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Exercise Selection by Ryan Gray
When designing a program, exercises should be carefully selected. After choosing exercises that develop sport specific strength, it is important to consider the effectiveness of each exercise.
Most studies on the effectiveness of muscle contraction use electromyography (EMG), which measures the electrical activity or excitability level of the muscles involved. The higher the electrical activity, the more effective the muscle contraction. In EMG studies, researchers can use the peak of the electrical activity (peak force) or, even better, calculate or integrate the full force under the curve. This improved method is called integrated electromyography, iEMG, and was used in the Cornacchia and LaFramboise (1998) study to evaluate muscle efficiency.
The study determined which exercise yields the greatest percentage of iEMG for each muscle. The chart below shows which exercises produced the greatest amount of stimulation within each target muscle group. The exercises with the highest percentage are considered the best for the particular muscle group. |
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Exercise
Pectoralis Major (chest) Decline dumbbell bench presses Decline bench presses (Olympic bar) Push-ups between benches Flat dumbbell bench presses Flat bench presses (Olympic bar) Flat dumbbell flys
Pectoralis Minor (chest) Incline dumbbell bench presses Incline bench presses (Olympic bar) Incline dumbbell flys Incline bench presses (Smith machine)
Rectus Femoris (Quadriceps) Saftey squats (90 degree angle) Seated leg extensions (toes straight) Half Squats (90 degree angle) Leg presses (110 degree angle) Smith machine squats (90-degree angle)
Biceps Femoris (Hamstrings) Standing leg curls Lying leg curls Seated leg curls Modified hamstring dead lifts
Semitendinosus (Hamstrings) Seated leg curls Standing leg curls Lying leg curls Modified hamstring dead lifts
Gastrocnemius (Calf muscle) Donkey calf raises Standing one-legged calf raises Standing two-legged calf raises Seated calf raises
Triceps Brachii (Outer head) Decline triceps extension (Olympic bar) Triceps pressdowns (angled bar) Triceps dips between benches One-arm cable triceps extensions (reverse grip) Overhead rope triceps extensions Seated one-arm dumbbell triceps extension Narrow-grip bench presses (Olympic bar)
Latissimus Dorsi (Back) Bent-over barbell rows One-arm dumbbell row (alternate) T-bar rows Lat pull-downs to front Seated pulley rows
Biceps Brachii (Long Head) Biceps preacher curls (Olympic bar) Incline seated dumbbell curls (alternate) Standing biceps curls (Olympic bar/narrow grip) Standing dumbbell curls (alternate) Concentration dumbbell curls Standing biceps curls (Olympic bar/wide grip) Standing E-Z biceps curls (wide grip)
Anterior Deltoids (Shoulders) Seated front dumbbell presses Standing front dumbbell raises Seated front barbell presses
Medial Deltoids (Shoulders) Standing dumbbell side laterals Seated dumbbell side lateral Cable side laterals
Posterior Deltoids (Shoulders) Standing dumbbell bent laterals Seated dumbbell bent laterals Standing cable bent laterals |
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iEMG
93 90 88 87 85 84
91 85 83 81
88 86 78 76 60
82 71 58 56
88 79 70 63
80 79 68 61
92 90 87 85 84 82 72
93 91 89 86 83
90 88 86 84 80 63 61
79 73 61
57 53 49
85 83 77 |
