Which bicep curl makes your arm muscles grow more in certain spots?
Regional Hypertrophy: The Effect of Exercises at Long and Short Muscle Lengths in Recreationally Trained Women
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Incline curls — a staple for biceps peak development — produced no significant hypertrophy in any region of the biceps.
Fitness influencers and bodybuilders widely promote incline dumbbell curls as essential for stretching the long head of the biceps and creating a taller peak. This study found no measurable growth after 9 weeks of consistent training.
Practical Takeaways
If you want to emphasize lower biceps development, prioritize preacher curls over incline curls.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Incline curls — a staple for biceps peak development — produced no significant hypertrophy in any region of the biceps.
Fitness influencers and bodybuilders widely promote incline dumbbell curls as essential for stretching the long head of the biceps and creating a taller peak. This study found no measurable growth after 9 weeks of consistent training.
Practical Takeaways
If you want to emphasize lower biceps development, prioritize preacher curls over incline curls.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Human Kinetics
Year
2023
Authors
Aitor Zabaleta-Korta, Eneko Fernández-Peña, J. Torres-Unda, Maider Francés, A. Zubillaga, J. Santos-Concejero
Related Content
Claims (3)
For women who work out regularly, doing preacher curls that stretch the biceps a lot might help build more muscle in the lower part of the upper arm—about an 8.8% increase—compared to other curl types.
Doing a specific type of bicep curl on an incline with changing resistance doesn't seem to make certain parts of the upper arm muscles grow more in women who work out regularly — even after doing it consistently for 9 weeks.
For women who work out regularly, both preacher curls and inclined curls build arm muscle just about the same way — no matter where you look along the upper arm.