Professional bodybuilder Erik Janicki makes use of know-how to match widespread shoulder actions.
Final up to date on January fifteenth, 2025
Armed with sensors on his entrance, medial, and rear deltoids, professional bodybuilder Eric Janicki went head-to-head with 5 shoulder workout routines to match floor muscle exercise. The outcomes provided insights into optimizing shoulder train choice.
Understanding EMG and Its Function in Muscle Analysis
Electromyography, or EMG, is a know-how that measures {the electrical} exercise of muscular motion by way of sensors positioned on the pores and skin or contained in the muscle mass. Whereas EMG exams can’t gauge all components that affect muscle progress or predict hypertrophy, they could present clues as to which workout routines are extra worthwhile for hypertrophy-focused coaching.
For the experiment, coloured sensors had been positioned on Janicki’s entrance, lateral, and rear deltoid heads, which flex, abduct, and lengthen the arm.
[Related: Learn The Latest Research On Lateral Raises]
Outcomes
Right here’s how the workout routines ranked in response to Janicki’s EMG information.
Medial & Entrance Delts Combo
- Greatest: Incline Cable-Y-Elevate
- Runner-Up: Strict Dumbbell Lateral Elevate
- Third Place: Mendacity Cable Lateral Elevate
Entrance Delts
Arsenal machine lateral raises had been one of many workout routines carried out, although Janicki didn’t embrace them within the outcomes. Right here’s an summary:
Incline Cable Y Raises: The Shocking Winner
Cable-Y-raises, the place the arms carry overhead in a ‘Y” form, confirmed the best general EMG exercise for the entrance and lateral deltoids. The outcomes illustrated even pressure through the stretch and contraction, which favors higher outcomes.
That is my favourite train, and I assume I do know why now.”
—Eric Janicki
Janicki owes the result to the strict nature of cables, prohibiting momentum for exact delt isolation.
Strict Dumbbell Lateral Raises: Kind Over Weight
The second finest variation for front-medial delt activation was strict-form dumbbell lateral raises. Janicki emphasised managed reps, leaning ahead for max stretch, whereas protecting the arms straight, with 30-pound weights. He carried out a set with 50-pounders, aiming for a much less inflexible kind. Nonetheless, precision prevailed.
“I used to be extraordinarily completely happy about this outcome,” Janicki exclaimed, stressing that weight doesn’t essentially equal extra good points.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press for Large Entrance Delts
Unsurprisingly, dumbbell shoulder presses proved unbeatable for entrance delts, a minimum of on the floor. For long-term muscle progress and joint well being, Janicki prioritizes full vary of movement reps. Nonetheless, this could differ relying on the particular train, physique construction, and mobility.
That deep kind and eccentric management produced twice as a lot stimulus of cheat half reps.
—Eric Janicki
A detailed second, cable-Y-raises had been the star of Janicki’s undertaking. “In the event you’re making an attempt to get the perfect bang on your buck, cable-Y-raises had been even above dumbbell presses,” says the bodybuilder.
Janicki’s Shoulder Coaching Takeaways
Whereas EMG exams don’t give the complete image, they could reveal some reality relating to the results of coaching variables for real-world outcomes. Nonetheless, Janicki provided some suggestions:
- Combine the Stimuli: Make the most of completely different instruments and strategies for novel muscle stimuli. Analysis means that strategic coaching selection helps optimize progress. (1)
- Management Is Extra Vital Than Load: Whereas progressive overload is essential to constructing a physique, managed reps with optimum kind and fewer weight might ship superior good points to sloppy kind with heavy hundreds.
- Emphasize the Stretch: “The eccentric is extraordinarily vital,” Janicki affirmed. Slowing the eccentric and accentuating the stretch may very well be paramount to complete muscle stimulation whereas lowering harm danger.
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Reference
- Kassiano, W., Nunes, J. P., Costa, B., Ribeiro, A. S., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Cyrino, E. S. (2022). Does Various Resistance Workouts Promote Superior Muscle Hypertrophy and Energy Positive aspects? A Systematic Evaluate. Journal of power and conditioning analysis, 36(6), 1753–1762. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004258
