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05.11.2019

Multi-angular strength training gives biceps a more intensive growth stimulus

The most useful studies on the optimal modus of strength training often have a relatively high Captain Obvious content, and the research that sports scientists at the University of Tampa published in Sports is no exception to this rule. According to the American study, a biceps workout training in which athletes work on the muscle at different angles is more effective than a training in which athletes limit themselves to one basic exercise.

Study
The researchers got 11 students, who had been doing strength training for at least a year, to train their biceps on 2 different occasions. Both workouts consisted of 9 sets.

Sometimes the students trained their biceps with standard curls. They stood up straight. [B] The other times the students did 3 different exercises [A, B and C]. The difference between the exercises was the angle between the upper arm and the shoulder joint.

Results
Whether the test subjects only trained the biceps with the standard exercise, or with three different exercises, the training volume was the same. You can see that at the bottom left.

However, the average electrical activity recorded by the electrodes was greater in multi-angular training. This means that the subjects trained their biceps more intensively if they did three different exercises. You can see that in the bottom right.

Conclusion
"Varying joint angles during resistance training may enhance total muscle activation and can potentially induce more strain without negatively affecting volume load within a training session in resistance-trained individuals", write the researchers.

"From a practical application standpoint, resistance-trained subjects or bodybuilders trying to maximize the training stimulus of each session should utilize multiple exercises that vary joint angles. This may lead to a greater internal stimulus (muscle activation) while performing the same amount of total work (volume)."

"However, we cannot draw conclusions on how this may influence chronic adaptations, as this was an acute study."

Source:
Sports (Basel). 2019 Sep 4;7(9).

More:
Separate exercises for biceps and triceps? Not really necessary (well - that's what these researchers think they should conclude...) 15.01.2016
Want bigger biceps? Use the hormone peak after leg training 23.03.2011

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Want bigger biceps? Train them first If your small muscle groups, like the shoulders, biceps and triceps, lag behind in their development, you may be able to remedy the situation by training them first and doing the big muscle groups afterwards.	Good and not so good exercises for your biceps The preacher curl, or the Scott curl, is not such a good exercise for the biceps as many bodybuilders think.	Pull-downs and curls equally effective for biceps growth Bodybuilders build strength and muscle mass in a muscle group just as easily from doing a single-joint exercise as doing a multi-joint exercise. Test subjects were novices.