The EMG profiles of 3 lower body resistance exercises

Abstract

Introduction: Resistance training has previously been demonstrated to contribute to the improvement of athletic performance. The back squat and deadlift have both been heavily researched in the field of sEMG but remain complex exercises. The hip thrust however is a much simpler exercise, which loads the bar in a different movement plane. The sEMG activity of these three lifts have previously never been compared against one another in the one study. Aim: The primary aim of the study was to establish and compare sEMG profiles of the lower leg musculature. During the concentric phase of the back squat, deadlift and hip thrust, in non - resistance trained individuals (n=22), in maximal and sub – maximal efforts. Methods: Participants completed 2 separate testing sessions, 7 days apart. The first, acted as a normalisation to testing procedures with no data collection, where participants underwent 1RM testing with sEMG electrodes placed at 4 regions of the lower limb musculature: the upper and lower Gluteus Maximus, Vastus Lateralis and Bicep Femoris. The second session again required 1RM testing, but this time also recorded sEMG data in maximal and submaximal efforts. Results: Analysis of peak sEMG in the 1RM and 85 % of 1RM found there to be no difference in gluteal activation between the three lifts. Further analysis through coding split the concentric phase of the lift into three equal tertiles. This allowed for the comparison of sEMG amplitude throughout the concentric phase. Analysis of the 1RM tertiles data found that the deadlift had a significantly greater level of sEMG activity when compared to the squat and hip thrust. Conclusions: The data suggests that any of these 3 exercises would effectively target the gluteus muscles. However, the deadlift seems to result in greater electrical activity at the selected sites out of the three exercises.