With Incline Cable Curls

If you’re happy with the hardness, shape and thickness of your upper arms, then keep up what you’ve already been doing. On the other hand, if you feel like one or more areas of your biceps could use some improvement, then incline cable curls may be just the stimulus that your fibers need to activate the signaling pathways that will reshape your arms.
ANATOMY LESSON

The brachialis muscle lies deep to the biceps brachii. It begins on the distal half of the humerus and it inserts on the coronoid process of the medially placed ulna bone of the forearm.1 Although it has no supination function, it is a very strong flexor of the elbow joint.
THE EXERCISE: INCLINE CABLE CURLS
1. Adjust the incline bench to about 60 degrees.2 Place the bench in the middle of a pulley station that has two low pulley attachments.

3. Turn your palms so they are supinated (palms facing forward). Keep the hands supinated throughout the exercise. In the starting position, your arms should be stretched out to the sides and you should feel a good stretch across the shoulder. This position ensures that the origins of both heads of the biceps are in a stretched position, and this will increase the activation of the fibers in the biceps.
4. Keep your upper arm (humerus bone) in this position, then flex the elbow of both arms so the hands move up to the shoulder. This will provide a better activation than if you did the exercise one at a time.3 Remember that only the forearm and hands should move as you contract the biceps and brachialis muscles to pull the cable handles upwards as far as possible. Exhale as the handles are moved upwards.
5. Slowly lower the cable handles until the elbow is almost straight (extended). Inhale as the hands are going down. At the bottom position immediately move upwards for the next repetition.
SETS & REPS
Shoot for 10-12 repetitions, with a medium weight, for 3-5 sets. Rest about 60 seconds between sets.4
RX TIP
If you want a little different feel to the exercise that will focus a bit more on the short head of the biceps, you can try to lower the bench to 30 degrees.2 The brachialis does not cross the shoulder joint, so it is not affected by the shoulder position or bench angle and works pretty much the same in any arm curl exercise.
References
- Moore, KL and AF Dalley. Clinically oriented Anatomy. Fourth edition. Baltimore, Lippincott Williams & Williams, 1999; 665-669; 720-733.
- Moon J, Shin I, Kang M et al: The Effect of Shoulder Flexion Angles on the Recruitment of Upper-extremity Muscles during Isometric Contraction. J Phys Ther Sci 2013;25:1299-1301.
- Serrau V, Driss T, Vandewalle H et al: Muscle activation of the elbow flexor and extensor muscles during self-resistance exercises: comparison of unilateral maximal cocontraction and bilateral self-resistance. J Strength Cond Res 2012;26:2468-2477.
- Oliveira AS, Goncalves M: Neuromuscular recovery of the biceps brachii muscle after resistance exercise. Res Sports Med 2008;16:244-256.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий