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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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EFFECT OF THE SHOULDER POSITION ON THE BICEPS BRACHII EMG IN DIFFERENT DUMBBELL CURLS |
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Liliam F. Oliveira1  ,
Thiago T. Matta1, Daniel S. Alves1, Marco A.C. Garcia1
and Taian M.M. Vieira1,2 |
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1Biomechanics Laboratory, Bioscience Department, Physical Education and Sports School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2Laboratory for Engineering of the Neuromuscular System, Polytechnic of Turin, Turin, Italy. |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 24 - 29 Search Google Scholar for Citing Articles |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| Incline Dumbbell Curl (IDC) and Dumbbell Preacher Curl
(DPC) are two variations of the standard Dumbbell Biceps Curl (DBC),
generally applied to optimize biceps brachii contribution for elbow flexion
by fixing shoulder at a specific angle. The aim of this study is to identify
changes in the neuromuscular activity of biceps brachii long head for IDC,
DPC and DBC exercises, by taking into account the changes in load moment
arm and muscle length elicited by each dumbbell curl protocol. A single
cycle (concentric-eccentric) of DBC, IDC and DPC, was applied to 22 subjects
using a submaximal load of 40% estimated from an isometric MVC test. The
neuromuscular activity of biceps brachii long head was compared by further
partitioning each contraction into three phases, according to individual
elbow joint range of motion. Although all protocols elicited a considerable
level of activation of the biceps brachii muscle (at least 50% of maximum
RMS), the contribution of this muscle for elbow flexion/extension varied
among exercises. The submaximal elbow flexion (concentric) elicited neuro
muscular activity up to 95% of the maximum RMS value during the final phase
of IDC and DBC and 80% for DPC at the beginning of the movement. All exercises
showed significant less muscle activity for the elbow extension (eccentric).
The Incline Dumbbell Curl and the classical Dumbbell Biceps Curl resulted
in similar patterns of biceps brachii activation for the whole range of
motion, whereas Dumbbell Preacher Curl elicited high muscle activation only
for a short range of elbow joint angle.
Key words: Biceps curl, EMG, biceps brachii. |
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