An important preface to this Table Talk: Neither Joe Sullivan nor Dave Tate is a doctor (let alone a physical therapist), so take what they say with a grain of salt... and maybe consider getting in touch with your physical therapist before trying out anything they suggest for this question:
"I have bicep pain after heavy squatting. Do you have any tips to help eliminate this or migrate it?"
Joe starts with an incredibly helpful answer: Start by watching Dave Tate’s Q&A because someone asks this every week.
Dave stays composed over Joe’s laughter and says that people need to move their fucking grip out. No doctor or physical therapist he may be, but he claims that in 90... probably even 98 percent of all cases of bicep tendonitis, it’s easily resolved by moving your grip on the squats and putting on some light elbow sleeves, just to keep the heat on there.
Next, skip one bench workout — the one you’re planning on doing next.
"Holy shit, you’re gonna be fucking amazed at how awesome your fucking bicep tendons feel."
This time, Joe adds a more serious answer from a movement approach. He’s dealt with the bicep pain, so he’s speaking from experience as a lifter (and again, not a doctor). He refers to it as the “classic heavier-than-200-pound powerlifter pain,” which starts by getting bad in squats, then starts impacting your bench.
Adding on to Dave’s fix, Joe recommends putting Capsaicin on the afflicted area to get the blood flow and heat going (which makes sense since that’s the chemical compound that makes certain peppers spicy hot) in the joint. Also, use your lats how you should be while squatting. It’s basically the last two inches of a lat pulldown. Hold that contraction — that’s what you should feel when you’re squatting.
Dave looks impressed with Joe’s answer.
"That’s actually the probably real solution, where mine’s more of a Band-Aid."
Dave doesn’t want to understate the issue because it sucks. He’s dealt with it. One of the worst ones he’s had forced him to freeze a Dixie cup and peel the ice off to ice his biceps after benching. He’d do that to make them numb just so he could actually bench, which hurt. He couldn’t lower anything.
This went on for years until he met Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell who told him to move his grip out.
And guess what? Louie was right. Dave’s years of pain and suffering were fixed by a change in grip.
