The Brachialis Muscle Explained

Description: The brachialis is an upper arm muscle, situated deeply and near to the end of the humerus (the upper arm bone).

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Role: It functions as a primary muscle for bending the elbow joint. Yet, it also acts as a backup to support and assist the larger and more well-known biceps muscle. 

Potential damage: A lack of optimal brachialis muscle strength puts the biceps muscle at risk of working without additional support. The brachialis helps to bend the elbow while lifting heavy objects or holding them. A weak brachialis can lead to a serious biceps muscle tear, with rupture to the cartilage rim of the shoulder joint. It can also injure the biceps at the elbow joint.

Exercise: This exercise is done with weights. Either standing or sitting, with the arms straight down, pull your shoulders back slightly and turn your forearm inwards, so that the thumb holding the weight points forwards. Then perform a standard biceps curl exercise slowly, taking 2 seconds to go up and 4 seconds to go down. Repeat until your arms get tired. Keep your forearm in the same potion to reduce the biceps component and to increase brachialis activity. Resistance can be light to start with and increased over time.

Progress:

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