Push Ups
Simple and effective, push ups, are still a great exercise. Just lie down on your stomach and lift your body using the strength of your arms. We all have done a few in our time. Just keep doing it and your arms will get stronger.
Pull Ups
Pull ups are effective for the back as well as the biceps. It is a difficult exercise for the beginner so go easy at first. It difficult to lift your body weight as most people never have the opportunity to continually lift that amount of weight. To do pull ups at home you need a bar that will hold your body weight. Simply grab the bar with your hands and pull yourself up until your chin touches the bar. Exhale as you pull yourself up and inhale on the way down.
Inverted Rows
My husband taught me inverted rows and says it is highly effective especially if you are not using weights. All you do is lie flat on your back and have something in reach to grab onto. My husband recommends placing a bar on two chairs which are set far apart enough to grab onto the bar and pull up. Grab the bar and pull yourself up slowly. When you get to the top or as far as you can go then hold it there for a few seconds. Then lower yourself down slowly.
Bicep Curl
A common way to work your biceps and usually done with weights. However, you can substitute weights for an object such as books, soup cans, or heavy bags of books or whatever you have on hand. Just find something you can manipulate to do the curl that offers you resistance. Then hold the object in your hand and curl your bicep up towards yourself. You can curl both biceps at one time or alternate. The great thing about this exercise is that speed of the repetitions will greatly affect your muscles over weight. So, finding a substitute for a dumbbells should be easy.