The Study
Training in the Initial Range of Motion Promotes Greater Muscle Adaptations Than at Final in the Arm Curl
This study compared two ways of doing arm curls and found one way made the biceps grow more in one spot and made people stronger. But it only tested 19 young women who had never lifted weights before, so we can't say it works the same for everyone else.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Two arms trained differently: one curled from straight to halfway, the other from halfway to fully bent. The halfway curl made the bicep near the elbow grow more and made the person stronger overall.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 546 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though the final ROM group lifted heavier weights, the initial ROM group got stronger and built more muscle in the part of the bicep closest to the elbow.
- 2The initial ROM group (0°–68°) had 0.001 p-value for distal bicep growth and <0.001 p-value for strength gain; no significant difference in mid-bicep growth.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Sports
Year
2023
Authors
G. Pedrosa, M. Simões, M.O.C. Figueiredo, L. T. Lacerda, B. Schoenfeld, F. V. Lima, M. H. Chagas, R. Diniz
Related Content
Claims (6)
Different ways of performing biceps curls lead to small but detectable differences in how much muscle grows in specific areas and how much strength improves for that movement.
In untrained young women, lifting weights through the first half of the elbow movement for eight weeks leads to greater gains in overall strength than lifting through the second half, even if the second half involves heavier weights.
In untrained young women, performing bicep exercises through a shorter range of motion (from fully extended to halfway bent) leads to more muscle growth near the elbow than using a longer range (from halfway bent to fully bent), but both approaches result in similar muscle growth in the middle of the bicep.
In untrained young women, resistance training that focuses on the beginning part of the movement causes more muscle growth in the lower part of the biceps compared to training that focuses on the end part of the movement.
In untrained young women, performing bicep exercises using only the first half of the movement range for eight weeks leads to more muscle growth in the lower part of the biceps and greater strength gains than using only the second half of the range.
In untrained young women, training the biceps through the fully bent position of the elbow for eight weeks does not lead to more muscle growth than training through the partially bent position, when measured by muscle size at specific points along the upper arm.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.