If you're used to lifting weights, changing the angle of your shoulder during bicep curls doesn't make your workout easier or harder — you still do about the same amount of work as with a fixed angle.

59

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

59

Community contributions welcome

59

The Effects of Varying Glenohumeral Joint Angle on Acute Volume Load, Muscle Activation, Swelling, and Echo-Intensity on the Biceps Brachii in Resistance-Trained Individuals

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2019 Sep 4

The study tested whether changing shoulder angles during bicep curls affects how much work people do, and found no difference in total workload compared to keeping the shoulder still — which supports the claim.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

The Effects of Varying Glenohumeral Joint Angle on Acute Volume Load, Muscle Activation, Swelling, and Echo-Intensity on the Biceps Brachii in Resistance-Trained Individuals

Score: 59

DOI: 10.3390/sports7090204

Similar Assertions

Even when you change your shoulder position during bicep curls, you still lift the same total amount of weight — your total workout effort doesn’t go up or down.

51

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Just because changing your shoulder angle makes your biceps work harder during one workout doesn’t mean it will make your muscles bigger over time — this study didn’t test that.

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Changing the angle of your shoulder while doing bicep curls makes your biceps work harder during the workout, even if you're lifting the same total weight.

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85%

Changing the shoulder angle during bicep curls makes your biceps work harder, even if you're lifting the same total weight — your muscles fire more, according to electrical activity measurements.

59

0

84%

Switching up your shoulder position during bicep curls makes your muscles fire more, even if you're lifting the same total weight.

51

0

83%