The brachioradialis muscle is one of the four elbow-flexing muscles in our arm. While it's not the strongest elbow flexor, there are a few things that make it special.
Here are three things you should know about the brachioradialis:
1. Pronator & Supinator - The only elbow flexor, the brachioradialis is both pronator (rotates the forearm so the back of the hand is facing up) and supinator (rotates the forearm so the palm is facing up). The brachioradialis flexes the forearm at the elbow. When the forearm is in the pronated hand position, the brachioradialis supines the forearm during flexion. When the hand position is supinated, the brachioradialis pronates the forearm during elbow flexion.
2. "Musculus supinator longus" - In older descriptions, the term "musculus supinator longus" was used to describe the brachioradialis muscle and the term "musculus supinator brevis" was used to describe the muscle now known as the supinator muscle is.
3. Its Mechanics - With its muscular attachment far from the elbow's axis of rotation, the brachioradialis doesn't generate as much torque as the brachialis or biceps. It only works effectively when the two muscles just mentioned have already partially flexed the elbow. The brachioradialis flexes the forearm at the elbow when rapid movement is required or when lifting a weight during a slow flexion of the forearm. Another function of the brachioradialis is to stabilize the elbow joint during explosive flexion and extension in the middle position of the range of motion, as occurs when sprinting or using a hammer to drive in a nail or striking in martial arts.
The brachioradialis is recruited primarily on neutral and tried grip curt variations.
The different functions of the brachioradialis are one more reason to pay attention to variation when training the elbow flexors. Vary exercises, number of repetitions and sets, tempo, breaks and/or exercise order to set new stimuli and optimally develop the brachioradialis along with the other elbow-flexing muscles.
Picture: Personal trainer and YPSI A license trainer Lukas Grigorescu from St.Pölten in Austria doing curls during the YPSI One Day Arm Cure and a very good brachioradialis development.