A comparative Electromyographical Analysis of biceps brachii and brachioradialis During Eight Different Types of biceps curl

Biceps curl is one of the most traditional and highly popular weight training exercise that target the muscles of the upper arm (Biceps Brachii muscle). There are many variations of this exercise that can be used to design a training schedule for the best result.

This study aimed at analyzing the muscle activation of Biceps Brachii and Brachioradialis muscles while performing different biceps curl exercises with the same load.

To the best of our knowledge none of the studies has analyzed the muscle activation of Biceps Brachii and Brachioradialis muscles with the selected exercises.

Ten healthy subjects (20.8 ± 1.75 years) performed 70% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) for eight different biceps curl exercises. Surface Electro Myo Graphy (SEMG) was used to measure muscle electrical activity that occurs during muscular contraction.

The results of the study shows that, in case of muscles activation in Biceps Brachii, except supine narrow grip Z curl (SNGZC) and prone lying biceps curl (PLBC), all the other exercises reveal significant differences with the concentrated curl (CC). No statistical difference was observed when comparing the muscle activation of Brachioradialis muscle in the eight different biceps curl exercises.

It will help the professional trainers and coaches to design training schedule for all level of Athletes which may consist of different variations of the biceps exercises.

Concentrated curl is a more effective exercise for activation of biceps muscles as compared to other exercises with the same load. All the selected biceps exercises have the same effect on activating the Brachioradialis Muscles.