Tendonitis resulting from Bicep Curls

alyssamiller77

Hey guys, I'm looking for some suggestions on form here regarding Bicep curls. Seems stupid and basic to be asking, I mean I have been lifting since high school and understand the idea of keeping your elbows in and stationary, squeezing the bicep at the top of the movement, etc. However, what I seem to have a problem with on all variations of bicep curls is really isolating just the bicep. When I lift heavy, I seem to use more of the connecting tissues and end up with the bulk of the effort coming from the lower part of my biceps near my elbow (where the tendons would connect). The end result is that if I'm not very careful, I end up with tendonitis in my elbow and then can't lift for a week or more.

So I'm looking for any suggestions you guys have on how I can change form or better focus the effort on the bull bicep rather than putting so much strain on the tendons. I appreciate whatever you can throw at me.

baptiste565

Maybe focus on dumbbells which allows u to curl at different angles. I hurt my distal biceps tendon last yr and I still cant do straight barbell curls. I just wrap.my elbow and do dumbbells. Also for me the machine preacher curl is pain free. Good luck.

TheMattyExperiment

Straight BB curls can be taxing because of the position it puts your wrists and elbows, DB curls or even Palms-Up Chins are excellent for Biceps and could possibly feel better for you Hope this helped. Don't use an EZ Curl Bar for Biceps... worst exercise ever for them and barely targets.

ilovedeadlifts

less weight more reps.


I actually fixed my tendonitis issues by doing lots of high rep work. I was having bad tendonitis from squatting 3x per week. Added in high rep curls and I felt better.

Chief_Rocka

This should put more emphasis toward the top end of the movement:






I would recommend going light with moderate-high reps, use a curl bar, and give it a 1-2 second squeeze at the top of the movement.

ilovedeadlifts

^^I'm gonna try those this week.

ChrisLindsay9

Looks very cool, but I'm probably too short to find a bench where I can hang over it. Hence, the curling rack is what I typically use. Do you find that your feet slide when doing this exercise?