oneilc

I'm trying to figure out what the proper strength ratio is for bicep/tricep. Does anyone know the answer to this (if possible please point me towards your source).

Thanks!

GIBSON6594

not sure if I unbderstand, but wouldn't it depend on which area of the muscle you are working and which exercise you are working it with?

ccannizz11

I've honestly never heard this question before, and don't really know why it matters. I mean, it's really difficult to isolate the muscles completely, so you always have other muscles helping in different ways (e.g. your forearms, back, shoulders, chest, etc.)

But given that your bicep is two muscles (bi), and your tricep is three muscles (tri), and the fact that the 5 individual muscles are roughly of similar size, the strentgth ratio would be roughly the same as the muscle ratio. That is, two muscles to three muscles for bicep to tricep, so the strength ratio would be about 2 to 3, or something close to that.

oneilc

I've heard that the ratio should be one to one ... which sounds a little off to me. That's why I'm asking.

gavriil

This is a very advanced question, at least for amatures like me. There is an answer, I am sure you will find out info if you do a search on the internet. However, it does matter. The ratio between antagonistic muscles that is, like in the case of bicep and tricep. The reason this is an advanced question is because the answer is used by sport doctors and trainers to determine the risk of injury to athletes. Because when a muscle gets a lot more power (not so much stronger - although it would depend on the sport) than its antagonist muscle, then the weaker muscle could be injured because of the above fact. There are rules of thumb with regard to strength and power ratios for all muscles, somewhere.

Finally the word antagonist comes from the Greek word antagonismos which means competition.

gavriil

Finally, strength and power cannot be determined by the number of heads of a muscle. The total volume of a muscle and its relationship with the nervous system are some of the critera to be used to determine ultimate strength, however there is an easier way. Just load it and see what it does. Of course in a cas like that angles have to be taken in consideration and that's where it gets complicated from there.

ccannizz11

^^ ah yes, very true, didn't think of it from the antagonistic angle