Toned, bulging biceps are the iconographic emblem of someone who takes their weight work seriously. But beautiful biceps don't require a gym or expensive exercise equipment. You can tone and build your arm muscles at home with a minimum of inexpensive exercise equipment, such as dumbbells and a stability ball. You can even make your own effective bicep exercise equipment from free household items.
Dumbottle Hammer Curl
Hammer curls differ from ordinary bicep curls in that the palm of the hand is turned parallel to the body, as if you were holding a hammer, rather than face up. This slightly shifts the area of the bicep, as well as tricep and forearm, muscles affected by the exercise. Fitness Training at Home.com suggest doing hammer curls at home with dumbottles, empty half-gallon or gallon milk jugs filled with water, sand, pebbles or cement, depending on what you have handy and how heavy you desire the dumbottles to be. Grasp your dumbottles by their handles naturally, with your hands hanging down at your sides. Slowly raise one dumbottle to your shoulder, keeping your palm vertical and the cap of the dumbottle pointed upwards. Slowly lower the weight while raising the other hand. Continue alternative arms, resisting the urge to move quickly, which would rely on momentum more than muscle strength to complete the maneuver.
Physioball Curl
The Aztec Recreation Center at San Diego State University suggests using a stability ball and dumbbells to perform a bicep curl quite similar in form to the ones done on bicep curl machines at the gym. Kneel in front of the physioball and then lean forward, positioning your stomach over the ball. With a dumbbell in each hand, place your arms over the ball, with palms up, so the ball is supporting your elbows. Slowly curl both arms upward, keeping palms facing up, until your arms reach chest height. Pause for one second, then continue curling until your forearms are roughly vertical. Hold for one second, then return to the chest position; hold for another second, then lower the weights until you arms are straight. Repeat, moving slowly and maintaining your form.
Reverse Lunge and Curl
While the physioball bicep curl isolates the bicep muscle for an intense bicep-building move, when you are working out at home you can choose to link exercises together and multitask, working out multiple muscle groups at the same time. One option is the reverse lunge and curl, which exercises the biceps while also toning the major leg and buttock muscle groups. Women's Health Magazine recommends the reverse lunge and curl with dumbbells as part of their complete home beach-body workout. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, held with arms straight down at the sides. Step backwards 3 feet with the right leg and dip the knee, while raising both hands, palms facing upwards, towards your shoulders. Push back to standing, lowering the dumbbells, then repeat with the left leg.
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