Stiff bicep tendons or just bad form?

DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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A lot of times when I squat, I'll have pain around my biceps, not severe pain but minor pain that goes away after 15 or 20 minutes. Even if I relax my arms complete while I squatting, I'll still get this pain. Could this be caused by having stiff tendons or is this just bad form? I've tried narrow and I slightly wider grip and still have the same problem. Also, not always but sometimes I'll have wrist pain while squatting, what are some tips to help me out?
 
Blacktail

Blacktail

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If it is close to the elbow it could be the onset of tendinitis. Invest in some elbow wraps and thank me later.
 
DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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If it is close to the elbow it could be the onset of tendinitis. Invest in some elbow wraps and thank me later.
DAMN. Seems like I'm getting tendinitis left and right these days and I'm only 22.
Thanks for the advice though. I don't have this problem with deadlifts, but I did at one time.
 

SRS2000

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Are you supporting the weight with your back and holding it up with your arms? Sometimes when people try to carry the low they support some of the weight with their arms instead of the back. If you are trying to low-bar squat, try moving the bar up a little and taking a wider grip. Some neoprene elbow sleeves won't hurt either. Also work on your shoulder flexibility because tight shoulders could be contributing to the problem as well.
 
DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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Are you supporting the weight with your back and holding it up with your arms? Sometimes when people try to carry the low they support some of the weight with their arms instead of the back. If you are trying to low-bar squat, try moving the bar up a little and taking a wider grip. Some neoprene elbow sleeves won't hurt either. Also work on your shoulder flexibility because tight shoulders could be contributing to the problem as well.
I'm doing high bar squats and relaxing my arms. I have shoulder tendinitis in my right shoulder. Would wrist straps help too?
 

SRS2000

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The wrist wraps might help some, but I don't necessarily think they are the ultimate fix. I would suggest looking at your overall program and make sure everything is in balance and you aren't overdoing one area at the expense of another. I would also recommend shoulder stretches daily. I had chronic shoulder soreness, tightness, and kept injuring my pec. It was mostly related to my left shoulder being very tight which caused me to line up under the bar off center for squats and kept it hurting all the time.
At your age and strength level you shouldn't have any problems because of years of heavy training, which makes me think you have some tightness or imbalance somewhere which is the root cause of your problems.
Here are some things to examine and consider:
1) Ice your shoulders and elbows after every lifting session no matter what you did
2) Work on shoulder flexibility
3) Warm up your shoulders and upper body with some arm swings and stretches before every session, even when you are squatting
4) Stretch your pecs, shoulders, and lats every day
5) Consider getting some indian clubs or making something similar and using them to improve your shoulder mobility
6) Make sure the bar isn't sliding during your SQ sets. You may start out OK, but if the bar slides down during the set you may end up supporting the weight with your arms

I know this sounds like alot of things to do/consider, but almost every older lifter will tell you they wish they would have paid more attention to warming-up and working on flexibility and mobility when they were younger (before the aches and pains and injuries really caught up with them).
 
DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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The wrist wraps might help some, but I don't necessarily think they are the ultimate fix. I would suggest looking at your overall program and make sure everything is in balance and you aren't overdoing one area at the expense of another. I would also recommend shoulder stretches daily. I had chronic shoulder soreness, tightness, and kept injuring my pec. It was mostly related to my left shoulder being very tight which caused me to line up under the bar off center for squats and kept it hurting all the time.
At your age and strength level you shouldn't have any problems because of years of heavy training, which makes me think you have some tightness or imbalance somewhere which is the root cause of your problems.
Here are some things to examine and consider:
1) Ice your shoulders and elbows after every lifting session no matter what you did
2) Work on shoulder flexibility
3) Warm up your shoulders and upper body with some arm swings and stretches before every session, even when you are squatting
4) Stretch your pecs, shoulders, and lats every day
5) Consider getting some indian clubs or making something similar and using them to improve your shoulder mobility
6) Make sure the bar isn't sliding during your SQ sets. You may start out OK, but if the bar slides down during the set you may end up supporting the weight with your arms

I know this sounds like alot of things to do/consider, but almost every older lifter will tell you they wish they would have paid more attention to warming-up and working on flexibility and mobility when they were younger (before the aches and pains and injuries really caught up with them).
Since my right shoulder is sore, do you think it's a good idea to do shoulder dislocations? I think one of the reasons my wrists might be giving me trouble is from using too much weight on the wrist curls. I think I might have hurt my shoulder by going too heavy on upright rows.
 

SRS2000

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Shoulder dislocations are good stretching activity for the shoulder and pecs. Just ease into them with a very wide grip and don't force things. I would also ditch the upright rows if they are hurting your shoulders. They kill my shoulders, so I haven't done them in years. If you want something to hit the same area do face pulls (an internet search should show you how to do them).
 
DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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Shoulder dislocations are good stretching activity for the shoulder and pecs. Just ease into them with a very wide grip and don't force things. I would also ditch the upright rows if they are hurting your shoulders. They kill my shoulders, so I haven't done them in years. If you want something to hit the same area do face pulls (an internet search should show you how to do them).
Yeah, I'm about to start doing face pulls today.
 
DerickVonD

DerickVonD

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Well guys good news. I didn't have any wrist pain today and I only had bicep pain for the first 2 sets. On the third set I widened my grip just alittle and moved my elbows slightly up and I think that helped alot. I was doing low bar squats.
 

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