Jordan Shallow, the Muscle Doc, has taught us much about utilizing accessory work to prevent future injury. We heard him speak a little to the prevention of shoulder injury via tricep extensions not too long ago. Today, he talks about preventing shoulder and elbow pain with bicep curls.
RECENT: WATCH: How Tricep Extensions Can Improve Your Bench Press
Jordan notes that most powerlifters should be doing proper bicep curls as part of their training, as he mentions in one of his coaching logs. He says it’s important to train the muscle of the bicep rather than the joints of the elbow and shoulder in this case. We should be focusing on building our bicep where we know it to be weak for an effect on shoulder extension.
"It might be time we take bicep training a little more serious."
In doing this move, Jordan recommends that instead of rolling the shoulders forward as most people do, to retract the shoulder blades and roll the shoulders back. This provides important extension. Additionally, when readying to lift the weight, do not rotate from your wrist. Rather, you’ll want to rotate from the shoulder so that your palms face the ceiling.
All of these adjustments help to achieve the full stretch of the bicep in relation to the elbow and shoulder. Over time, this move (when done properly) helps our bench press by preventing the elbow and shoulder injuries that are so common when bench pressing.
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So next time you’re in the gym doing accessory work, specifically bicep curls, remember to rotate the shoulders back and use shoulder rotation to face the weights forward. Getting this full extension will improve your gains overall.
