My first question is about form on the bicep curls. I started with the stand-up position (both arms at the same time -and even alternating), what bothers me is that Im not feeling any burn in my biceps.
Instead, after completing a set, I would feel tension in the lower part of my bicep , right aruond where it connects to the joint that links the forearms and the bicep (the ligament or tendon?). My elbow itself would not hurt, but the main part of my bicep was almost completely unaffected but my forearms were quite pumped.
What could be causing this? I see some people doing very short reps - that is, only relaxing the bicep slightly, and then bringing the weight back up again. Kind of like mini-reps. I find that standing up and alternating repetitions between the left and right arms helps, but I still can’t shake the feeling that I’m not getting the most out of my time at the gym.
I even tried using those harbinger gloves with the straps to minimize wrist movemement so perhaps i can feel it it my bicep more but i find that gloves only get in the way
[quote]fatkat wrote:
My first question is about form on the bicep curls. I started with the stand-up position (both arms at the same time -and even alternating), what bothers me is that Im not feeling any burn in my biceps.
Instead, after completing a set, I would feel tension in the lower part of my bicep , right aruond where it connects to the joint that links the forearms and the bicep (the ligament or tendon?).
My elbow itself would not hurt, but the main part of my bicep was almost completely unaffected but my forearms were quite pumped. What could be causing this? I see some people doing very short reps - that is, only relaxing the bicep slightly, and then bringing the weight back up again.
Kind of like mini-reps. I find that standing up and alternating repetitions between the left and right arms helps, but I still can’t shake the feeling that I’m not getting the most out of my time at the gym. i even tried using those harbinger gloves with the straps to minimize wrist movemement so perhaps i can feel it it my bicep more but i find that gloves only get in the way[/quote]
I feel it in the muscle that connects the upper arm to the lower arm too (at the elbow). But my biceps are still getting bigger so I am not worried about it.
Your set/rep scheme may be the reason. It’s not necessarily a problem if you don’t “feel the burn”. You’ll feel the burn on longer sets, but not necessarily on shorter ones.
The comment you made about not getting the most out of your training time: this is why a lot of people overtrain. I used to think I had to beat myself into the ground five days a week. Don’t make that mistake.
As long as you are using correct form and making progress (more weight every week or two, or more reps) don’t sweat the small stuff.
Mind-muscle connection. You need to think about contracting your biceps as you doing the movement, and you actually should try squeezing the muscle at the top of the movement (think what you do when you flex the muscle).
Also trying keeping your bicep tense throughout the entire movement for a few sets (from starting position, grab the bar tight and squeeze it through the entire movement).
Remember, it’s all supposed to be challenging - that’s what makes you grow.