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New Research: Is There a "Best" Curl for Your Biceps?
Croskery M, Chan V, Graham RB. Inter-day ranking of biceps brachii sEMG amplitude during four arm curl exercises. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 91 (2026) 103220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2026.103220. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
A new study by Mike Croskery, Dr. Victor Chan, and Dr. Ryan Graham is now published in the Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, and the full article is free to read.
We measured biceps muscle activation during four popular curls: the concentration curl, dumbbell curl, hammer curl, and incline curl. We tested fifteen people on four separate days. The question was simple: if one curl activates your biceps most today, will it still win next time?
For some comparisons, the answer was a clear yes. The concentration curl, for example, consistently ranked first, perhaps because it removes the front of the shoulder from the lift. The hammer curl, meanwhile, consistently ranked last.
Other comparisons were much less predictable. For 13 of the 15 people, the dumbbell curl and the incline curl swapped places from one day to the next.
The big lesson is that the "best" exercise for a group isn't always the best exercise for you. That's why we test individuals instead of relying on averages.
Read the full study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelekin.2026.103220
A plain-language breakdown of what this means for your training is coming soon.
Special thanks to coauthors Dr. Victor Chan and Dr. Ryan Graham for their expertise and contributions.