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
Women did one of two bicep curl exercises for 9 weeks. One curl stretches the muscle more at the start, the other at the end.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
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Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Women did one of two bicep curl exercises for 9 weeks. One curl stretches the muscle more at the start, the other at the end.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 540 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Zabaleta-Korta A, Fernández-Peña E, Torres-Unda J, Francés M, Zubillaga A, Santos-Concejero J
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Among women who train recreationally, preacher curls lead to more muscle growth in the elbow flexors than incline curls, especially toward the lower part of the muscle.
When performed by the same person, incline curls lead to more growth in the main bicep muscle, while preacher curls lead to more growth in the forearm muscles that help bend the elbow.
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.