| An upper extremity biomechanical model was developed based on recommendations provided by the International Society of Biomechanics. The model was used to investigate biomechanical differences between two variations of the bicep curl exercise: the standing and incline dumbbell curls. An 8-camera Vicon motion capture system was used to collect data on five subjects that executed 10 repetitions of each type of curl.; Four key biomechanical indicator variables were investigated: range of motion, maximum elbow flexion moment, mean elbow flexion moment, and the flexion angle at which the maximum flexion moment occurs. On average, the range of motion at the elbow was 11.9° less for the incline curl. Both the mean and maximum elbow flexion moments were significantly higher for the incline curl. Finally, the flexion angle at which the maximum flexion moment occurred was 71.9° for the standing bicep curl and 35.1° for the incline bicep curl, a difference of 36.8°. |
