Bicep/brachialis/anconeus pain that doesn't seem related to squats

[Nick D'Agostino]

Nick, thanks for this. I am dealing with something similar, and it seems to come right back after I take a break from chins/rows/curls. I can usually train through the pain, but it is definitely worst the next morning until I get my arm moving a bit.

I am a little dense, though: could you clarify your recs to do sets of 10, then drop the reps by 2?

Do you mean drop the reps as you add weight? Or keep the same weight and taper the reps off? And then eventually add the chins etc in as per the program once the pain is gone?

Thanks
Jfsully

I mean to drop the reps as you add weight. Hopefully I clarified this a little more in the above post. Eventually, like 9-12 weeks down the road, you can add chins again slowly.

[Al Copersino]

1) I would not add reverse wrist curls.

2) For the accessory motions like lat pulldowns and cable rows I would have 3-5 total sets. All of the sets are initially 10 reps. The last set should be pretty hard. Once you get a starting point for the top set your goal is to try and do a little more weight each time. After 3 weeks drop all the reps to 8. After 3 more weeks drop all the reps to 6.

3) I would start with the accessory lifts. If you are not making any progress in a few weeks then I would also intervene on the bench/ohp.

That's great. Really appreciate it. Last question (I hope): I assume the rest period between sets for the accessory lifts under this scheme - particularly early on, when doing 10-rep sets - should only be a couple of minutes?

Thanks again.

[Nick D'Agostino]

That's great. Really appreciate it. Last question (I hope): I assume the rest period between sets for the accessory lifts under this scheme - particularly early on, when doing 10-rep sets - should only be a couple of minutes?

Thanks again.

No prob man, good luck and keep us updated! And yes, 2-3 mins rest for that stuff is plenty.

[jfsully]

I mean to drop the reps as you add weight. Hopefully I clarified this a little more in the above post. Eventually, like 9-12 weeks down the road, you can add chins again slowly.

Thank you!

[Nick D'Agostino]

Thank you!

I hope these suggestions help you guys!

[Al Copersino]

Hi, Nick - thanks again for the past advice.

Unfortunately the pain is no better ~5 weeks later. And bp, ohp, incline press, and dips all hurt my right upper forearm/lower biceps.

Squats and deads are not a problem, thank God.

Any additional thoughts on this? I’m not ready to become one of those miserable people I see jogging in my town, or worse, a bicyclist wearing an expensive costume and blocking traffic on country roads.

Thank you again.

[jfsully]

Hi, Nick - thanks again for the past advice.

Unfortunately the pain is no better ~5 weeks later. And bp, ohp, incline press, and dips all hurt my right upper forearm/lower biceps.

Squats and deads are not a problem, thank God.

Any additional thoughts on this? I’m not ready to become one of those miserable people I see jogging in my town, or worse, a bicyclist wearing an expensive costume and blocking traffic on country roads.

Thank you again.

If I see you doing that on the road, I promise to run you over!

I have gotten some good results doing high-rep bicep curls with slow eccentrics. Basically, I started with 3x30 using the empty curl bar, taking 2-3 seconds to lower it. I ramped up to 3x50 then started adding weight gradually.

Not sure why, but the slow eccentrics at high reps seem to do the trick.

My situation may differ from yours though: I had a pretty clear distal biceps tendon issue, had no problems with movements that mostly spare the biceps: presses, LTE, etc.

Oh, and I also added lots of LTEs (3x15) as i came across a Matt Reynolds article that suggested working the opposing muscles for tendinopathy: if flexors hurt, work extensors. Not sure if that contributed much or not.

Good luck. And avoid the Spandex, tap shoes, and ultralight bike.... or else!

[Nick D'Agostino]

Hi, Nick - thanks again for the past advice.

Unfortunately the pain is no better ~5 weeks later. And bp, ohp, incline press, and dips all hurt my right upper forearm/lower biceps.

Squats and deads are not a problem, thank God.

Any additional thoughts on this? I’m not ready to become one of those miserable people I see jogging in my town, or worse, a bicyclist wearing an expensive costume and blocking traffic on country roads.

Thank you again.

Do any of those exercises hurt significantly less than the others? How are you currently programming them?

[Al Copersino]

Thanks again. That’s funny - I just started trying eccentrics a couple of days ago. Hi rep eccentric db curls actually seem to ease the pain. For now, hi rep hammer curls make it worse, but I’ll try them again next week. Wish me luck.

[Al Copersino]

Hi, Nick - sorry, I missed your last response.

For BP, OHP, incline press, and dips I do 3 sets of each. Monday: bp, Wednesday: ohp, Friday: inclines press + dips.

I do 4 reps for each set of each exercise, then add a rep each week. Once I’ve done 3 sets of 7 reps for each exercise, I add weight the following week (eg, 5 lbs for bp, 2.5 lbs for ohp, etc).

I’m a 51 yo intermediate.

I’d say the bp and incline press aren’t hurting as much, so long as I don’t take the bar all the way down to my chest. Likewise, the ohp doesn’t hurt as much if I take the bar only down to my chin, not to my sternum. This is obviously not ideal, but it avoids hurting my bicep/forearm. Dips I’m not doing for now on your advice of a month or two ago on this thread.

Dips hurt the most, then ohp, then incline, then bp.

In the meantime, the low weight / high rep eccentric curls seem to be helping.

I’d like to try to add dips in a few weeks, then hopefully chins eventually.

Thanks again,
Al