Sometimes when I’m curling a heavy weight, usually over 100lb, I get pains in my forearm bone, more specifically, the ulna. Recently I’ve taken down the weight and that helps somewhat.
Also, my left elbow gets bad pains from lifting and feels tight and kinked up.
Does anyone have any input on this?
[quote]The Wolverine wrote:
Sometimes when I’m curling a heavy weight, usually over 100lb, I get pains in my forearm bone, more specifically, the ulna. Recently I’ve taken down the weight and that helps somewhat.
Also, my left elbow gets bad pains from lifting and feels tight and kinked up.
Does anyone have any input on this?[/quote]
Yes. That happens because while the long bones are strong and made to stand against fracture from minor insult, they are also ELASTIC to some degree.
The pain you feel is very possibly the result of those bones bending (to such a small degree that it wouldn’t be visually noticeable) and then returning to their natural state. I used to get that as a beginner and sometimes later when I was going heavier. It stopped years ago. The reason it stopped is because my bones adjusted to the strain and increased calcification in the stressed areas.
That means, your mode of action is to continue training (and eating well) until your body adapts. This is all assuming you are eating well and that this isn’t some chronic pain issue. If this is pain that lasts for a significant amount of time after training, you should see a doctor. Otherwise, that is to be expected and is why weight lifters will develop stronger bones as a results.
Also, your left elbow pain is a different matter altogether and may require you to see a doctor. How long have you been lifting and how old are you?
This seems to be something that almost everyone I know who lifts (at least seriously) has gone through. The consensus is that it basically just goes away over time.
Mine was a whole lot worse when I first started. Now it’s pretty much gone unless I go really heavy, and even then, it still doesn’t happen every time.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Also, your left elbow pain is a different matter altogether and may require you to see a doctor. How long have you been lifting and how old are you?[/quote]
Well, I started working out when I was 14, but only took it seriously as of last December. I’m 16 now.
[quote]The Wolverine wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Also, your left elbow pain is a different matter altogether and may require you to see a doctor. How long have you been lifting and how old are you?
Well, I started working out when I was 14, but only took it seriously as of last December. I’m 16 now.[/quote]
You’re 16, been training for 2 years, (only seriously for 3-4 months) and curl 100 lbs for reps. I would first go see a doctor and then assuming everything is okay, check your form. I’m not doubting you, but,I have 2 H.S. age sons and few if any kids I’ve known in their H.S. curl 100 for reps (there were 2 kids that were both 250+ and got full rides to Big 10 schools for football that might). If you’re really curling 100lbs for reps you have a bright future.
[quote]john2009 wrote:
The Wolverine wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Also, your left elbow pain is a different matter altogether and may require you to see a doctor. How long have you been lifting and how old are you?
Well, I started working out when I was 14, but only took it seriously as of last December. I’m 16 now.
You’re 16, been training for 2 years, (only seriously for 3-4 months) and curl 100 lbs for reps. I would first go see a doctor and then assuming everything is okay, check your form. I’m not doubting you, but,I have 2 H.S. age sons and few if any kids I’ve known in their H.S. curl 100 for reps (there were 2 kids that were both 250+ and got full rides to Big 10 schools for football that might). If you’re really curling 100lbs for reps you have a bright future.
[/quote]
Really? A lot of people I know at my school have curled a lot more. At least 200 I think.
I try to have the strictest of form when I exercise. My bent over rowing is the only thing that suffers usually. Well, thanks for the advice. I’ll heck it out with my doc.
Stress fracture is the term. Liek an idiot, i got too confident and curled too much wanting those huge biceps. Then it felt like like someone took a swing at my arm with a baseball bat. It was so messed up that I literally felt uncomfortable doing basic stuff like getting dressed. Eventually it went away last year after I stopped training for a couple of weeks.
Actually did the same thing to the spot where the anterior delt and bicep meet. I am very observant now when curling or shoulder pressing. i think alot of it is a mental block but i am always scarred to go heavy when it comes to those exercises becuase i dont want to take another layoff for a couple of weeks.
I have the exact same problem as you. Does it hurt if you press your hand with the other one after curling the weight, maybe even after a few days?
What worked for me was getting a week off completely.
It was pretty bad. It even hurt at 24 kilos. Now I can do 30 kilos with no problem. However when I tried to go to the max(44kilos) it hurt like hell. But in my case small increments are what seem to have helped.
Thanks for the explanation Prof. X. Now I finally know what it is and that it can be fixed easily.
[quote]Forever_Failure wrote:
Thanks for the explanation Prof. X. Now I finally know what it is and that it can be fixed easily.[/quote]
No problem, but it takes time. Your body doesn’t adapt bone to regular stress overnight. Muscle adapts quickly. Tendon and bone are not anywhere near as quick in adapting to force.
[quote]The Wolverine wrote:
Really? A lot of people I know at my school have curled a lot more. At least 200 I think.
I try to have the strictest of form when I exercise. My bent over rowing is the only thing that suffers usually. Well, thanks for the advice. I’ll heck it out with my doc.
[/quote]
I hate to be a dick, but I’ve seen your pictures in your other thread, and I am very skeptical that you are curling 100 lbs with “the strictest form.” Are you talking about curling a 100 lb barbell, or something else, like on a curl machine or with the cables?
Is curling 100 pounds really a lot? I do one arm dumbbell curls with 50 pounds, and I’m not that strong…
[quote]Professor X wrote:
heavier. It stopped years ago. The reason it stopped is because my bones adjusted to the strain and increased calcification in the stressed areas.
[/quote]
I too have been curious about this, and been meaning to try and find out if there was an optimal way to encourage bone growth (heavy / light, high/low volume). Haven’t really found anything to suggest one mode or another - just lift weights.
The first link in a google search for Wolff’s Law and training is to study suggesting that it’s not so much bone composition that changes as it is the cross-sectional area, which was a surprise to me.*
From personal experience, I can tell you that the time frame for bone adaptation is pretty quick. When I broke my radius and didn’t catch it for 6 weeks, the ulna ended up with a very pronounced callus as new bone began forming. It went away almost as quickly once the radius was fixed, and taking up its share of the load. This callus is shown in my photos (the first x-ray with a round field of view.)
Bone is amazing stuff.
I really question the statement that lots of kids at you school curl 200 lbs. I found this workout on the web
MARK DUGDALE
The link has pictures of Mark. He is working out with 200 lb curls. I would assume the kids at your school look something like this to be working with this weight.
DUGDALE’S LOW-REP/HIGH-WEIGHT SHOCKER
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Down-the-rack barbell curls 5 6-8
Machine preacher curls 2 3
Iron-cross cable curls 2 6-8
KEY POINTS
[quote]The New Guy wrote:
Is curling 100 pounds really a lot? I do one arm dumbbell curls with 50 pounds, and I’m not that strong…[/quote]
But this kid’s 6’1" and not even 170. I agree with the other guys.
[quote]wfifer wrote:
The New Guy wrote:
Is curling 100 pounds really a lot? I do one arm dumbbell curls with 50 pounds, and I’m not that strong…
But this kid’s 6’1" and not even 170. I agree with the other guys. [/quote]
Newbies consider cable machines with plates that read “100lbs” to be the same as free weights.
[quote]polluted wrote:
Professor X wrote:
heavier. It stopped years ago. The reason it stopped is because my bones adjusted to the strain and increased calcification in the stressed areas.
I too have been curious about this, and been meaning to try and find out if there was an optimal way to encourage bone growth (heavy / light, high/low volume). Haven’t really found anything to suggest one mode or another - just lift weights.
The first link in a google search for Wolff’s Law and training is to study suggesting that it’s not so much bone composition that changes as it is the cross-sectional area, which was a surprise to me.*
From personal experience, I can tell you that the time frame for bone adaptation is pretty quick. When I broke my radius and didn’t catch it for 6 weeks, the ulna ended up with a very pronounced callus as new bone began forming. It went away almost as quickly once the radius was fixed, and taking up its share of the load. This callus is shown in my photos (the first x-ray with a round field of view.)
Bone is amazing stuff.
The biggest factor in the time it takes for bone to repair after injury is AGE.
Last time I saw a kid try and curl 135 he shit his pants…literally
[quote]polluted wrote:
When I broke my radius and didn’t catch it for 6 weeks, the ulna ended up with a very pronounced callus as new bone began forming. It went away almost as quickly once the radius was fixed, and taking up its share of the load. This callus is shown in my photos (the first x-ray with a round field of view.)[/quote]
Fascinating pictures. Thanks for posting them.
It’s extremely interesting to see how fast the callus shrank between March 05 and Oct 05.
Was the callus pure cortical bone?
What’s the deal with the tuberosity on the inner side of the radius (the bump that the fracture appears to run through on the March 05 x-ray)? Was that purely extra bone that your body created during the six weeks that you walked around with the fracture?
[quote]polluted wrote:
Terrific article. Thanks for citing it. In case anyone is interested, I found it on the web for free at the following address:
http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/reprint/63/5/780
This study is concerned with adaptation to running 40 kilometers per week on a treadmill, which might be different from lifting heavy weights a few dozen times per day. Also I’m not sure whether the article’s methodology was capable of discerning changes in the structure of trabeculae. So that might be two factors, at least, that are relevant to this discussion but not settled very well by the article.
(This isn’t a criticism of the article or of your citing it – it’s a great article.)
[quote]ncscarface wrote:
Last time I saw a kid try and curl 135 he shit his pants…literally[/quote]
hahaha. I have yet to shit my pants on a really heavy weight, personally, I think that’s something to be proud of. Okay, maybe not, but at least it is a good story.
I have ripped one coming out of the hole on a heavy squat before, it was right as my friend was walking by too. I nearly failed the damn lift because of it.