Once and for all, how likely are biceps tears from pulling with a mixed grip? Thanks.
45.863%
Really it depends on you. That’s like asking how likely I am to drive into a tree. Depends on how you drive and how good a driver you are.
Just out of curiosity, how much do you pull? For the vast majority of people, moving enough weight to seriously have that risk is probably unlikely.
If your form sucks and your arms are weak there is a very good chance. You could just always just deadlift with your curl max… thats what I do.
If you begin your pull with a jerk of the arms, you are far more likely to suffer a bicep injury. If your arms are fixed and merely serve as hooks, not so much. I’ve seen a couple people [suspectedly] tear biceps on the platform. Both started the pull by slackening and then jerking with the arms. Always makes me cringe to see this.
[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how much do you pull? For the vast majority of people, moving enough weight to seriously have that risk is probably unlikely. [/quote]
Right now I could pull 375-400 for a couple reps.
Why do you think that the weight being handled is such a big factor? I feel like that it has more to do with technique and the stress on the tendon.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
If you begin your pull with a jerk of the arms, you are far more likely to suffer a bicep injury. If your arms are fixed and merely serve as hooks, not so much. I’ve seen a couple people [suspectedly] tear biceps on the platform. Both started the pull by slackening and then jerking with the arms. Always makes me cringe to see this.[/quote]
Definitely don’t want to jerk the bar off the ground or try to curl the weight. Keep the elbows locked out by flexing the triceps.
I have also seen biceps tear during the mid-range of the movement. Not just the start.
[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
[quote]Sharp4850 wrote:
Just out of curiosity, how much do you pull? For the vast majority of people, moving enough weight to seriously have that risk is probably unlikely. [/quote]
Right now I could pull 375-400 for a couple reps.
Why do you think that the weight being handled is such a big factor? I feel like that it has more to do with technique and the stress on the tendon.[/quote]
The weight being handled is not a factor at all. The stress on the attachment of the bicep tendon is what matters. You could tear a bicep with 100lbs if you jerk/seizure it up hard enough.
Just make sure your technique is dialed in. Keep your tricpes flexed hard when you set up and when you pull. This will keep your elbows locked and will make it so your biceps will barely fire at all. The triceps are an antagonist muscle to your biceps. In other words, flex them hard as shit and you get to a point where you can’t flex your biceps.
Keep your arms, forearms, and grip as strong as you can. I know guys who have torn biceps while pulling and the common denominator is not training one of those three things and having bad technique. Most of the biggest pullers on earth use a mixed grip and havent had bicep problems.
I used mixed grip, never had any pain or stress on my biceps
Do your curls. Fix your technique. Live without bicep tears (barring an unfortunate accident, shit happens sometimes).
I have pulled mixed for a few years now, never had a tear or any bicep pain whatsoever.
Is bending the elbow(curling the weight up) the only real cause of tears? I always flex my triceps hard so it shouldn’t be a problem for me in that area.
Have seen tears with less than 500, and had an associate tear with around 500 … both were bodybuilder / powerlifters …and their curl was a pretty good % of their DL …
with the guy I saw pull it, he did not jerk the bar, but was pulling with bent arms …
and it quickly travelled up his arm, not pretty, end of his BB career, and he was a regional Mister winner…
muscle imbalance, and poor technique
[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
Is bending the elbow(curling the weight up) the only real cause of tears? I always flex my triceps hard so it shouldn’t be a problem for me in that area.[/quote]
There is always going to be some risk involved. Like STB said…"The stress on the attachment of the bicep tendon is what matters. You could tear a bicep with 100lbs if you jerk/seizure it up hard enough.
Just make sure your technique is dialed in. Keep your tricpes flexed hard when you set up and when you pull. This will keep your elbows locked and will make it so your biceps will barely fire at all. The triceps are an antagonist muscle to your biceps. In other words, flex them hard as shit and you get to a point where you can’t flex your biceps.
Keep your arms, forearms, and grip as strong as you can. I know guys who have torn biceps while pulling and the common denominator is not training one of those three things and having bad technique. Most of the biggest pullers on earth use a mixed grip and havent had bicep problems".
You do everything you can to reduce the risk!