Preventing A Bicep Tear
One of the worst injuries that will keep you out of the gym for months. Avoid a bicep tear at all costs!
Bicep tears are common among bodybuilders and occur most frequently with deadlifts. Bicep tear prevention is highly advisable as you really don’t want to experience that shit. If you go at deadlifting like a mad man you will eventually pay for this.
What Is A Bicep Tear?
Your bicep muscles are attached to bones in your shoulder and elbow by biceps tendons. Most bicep tears occur at the elbow and this will cause a loss of strength in your arm and you will be unable to turn your arm normally.
Complete tendon tears at the elbow will not grow again and heal themselves. They have to be repaired by a surgeon. You will not lose all the functionality in your arm because other muscles will help, but you will lose some functions.
Pretty gruesome stuff!
Men over 30 years old are most at risk but it is possible to tear a tendon at any age.
Reasons Why A Bicep Tear Is Not A Fun Idea
The most important reason to avoid tears is that they are so f*cking painful! When you hear the pop you will experience severe pain and squeal like a baby.
Tearing you bicep tendon will make you look like an utter wanker in the gym. Your credibility will nose dive to zero as others watch you rolling around in agony.
You will probably need expensive surgery to repair it. Good luck with that!
Bicep tear recovery can be long. If you have completely torn your tendon and surgery is required, then it can take between 4-6 months to make a full recovery. A partial tear can take 3-6 weeks.
Don’t think that after a tear you can rest for a couple of days and then get “back on it” because it ain’t happening! You should only resume normal training once you have no pain, the full range of motion and normal upper arm and shoulder strength.
How To Prevent Bicep Tears
Would you attempt bicep curls with 500 pounds on the bar? Of course, you wouldn’t, that would be f*cking stupid right? Well if you use the wrong approach with deadlifting then you could end up doing just that!
Imagine the pressure on your biceps. You will be asking too much from them. Your chances of a “pop” would be greatly increased. You need to develop the right technique to prevent bicep tears.
Change Your Approach
When attempting a deadlift, a lot of guys go at it as men possessed. You will impress nobody with a torn tendon.
Don’t yank the bar. You want to be tight and have tension in your body. Keeping your arms straight is essential.
Flexing your triceps as part of your preparation is a good idea. This helps to straighten your arms and relax your biceps. Think of your arms as “hooks” that cannot bend. Using straps can help as they reduce the amount of stretch on your biceps and your hands will be more relaxed.
Watch Your Grip
Use a mixed grip. This is where your palms are facing in different directions. One toward your body, and the other facing away. With a mixed grip the bar is locked between your hands and if one hand weakens then the negative force is negated by the other hand.
You want to avoid an uneven grip at all costs. This can cause one of your arms to bend and your bicep will be under tremendous pressure.
When you are going for a lockout, don’t try pulling with your upper back as this could cause your arms to bend and really strain your biceps.
Practice With Lighter Weights
If you have a sloppy grip and are always bending your arms with lighter weights, you will be dreaming if you think that you can automatically perfect this when it comes to the real heavy stuff. It will be a bad habit that you will need to work hard on to improve and reduce the risk of bicep tears.
It is a good idea to video yourself practicing your technique with lighter weights. You can then study the videos afterward to look for problems and rectify them. You need to look carefully as some mistakes can be very subtle.
Take This Advice Seriously
These tips will work to prevent you from experiencing bicep tendon tears while attempting deadlifts. Take them on board and lift safely. If you don’t, then one day you are going to tear that shit!
