Pain during curling

T

Turnitupto11

New Member
Hi guys,

I'm on my fourth or fifth cycle of HST and I'm noticing that I'm starting to get sharp pains in my left forearm during curling. I used to get this problem years ago and now it's back with a vengeance. I'm able to avoid some of the problem by slowly releasing the weight at the end of the movement instead of quickly letting go, but I'm also getting pain during the actual curling motion. This is with dumbbells (years ago I stopped using barbells because of this). I tend to do Zottman curls rather than standard curls because this is also less painful.

My question is how should I deal with this? Should I completely stop exercising biceps for a while? Should I back the weight off for a few cycles? Should I switch to doing chin ups (and weighted chins)? Should I add in forearm exercises to build more mass and strength in the forearm extensors (when my wrist is flexed rather than extended during the exercise there's less pain)?

Any tips or help is much appreciated.
 
I had this back when I was in high school. I took calcium supplements for a little while and quit drinking soda entirely. The bones felt much better in about a month.

However your pain may be nothing like mine. Is this in the bones, the tendons or the muscles?
 
I know it's not a muscular pain.

I'm guessing tendon (because releasing the bar quickly causes more pain) but I could be wrong (or it could be a combination of the two)
 
I get this with hammer curls. It feels like a sharp shooting pain as I lower each arm at about a 45 degree elbow angle and below, not muscular or joint. The only way to describe its feeling would be to compare the feeling to the look of sheet lightening as it spreads down my forearm.

Never noticed it in standard curls, only hammer.

Although since using some hand grips to help grip strength i haven't felt it for a while.
 
Curls aren't necessary if you're doing rows and chins.

But whether or not you accept that (ala putting it aside), definitely stop doing something that causes you pain.
 
It sounds like an inflamed tendon. Rest up, don't do any curls for awhile. As Alex said, the elbow flexors tend to get plenty of strain from rows and pull-ups, and are easily overtrained, so compounds are usually plenty to make them grow.
 
I hear what you guys are saying. The pain isn't really enough to make you go owe, it's more like a twitch that makes you slightly wince but needless to say I dropped them in my 5's last cycle so didn't go heavy. I've started them again this time and I'll see how far I get before any pain.

I'm just starting my 3rd proper cycle (I define proper as having both diet+routine nailed) and have seen large growth in my back, chest and tri's already but nothing from my biceps. I'm starting (in my view) to look more thick set around my midriff but still scrawny on my arms. I'll update my log later tonight with more info rather than hijacking in here.


I'm going to guess the only way to persist with curls fabulist feeling this is simply to take it slowly and build up the weight gradually, maybe start with more rep's to work the joints before increasing?
 
I wouldn't recommend going above 7-8RM for curls. Risk-reward expectation is so low, not to mention form/technique issues.
 
So when you're doing the 15s and 10s, Alex, you don't do anything for biceps and only do curls for the weeks you're doing 5 reps?
 
Lower weight higher rep/volume preacher curls with a cam bar as assistance seem to catch my biceps up anytime I feel they are lagging.
 
Biceps are largely genetic. A long exceptional muscle belly (all the way to elbow) and you can have huge, peaked biceps. A short biceps muscle belly, gap/long tendon between bicep and elbow and you are severely limited.

So guys with great biceps can get a lot of growth from chin-ups and heavy rows. Guys with crappy biceps can do curls all day, get tendinitis and still seem "stuck".
 
Turnitupto11 said:
So when you're doing the 15s and 10s, Alex, you don't do anything for biceps and only do curls for the weeks you're doing 5 reps?
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I think he means the opposite of what your thinking. My take on his suggestion is that you don't go down to your 2/3/4 RM's which are obviously heavier weights.

I think I'll just stick to them in the 15's and 10's as my 5's are taking more like 80-90 minutes actual work out, which slightly longer than I'd like, but tolerable.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Sci said:
Biceps are largely genetic. A long exceptional muscle belly (all the way to elbow) and you can have huge, peaked biceps. A short biceps muscle belly, gap/long tendon between bicep and elbow and you are severely limited.

So guys with great biceps can get a lot of growth from chin-ups and heavy rows. Guys with crappy biceps can do curls all day, get tendinitis and still seem "stuck".
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I have long biceps so my peak sucks but I haven't had any troubles growing the muscle.
 
AderynGlas said:
I think he means the opposite of what your thinking. My take on his suggestion is that you don't go down to your 2/3/4 RM's which are obviously heavier weights.

I think I'll just stick to them in the 15's and 10's as my 5's are taking more like 80-90 minutes actual work out, which slightly longer than I'd like, but tolerable.

Thanks for the feedback.
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Yes, don't use a load higher than 7-8RM. The EV is too low.
 
krysix said:
and how do you do it? don't you do them in the 5s weeks? or do you do some kind of 20/15/10 cycle?
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I haven't done curls as a regular part of my routine in a long, long time. They weren't giving me anything other than a pump. Although, I will say that if you're looking for something to provide metabolic work to the biceps that curls are perfect for that (12-20 rep range).

Anyway, for anyone who does want to do them for whatever reason, do them as normal during the 15s and 10s, and then when you get to the 5s, just do them up until your 8RM and sit on the 8RM for the rest of the workouts once you hit that.

Any heavier and it won't be a strict isolation movement - i.e. you'll cheat (we all do).

There's a few machines that are the exception to this IMO, and if you find one that effectively isolates the biceps without letting you cheat, then potentially just do them on that machine as per normal, but again - you'll still get more from doing negative chins ups and heavy supinated rows.
 
krysix said:
and how do you do it? don't you do them in the 5s weeks? or do you do some kind of 20/15/10 cycle?
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I'll do them throughout the 15's and 10's and then maybe the very first 1-2 of the 5's before things get too heavy and time consuming. And they're the last exercise on every work out as an addition, not a primary exercise.
 
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