What Plane of the Body Is a Biceps Curl Done In?

The planes of motion concept is not an exciting facet of fitness training, but it is a useful one that can help you design a more effective workout routine. The body is divided into three planes, or axes, of motion and exercises are categorized based on the primary plane in which they occur. If you familiarize yourself with the different planes of motion, you can design a functional, efficient and balanced workout routine.

  1. Planes of Motion

    • To visualize the planes of motion, think of a magician's blade that cuts the assistant in half in different ways. The frontal plane splits the body into front and back halves. The sagittal plane splits the body into right and left halves, and the transverse plane splits the body into top and bottom halves. Each plane extends indefinitely and an exercise can occur in more than one plane of motion, but it is typically categorized based on the primary plane in which it occurs.

    Biceps Curl

    • The biceps curl involves the flexion of the elbow joint and it occurs in the sagittal plane. Visualize the magician's blade, which extends infinitely, running through your body so as to cut it into right and left halves. As you curl the weight, the movement of your forearm runs in tandem with this blade. Regardless of whether you perform the biceps curl standing, seated or lying, the exercise occurs in the sagittal plane.

    Purpose

    • In daily activities, the body moves in all three dimensions, or axes. As you jump, spin, kick, punch, twist, leap, bend and slide, your body moves through all three planes of motion. Typical workouts focus on training individual muscles, and most of the exercises occur in the sagittal plane, like the biceps curl. Functionally, this is an unbalanced workout routine, since in real life, you regularly move through all the planes of motion. Categorizing exercises based on the plane of motion in which it occurs allows you to create a balanced routine that trains your body in multi-joint movements, instead of focusing on individual muscles.

    Considerations

    • Compound exercises involve more than one joint movement and target more than one muscle group. Pullups and bent-over rows, which occur in the frontal plane, are compound exercises that work the biceps in addition to the muscles of the back. Do not overly focus on the biceps curl to the neglect of other, more functional exercises, such as these. Incorporate all of these movements into your routine to work the biceps in different planes of motion.