Hi Jim,
What are some ways to prevent biceps injuries while deadlifting?
I’ve noticed that many experienced power lifters have experienced this injury so there must be more to it than straightening your arms or flexing your triceps. I’m asking this because deadlifting with straps is not a part of your program and I want to minimize injuries and enjoy lifting hard for the next 40 years.
Thanks for writing great books and articles!
Don’t deadlift with an over/under grip. Of just don’t pull at all - and don’t lift heavy either.
Trap bar.
Thanks for your time Jim!
Start using a hook grip.
It will hurt like hell at first but you get used to it.
[quote]jdm80 wrote:
Hi Jim,
What are some ways to prevent biceps injuries while deadlifting?
I’ve noticed that many experienced power lifters have experienced this injury so there must be more to it than straightening your arms or flexing your triceps. I’m asking this because deadlifting with straps is not a part of your program and I want to minimize injuries and enjoy lifting hard for the next 40 years.
Thanks for writing great books and articles![/quote]
Incline dumbell curls work your biceps in the stretched position, tearing the shit out of them–to the point where they could injury proof your biceps OR injure them. If you start with a conservative load, you should be able to get the former rather than the latter. they also build bicep size without a lot of volume which is pretty cool for those of us that like bigger arms but don’t want to dedicate much training time to them.
Vince Urbank uses a double overhand grip and pulled 900+. Double overhand is harder, but should protect you much better.
[quote]jdm80 wrote:
What are some ways to prevent biceps injuries while deadlifting?
[/quote]
Simple, don’t try to curl the bar when deadlifting. Flex the tris a bit if you have to to keep the arms straight. This is just part of the technique if you choose to do a mixed grip. If you do not have the ability to maintain this discipline then do the double overhand grip to minimize the tear potential.
For what it’s worth, my left biceps tendon, long head, was frayed to shit due to a bunch of arthritic spurring and a labrum & rotator cuff tear. When I’d deadlift my biceps hurt like fuck regardless of grip style. Now that all that’s fixed I have no problems with either grip. Arms are meat hooks.
EDIT: I only mention my bicep situation to illustrate that a double overhand grip isn’t always risk free, granted I had a fucked up tendon, which I only found out about AFTER I woke up from the rotator surgery. The doc said I was lucky it didn’t let go on me.
Dude,
Stop inventing problems before you have them - that is a sure-fire way to obtain the problem. There are plenty who pull without this problem - myself included- I am 46 and never had a torn bicep - knock on wood. I wouldn’t do anything special other than forever honing my skill unless the situation calls for it. That is like me saying let me stop driving because I might get in an accident - or what can I do to prevent the airplane I am flying on in 2 months from crashing…unless of course you have reason to believe via personal history, etc. that you have a bicep problem.
Thanks Rave. I should probably move NOV some more. I think that’s what Jim meant in the end of his post too.