Weekly Infographics #7: Bench Press for Chest Growth & Muscle Activation of Different Lunges
A newsletter dedicated to summarizing interesting strength/hypertrophy related research.
1) How Well Does the Flat Barbell Bench Press Develop the Chest?
This study by Ogasawara et al. demonstrates just how great an exercise the flat bench press is for the chest. It seems to do a great job targeting many regions (upper, middle, and lower) of the muscle.
2) How Do Different Lunges Impact Muscle Activation?
It’s always important to remember that EMG (which is used to measure muscle activation) comes with its limitations, meaning results from studies like these may not always accurately predict long-term outcomes (such as muscle and strength).
Nevertheless, I think the biggest potential takeaway from this study is that walking or forward lunges may best recruit the gluteus maximus.
Also, note how neither lunge variation produced much biceps femoris (one part of the hamstrings) activation, potentially suggesting lunges do not heavily train the hamstrings. This makes sense, as exercises that involve the simultaneous knee and hip movement (like lunges and squats) forbid the hamstrings from shortening.
Until next week!
