Is it better to perform seated or standing barbell curls?
I’ve heard that standing is better because the nervous system is activated more and you’re able to work the muscles harder. As Tom Cruise would say, “I can handle the truth!” A: You understand that “A Few Good Men” is just a movie, right? And that Cruise is an actor? Seriously, to achieve maximum arm growth, you should favor seated over standing biceps curls. Electromyography measures the electrical activity of muscles; a more powerful muscular contraction produces a higher measurement. The higher the EMG measurement, the more activation of the cross section of a muscle. The truth is, compared to standing barbell curls—which many consider the single best exercise for the biceps—Scott curls and seated incline curls produce higher EMG measurements. Your body has to expend a considerable amount of neural energy to stabilize itself when standing to prevent you from, say, falling down. Seriously, when you perform a standing curl, the nervous system works hard to enable the glutes and erecto
