ACE Concentration Curl Study
American Council on Exercise (ACE) Concentration Curl Study
In this blog I have drawn out the facts that stand out the most to me, but please feel free to download the full study by ACE in the link below for a deeper understanding and details to the research study.
Download and print the ACE Biceps Study (1.5MB)
You may often hear these phrases while someone is kissing their biceps…
"Suns out, guns out"
"Bicep guns"
"The Gun Show"
"Pythons"
"Bicep bandit"
Whatever you call them, highly developed bicep muscles are more sought after and often overly trained than any other muscle in the human body.
The Study by ACE
The American Council on Exercise, America’s Workout Watchdog, commissioned the exercise scientists at the University of Wisconsin—LaCrosse and its Clinical Exercise Physiology program to find an answer. Young, now a graduate student at UWLAX, would help shepherd the study along under the guidance of department head John Porcari, Ph.D.
THE STUDY
To determine which exercise is the most beneficial for activating the biceps brachii, researchers compiled a list of the eight most commonly used exercises for targeting the biceps:
Cable curl
Barbell curl
Concentration curl
Chin-up
EZ Curl (with both wide and narrow grip)
Incline curl
Preacher curl
Next, the researchers recruited 16 healthy, female and male volunteers (eight men and eight women) between the ages of 18 and 24. All of the subjects had some form of weightlifting experience to ensure that during testing the exercises would be performed correctly.
On the first day of testing, researchers affixed electrodes on the biceps brachii (BB), anterior deltoid (AD) and the brachioradialis (BR) of each subject to measure total muscle activity via a wireless electromyography (EMG) machine. Next, subjects began by completing a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) for the biceps by performing an isometric one-arm cable curl. Following that, researchers randomly assigned four more biceps exercises for the subject to complete. For those lifts that did not use body weight, the subjects used 70 percent of their 1-RM as resistance. A rest period of two minutes was given between each exercise to ensure that subjects were not too tired to complete the required reps. On the second day of testing, subjects were hooked up to the EMG machine again, began with a MVC and then completed each of the four remaining biceps exercises.
THE RESULTS
Immediately following both testing sessions, researchers crunched the numbers. When compared to the other seven exercises, the concentration curl came out on top, eliciting significantly higher muscle activation of the biceps than any other exercise tested (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Muscle Activation of the Biceps Brachii
THE BOTTOM LINE
“When you look at it, the concentration curl was significantly better than anything else. And I think the reason is that you’re really isolating the biceps muscle more so than in any of the other exercises,” explains Porcari. “Some of the other exercises called into play the anterior deltoid or the front of your shoulder more, and for a lot of those, it’s almost natural to just swing your whole arm or shoulder forward to stabilize before you lift.”
Not only did the current study show that the concentration curl had the greatest biceps activation, but that the activation of the AD was significantly less than most of the other exercises. This may be because during a concentration curl, the humerus is pressed against the leg and does not allow the upper arm to sway, which isolates the biceps.
“Definitely don’t skip the concentration curl if you want to get stronger biceps,” says Young. “But variety is the spice of life. And you should mix it up and choose from any of the other exercises we tested because they’re all pretty much just as good one another.”
END ACE study.
In my practice with personal training clients of all ages and weightlifting experience, concentration curls are my favorite bicep exerciser and usually also my clients' favorite exercise. However, as I always tell people, it is essential to maintain good muscular balance. A well-developed bicep with weak triceps or shoulders can lead to injury or overuse of the bicep, so it's crucial to be cautious.
Happy bicep training!
