, a one-armed pushup is done with one arm tucked behind your back.
This is another advanced move, so consider dropping to your knees or performing on an elevated surface to start.
To get moving:
- Start in the standard pushup position.
- Widen the distance between your feet to create more stability, then pick one hand up off the ground and place it behind your back.
- Lower down until your chest nears the floor.
- Push back up to the start, completing three sets to failure.
Don’t be discouraged if these exercises are difficult at the outset. Most are for advanced exercisers. Utilize modifications to reap the benefits.
Performing one of these moves at least once a week will help your biceps grow in size and strength — especially if done in combination with a few of the biceps-focused exercises below!
You can give your biceps a workout with lots of other exercises, too. Try:
Alternating dumbbell biceps curl. If you’re just starting out, stick to 10 pounds or less in each hand. Your torso should remain stationary and your elbows should stay close to your body as you complete the curl.
Barbell biceps curl. You should be able to lift a bit more weight in barbell form, so feel free to go a bit heavier. Make sure your form is solid, though! You want to stay slow and controlled throughout the movement.
Overhead cable curl. You’ll need access to a cable machine for this move, which you perform above your head.
Chinup. Although pullups mainly work your back, switching your grip to perform a chinup will hit those biceps hard. If you have access to a gym, consider using an assisted pullup machine. You can also utilize a band and pullup bar.
Pushups are a fundamental exercise, one you should incorporate into your exercise routine for functional strength. Doing variations of them — to hit the biceps, for instance — will spice things up and target different muscles.
Nicole Davis is a Boston-based writer, ACE-certified personal trainer, and health enthusiast who works to help women live stronger, healthier, happier lives. Her philosophy is to embrace your curves and create your fit — whatever that may be! She was featured in Oxygen magazine’s “Future of Fitness” in the June 2016 issue. Follow her on Instagram.