EMG Analysis Technique
An electromyography (EMG) machine is a diagnostic tool used to evaluate the function of muscles and the nerve cells that control them. It measures the muscles' electrical activity at rest and during contraction.
The process typically involves placing small electrodes on the skin over the studied muscle or inserting a needle electrode directly into the muscle. The EMG machine records the electrical signals generated by the muscles and displays them as waveforms on a monitor. This information is crucial for diagnosing nerve disorders, muscle diseases, and injuries. It helps healthcare professionals assess how well the muscles and nerves are functioning and can guide treatment decisions. The research below was conducted using this science-backed approach with EMG machines.
What is Maximum Voluntary Contraction
Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) refers to the maximum amount of force that a muscle or muscle group can produce voluntarily. It is typically assessed during strength testing, where the individual exerts their maximum effort to contract the muscle. MVC is important in evaluating muscle function, as it provides a benchmark for muscle strength and can be used to identify any deficits or improvements in muscle performance due to training, rehabilitation, or other interventions.
In research and clinical settings, MVC is often measured using electromyography (EMG) to capture the electrical activity of the muscles during the contraction. By comparing the electrical signals and the resulting force produced, researchers can gain insights into the efficiency and health of the neuromuscular system. MVC is a crucial metric in various applications, including sports science, rehabilitation, and muscle physiology.
What is Mean and Peak Activation
Researchers typically use Mean MVC for their data. I used to think that mean activation was more critical as it measured the average activation throughout the entire repetition. However, muscles are not always active throughout an exercise's entire range of motion, especially during compound lifts.
For example, one muscle might be very active down low in the stretched position, while another becomes more active up top in the contracted position of the same exercise.
For this reason, I believe that Peak MVC is a more important figure. Peak activation measures the highest point of activation during the repetition.
Still, mean activation might be more critical for bodybuilding purposes in providing constant tension, occlusion, and “the pump.” In contrast, peak activation might be more critical for sport-specific purposes in providing maximum tension at a certain moment for peak force production.
Back Exercises
The Back muscles are split into deep and superficial muscles, as shown in the illustration below. The complete list of back muscles is either deep or superficial. Superficial muscles are the most commonly quoted muscles and garner most attention in weightlifting. They help with shoulder and neck movements. Deep muscles (also known as intrinsic muscles) fuse with the vertebral column.
If you wish to learn more about the back muscle anatomy, CLICK HERE for my post on the back muscles. Let's look at three research studies and their findings using the EMG machine to rank and list the best back exercises.
Study One: ACE
This study considered only five muscles in the back because it wanted to evaluate muscles from the top to the lower part of the back. These five muscles can be seen in the illustration on the right. Due to the layering aspect of the back muscles, the study also wanted to avoid “cross-talk” between muscles, which occurs when one muscle's signal interferes with another's signal.
They selected 19 healthy males for this study. All 19 males were between 18 and 15 years of age, had previous resistance training experience, and were familiar with the exercises included in the study.
From ACE studies, they identified the optimal exercises for Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) when using the EMG machine, which pinpoints the most effective exercises for engaging the majority of the five back muscles, whereby the best was the 'Bent-over-Rows' that activated three out of the five muscles. The second best was the I-Y-T raises, which activated three out of the five back muscles.
The study identified that chin-ups and pull-ups were the best exercises for the Latissimus Dorsi (Lat) muscle. The table below outlines the study's results in terms of what exercises were best for each tested muscle.
Study Two
The BuiltwithScience study used an EMG Machine to measure the MVC of selected back exercises to find the optimal ones. Because they were limited to just four sensors, they selected muscles based on the criteria that most people want from their back workouts:
Thickness—This comes from the mid and upper back muscles. Thus, the sensors are placed on the 'Mid and lower traps,' which are the middle and lower sections of the trapezius muscle.
Width - the muscle responsible for back width is the Latissimus dorsi (Lat's), the largest muscle in the upper body; therefore, they put two sensors on the Lat in the upper and lower Lat sections.
The study used only three test subjects ranging from beginners to experienced weightlifters.
Best Overall Back Builders
The study found that the two best exercises for the overall back were:
Deadlifts
Bent-over-Rows
The deadlift results showed that the upper and lower back muscles worked hard to keep the body stable during the exercise. Both exercises can be loaded with heavier weights than others, so the whole back is recruited to stabilise the body while moving the weight. The bent-over rows were tested using different grip types. The study found that the overhand grip led to more mid-back activation, whereas the underhand grip led to more Lat activation, primarily lower Lats.
The Best Upper And Mid Back (Mid-Traps) Exercises
The study identified the best exercises for the upper-mid back were:
Wide Grip Seated Row - 49.28% activation rating
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row - 44.63% activation rating
The Best Lat Exercises
The study identified the top three Lat activation exercises using the results from the EMG sensors, which are as follows:
Lat-Focused Row - 56.95%
Pull-ups - 52.76%
Lat Pulldowns - 40.1%
Interestingly, most would place Lat Pulldowns at the top of the list. However, this study identified that the Lat-Focused cable row was most successful at activating the Lats with 56.95%.
Summary
The best Mid-upper Back exercises were:
Wide Grip Seated Rows
Chest Supported Rows
The Best Lat exercises were:
Lat-Focused Rows
Pull-ups
Lat Pulldowns
The Best overall back exercises were:
Deadlift
Bent-over-rows
Study Three
A study I discovered on Bodybuilding.com used the EMG machine to determine the best exercises for each muscle group. Their results identified that the Bent-over-Barbell Rows had a 91% MVC score rating as the best for building Lat muscle and strength. The rest of the exercise's EMG % ratings were as follows:
Bent-over-Barbell Rows had a 91%
One-arm dumbbell rows - 91%
T-bar rows - 89%
Lat pull-down - 86%
Seated pulley rows - 83%
Study Four
JetFit found from their research a study that investigated the best back exercises using an EMG machine produced the following results:
The Dumbbell Bent-over-two-arm Row - 93%
One-Arm Dumbbell Row - 91%
T-Bar Row – 89%
Lat Pull-down – 86%
Lat Pull-down Lean Back - 101%
Study Five
This study by Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000 looked at the EMG results for three core back muscle groups:
Latissimus Dorsi (Lat's)
Trapezius
Rhomboids
The study assessed 10 male resistance-trained subjects, with a mean age of 22 and a mean body fat of 13%.
Lat's
When assessing the most effective exercises for the Lat's using an EMG machine, the study looked into detail using variations of exercises based on grip positioning, body angling and range of motion. As a result, this produced fascinating results with more accuracy than other studies on the most effective exercise for the Lats. The most effective exercise was the Lat Pulldown to the sternum with a narrow underhand grip, bending backwards during the movement. Below is the complete list of the exercises ranked in order of most effective to least effective:
Lat pulldown to sternum, narrow underhand grip, bend back
Lat pulldown to the neck, shoulder-wide overhand grip, upright
DB row, bend over, underhand grip, arms close to the torso, palms to the front
Lat pulldown to the sternum, shoulder-wide overhand grip, bend back.
DB row, bend over, neutral grip, palms facing torso.
Lat pulldown to the sternum, shoulder-wide overhand grip, upright
Seated cable row, V-Bar, arms close to the torso
The second assessment was done using the pull-up bodyweight exercises; once again, variations in grip positioning were used to find the most effective pull-up variation for the lats. The most effective pull-up variation for Lat activation was the pull-up to the neck with a wide overhand grip positioning. The complete results were as follows in order of most effective to least:
Pull up to the neck, wide overhand grip.
Pull up to the sternum with a wide underhand grip.
Pull up to the sternum, wide overhand grip.
Pull up to the sternum, narrow overhand grip.
Trapezius and Rhomboids
The study stated that all exercises that activate the trapezius would also inevitably target the rhomboid because measuring the rhomboids would not be possible without surgical intervention. Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies decided not to measure the EMG activity of the rhomboid muscles individually but to include it in the EMG assessment of the trapezius.
The study assessed the three sections of the Trapezius rather than the trapezius as one muscle by looking at the top, middle, and lower trapezius sections, as seen in the illustration to the right.
The top three exercises for Upper Trap activation using the EMG machine were:
DB shrug
BB front raise, narrow grip
Deadlift
The top three exercises for the Middle Trap activation using the EMG machine were as follows:
Machine reverse fly (internal rotation, 90°)
DB reverse fly (90°)
BB bent over row (90°)
the top three exercises for Lower Trap activation are as follows:
Machine Reverse Fly (external rotation 120°)
Dumbbell Reverse Fly (120°)*^
Machine Reverse Fly (external rotation 90°)
Below is a bar chart graphical representation of all the results from the EMG machine assessment of Trap and Rhomboid activation for all selected exercises.
From assessing this study, I believe the best exercises for the trapezius-Rhomboids would be:
Dumbbell Shrugs
Machine Reverse Fly's (Internal Rotation of 90 Degrees)
Machine Reverse Fly (External rotation of 120 Degrees)
Study Six
This study found on T-Nation measured the peak and mean activation of the Latissimus Dorsi, Mid-Lower Trapezius, and Bicep using an EMG machine to understand better the best exercises for the back muscle and bicep. Below are the top three exercises for each muscle group/section:
Lat's
Mean Activation
Weighted Chin-up
Weighted Pronated Wide Grip Pull-up
Rack Pull
Peak Activation
Weighted Pronated Wide-Grip Pull-up
Rack Pull
Underhand-Grip Feet Elevated Inverted Row
Middle Trap
Mean Activation
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row
Prone Trap Raise
Peak Activation
Prone Trap Raise
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row
Lower Trap
Mean Activation
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Prone Trap Raise
Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest-Supported Row
Peak Activation
Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest Supported-Row
Prone Trap Raise,
Dumbbell Bent-Over Row
Summary
from this study, i would state that the top three exercises for a complete back workout would be as follows:
Dumbbell Bent-Over-Row
Weighted Pronated Wide-Grip Pull-up
Dumbbell Elbows Out Chest Supported-Row
Study Seven
His study used data to show which exercises provided the most muscle activation via electromyography (EMG). The study used the Peak Mean Voluntary Contraction ((MVC) represented in a percentage format. The Peak MVC measures the highest point of activation during the repetition. The top six back exercises from this study in order are as follows:
Weighted Wide Grip Pull Ups
Bent-over barbell rows - 93% Peak MVC
One-arm dumbbell rows - 91% Peak MVC
T-bar rows - 89% Peak MVC
Lat pulldowns - 86% Peak MVC
Seated pulley rows -83% Peak MVC
Summary
This study found that the Weighted Wide Pull-Ups offer fantastic peak contraction and mechanical tension and are the king of all exercises for lat activation. However, the bent-over rows activated the mid-back and traps better than the pull-ups. Therefore, this study recommended combining the Weighted Wide Grip Pull-Ups and the Bent-over Barbell Row exercises for the optional back training session.
Best Back Exercises Summary
Using all the above studies and their results, these are the optimal exercises for back training based on EMG science back data:
Lat's
The best exercise from an EMG reading is the Pull-up with a wide, pronated grip. The second best exercise for the lats is the Lat Pulldown with a narrow underhand grip and a slightly bent back.
Wide Pronated Grip Weighted Pull-up
Narrow Underhand Grip Lat Pull-down
Traps
The Dumbbell shrugs would be the leading exercise for trap activation, and the Prone Trap Raise would be second best.
Dumbbell Shrugs
Prone Trap Raise
Overall
The best overall back activation exercise that targets the majority of the back muscles, both deep and superficial, is the Barbell Bent-over Row, followed by the One-arm Dumbbell Row.
Bent-over Barbell Rows
One Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row
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