Preacher Curl Magic
Myth: Preacher Curls “lengthen” the biceps, filling in the “gap” between the muscle belly and the elbow joint.
The truth is that the preacher curl, or Scott curl as it is often called, is a valuable tool/exercise for developing the biceps. Performed correctly, it can be one of the many exercises that will help your biceps hypertrophy (grow). But as your muscle grows, it gets larger within the shape predetermined by your genetics and congenital structure. Now you may not know what that is going to appear to be, exactly, until you have been working out for a while. But it is not determined by the specific biceps exercise. The shape of the biceps muscle itself is primarily due to the length of the tendon versus the length of the actual muscle bellies. Performing the preacher curl will not shorten the tendon nor lengthen the muscle bellies.
When a muscle is under resistance, that load is distributed throughout the muscle from one attachment to another. It is impossible to place more load at one end or the other. And if the muscle only contracted at one end, the other end would be without tension and would passively lengthen under the load, resulting in no movement of the joint.
Often one feels soreness in the musculotendinous junction (lower biceps), especially after performing this exercise, and mistakenly assumes there will be a localized effect. This sensation can be attributed to a multitude of overlapping factors. First of all, soreness in this area at which the muscle and tendon meet is commonly attributed to poor control of the weight/muscle during the eccentric phase (lowering). Secondly, unlike a typical seated or standing curl with a free weight where the actual resistance is decreasing as it lowers, the preacher curl with a free weight actually has an increasing resistance throughout much of the lowering phase. You see, with the upper arm hanging vertically, the weight is moving closer and closer to a balanced position under the elbow as it lowers. During the preacher curl the upper arm is maintained at roughly a 45 degree angle. Therefore, when the weight is lowered and the forearm finally gets within the last 45 degrees of extension, the weight is horizontally “straight out” from the elbow rather than below it. This is the point of maximal resistance. If this point is reached with lack of concern for speed and control, the muscle is then required to abruptly halt the motion in order to change directions. This abrupt change in muscular tension will create an exponential amount of stress on the muscle and tendon resulting in trauma to the area, not benefit. Now I didn’t say this exercise was “bad”, quite the contrary. But don’t look for magic results and remember… control is the key.
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