Professional bodybuilder Erik Janicki makes use of expertise to check 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 workouts to check floor muscle exercise. The outcomes provided insights into optimizing shoulder exercise selection.
Understanding EMG and Its Position in Muscle Analysis
Electromyography, or EMG, is a expertise that measures {the electrical} exercise of muscular motion through sensors positioned on the pores and skin or contained in the muscle groups. Whereas EMG assessments can’t gauge all elements that affect muscle progress or predict hypertrophy, they could present clues as to which workouts 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 workouts ranked based on Janicki’s EMG knowledge.
Medial & Entrance Delts Combo
- Finest: Incline Cable-Y-Elevate
- Runner-Up: Strict Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Third Place: Mendacity Cable Lateral Elevate
Entrance Delts
Arsenal machine lateral raises had been one of many workouts carried out, although Janicki didn’t embrace them within the outcomes. Right here’s an outline:
Incline Cable Y Raises: The Stunning Winner
Cable-Y-raises, the place the arms elevate overhead in a ‘Y” form, confirmed the best total EMG exercise for the entrance and lateral deltoids. The outcomes illustrated even stress 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: Type Over Weight
The second greatest variation for front-medial delt activation was strict-form dumbbell lateral raises. Janicki emphasised managed reps, leaning ahead for optimum stretch, whereas conserving the arms straight, with 30-pound weights. He carried out a set with 50-pounders, aiming for a much less inflexible type. Nevertheless, precision prevailed.
“I used to be extraordinarily comfortable about this consequence,” Janicki exclaimed, stressing that weight doesn’t essentially equal extra beneficial properties.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press for Huge Entrance Delts
Unsurprisingly, dumbbell shoulder presses proved unbeatable for entrance delts, at the least on the floor. For long-term muscle progress and joint well being, Janicki prioritizes full vary of movement reps. Nevertheless, this will fluctuate relying on the particular train, physique construction, and mobility.
That deep type and eccentric management produced twice as a lot stimulus of cheat half reps.
—Eric Janicki
An in depth second, cable-Y-raises had been the star of Janicki’s venture. “In case you’re making an attempt to get the most effective bang to your buck, cable-Y-raises had been even above dumbbell presses,” says the bodybuilder.
Janicki’s Shoulder Coaching Takeaways
Whereas EMG assessments don’t give the total image, they might reveal some fact relating to the consequences of coaching variables for real-world outcomes. However, Janicki provided some ideas:
- Combine the Stimuli: Make the most of totally different instruments and methods for novel muscle stimuli. Analysis means that strategic coaching selection helps optimize progress. (1)
- Management Is Extra Essential Than Load: Whereas progressive overload is essential to constructing a physique, managed reps with optimum type and fewer weight may ship superior beneficial properties to sloppy type with heavy masses.
- Emphasize the Stretch: “The eccentric is extraordinarily necessary,” Janicki affirmed. Slowing the eccentric and accentuating the stretch could possibly be paramount to whole muscle stimulation whereas lowering harm threat.
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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 Power Features? A Systematic Evaluate. Journal of energy and conditioning analysis, 36(6), 1753–1762. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004258