Do Cheaters Prosper? Effect of Externally Supplied Momentum During Resistance Training on Measures of Upper Body Muscle Hypertrophy

For people new to weight training, muscle growth in the biceps and triceps occurs at a similar rate whether lifting with controlled form or using momentum, even though momentum allows heavier loads and engages more surrounding muscles.

In young adults doing arm exercises for eight weeks, using momentum to lift weights does not result in more muscle growth than lifting with strict form, even though more total weight is moved with momentum, suggesting that how tension is distributed across the muscle may offset the reduced focus on individual muscles.

When lifting weights with a swinging motion instead of strict control, untrained people can lift more total weight, but this does not lead to bigger muscles. This suggests that how much tension is placed on the muscle matters more than the total amount of weight moved.

Untrained people who use momentum while doing biceps curls and triceps pushdowns can lift more total weight over eight weeks than those who use strict form, but both methods lead to similar muscle growth.

Over eight weeks, beginners who do biceps curls and triceps pushdowns with either strict technique or using momentum both experience measurable increases in muscle size.

Over eight weeks, untrained young adults who used momentum while doing bicep curls and triceps pushdowns gained about the same amount of muscle size and arm circumference as those who used strict form, even though they lifted more total weight.