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Too many bicep curls?


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I've still been on that schedule I mentioned in a previous post; started lifting a little dumbbell for the last few weeks and adding a minute each week, and now I am up to 8 minutes of bicep curls with a 5-pound dumbbell every day (per arm).

 

I plan on finishing until I do this for 10 straight minutes, then getting a 10-pound dumbbell and starting back at 5 minutes per arm (hope I'm making sense here), working my way up by one minute every week till I reach 10 minutes with a 10-pound weight, and just continuing that for maintenance.

 

I'm just wondering, is doing this many bicep curls likely to cause any problems? I really hope not because honestly I love having the endurance this lifting has given me; I can do chores or work with my arms for hours on end without them even getting the slightest bit tired or sore.

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I don't see anything wrong with it. I know of people that do reps that are upward of 5 minutes long...meaning 5 minutes on the bench down to the chest...then starting all over.

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Sounds good! Makes sure you adjust your angles too. Like doing it on and incline or laying flat on a bench and curling. I know after a while 1 min of curls can be brutal. Keep at it and let us know if your arms grow.

 

Thanks for the tips, and I sure will! They are already a little bigger.

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If you are after endurance it might be ok, for muscle growth and strenght it probably would be better to do fewer reps less often .

 

Endurance is mostly what I am going for; I like how my arms are growing (slowly), and are quite a bit stronger, but that's more a side benefit; I want to be able to have arms that can work all day without wearing out or getting sore. Though maybe one day I will try training for more strength and size...

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That's a really cool way of training, Ralph. The strength you're talking about getting as a side benefit could have something to do with the fact that this type of training really strengthens the connective tissue associated with curling. If you ever do decide to train specifically for size and/or strength, your body will be more prepared for it and less prone to injury. I'm not familiar with the schedule you mentioned; where can I find it? I suppose my only concern is that you're doing something for your triceps as well.

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That's a really cool way of training, Ralph. The strength you're talking about getting as a side benefit could have something to do with the fact that this type of training really strengthens the connective tissue associated with curling. If you ever do decide to train specifically for size and/or strength, your body will be more prepared for it and less prone to injury. I'm not familiar with the schedule you mentioned; where can I find it? I suppose my only concern is that you're doing something for your triceps as well.

 

The schedule is basically something I thought up; pretty much what I put in the OP of this thread--adding a minute a week to my lifting till I hit 10 minutes of curls. I hoped to start at 5 minutes per arm, but decided to start with 4 minutes to ease into it. Today I go for 9 minutes per arm. It's really good to know that if I decide to train for size and strength I'll be more ready for it!

 

I am not doing anything specifically for my triceps, but they seem to be developing alongside my biceps; they seem a little bigger at least. Also, I only begin to feel any kind of "burn" after about 50 or 60 curls so I think that's another sign of developing staying power.

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That's awesome! It sounds like you'll have no problem hitting 9 minutes today. Personally, I still think it would a good idea to add a tricep exercise as well. The reason is that, when you do curls, your biceps contract and your triceps relax. As your biceps become stronger than your triceps, they pull your arms inward (like your hugging), and it becomes more difficult to fully straighten your arm. This type of muscular imbalance could eventually leave you open to injury. The extra size you're noticing in your triceps might not be a result of extra strength but, instead, a result of extra blood flow in the entire arm (which is still a very good thing). This isn't something you have to worry about tomorrow or anything, but over time it could be dangerous. Maybe you could do curls and tricep extensions on alternate days. It's totally your call, though. I think it's great that your building such endurance and are able to notice improvements.

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Maybe you could do curls and tricep extensions on alternate days. It's totally your call, though. I think it's great that your building such endurance and are able to notice improvements.

 

Thank you!

 

9 minutes was a small challenge with my left arm, which is strange because that one's bicep seems more developed and doesn't get tired as easily. But, it was not too hard.

 

The tricep extension idea sounds very intriguing. I think after the next few weeks (after working my way up to 10 minutes of bicep curls with my 10-pound dumbbell) I will start doing them on alternate days instead of my bicep curls, maybe doing the same way of building up (starting at 4 or 5 minutes an arm [is it possible to safely do tricep extensions with one arm?]).

 

Thank you very much for the tip.

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Congrats on hitting 9 minutes! As far as the one-arm tricep extensions, it's completely safe. You can also do kickbacks, but I prefer the extensions. I would just google them and you'll find tons of decriptions that should make the exercise easy to incorporate. At this rate, you'll have arms that can work for hours. Maybe you should look into becoming a boxer.

 

Mike

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Congrats on hitting 9 minutes! As far as the one-arm tricep extensions, it's completely safe. You can also do kickbacks, but I prefer the extensions. I would just google them and you'll find tons of decriptions that should make the exercise easy to incorporate. At this rate, you'll have arms that can work for hours. Maybe you should look into becoming a boxer.

 

Mike

 

As a matter of fact, I think I would have a lot of fun with amateur boxing. I wonder if they do it in Portland, ME, where I plan on moving. There seems to be a lot of athletic events there. At least, as compared with the town I live in now.

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Well, I am up to 10 minutes an arm since yesterday. I think I have built up a lot of endurance since I began, or even since last week; 9 minutes seemed like more of a challenge than 10. Today, it was a little hard because I'd done a lot of work and donated blood plasma about 4 and a half hours ago and that sapped a lot of my staying power, but it wasn't *too* bad.

 

I can't wait till next Wednesday when I start with a 10-pounder

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Well, I did my ten-pound curling yesterday! I decided to go for 4 minutes an arm to start off with. Five minutes seemed like it would be a little rough so that's for next week!

 

I've decided to start doing triceps extesions on alternate days now instead of later, but I found that with my 5-pound dumbbell, I could barely handle them at all!

 

I did 4 minutes with my right arm anyway, but could only muster one minute with my left. I wonder if I may be doing them wrong? I grasped the dumbbell and held it behind my shoulder, with my elbow pointing up, and then extended it as far as my elbow would go, brought it down, and continued. It became pretty painful though as time went by. I think I may start doing just 1 minute per arm with the triceps extensions and build up to 5 minutes. I think ten minutes of extensions would cause my hand or arm to eventually fall off.

 

Any tricep extension tips to make the exercise less painful are very appreciated; does anyone know of any?

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I'm glad to hear the curling is going well; ten pounds for ten minutes is just around the corner! Don't feel discouraged about the tricep extensions. The tris are a tough group to exercise for a lot of people. As long as the pain is only muscle pain, it sounds like you're doing the exercise with good form. If your elbow hurts instead of your tricep, you might need to make some changes. As long as you're feeling the exercise in the triceps, there's nothing at all wrong with starting at one minute. Good luck, Ralph. Let us know how things go!

 

Mike

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I'm glad to hear the curling is going well; ten pounds for ten minutes is just around the corner! Don't feel discouraged about the tricep extensions. The tris are a tough group to exercise for a lot of people. As long as the pain is only muscle pain, it sounds like you're doing the exercise with good form. If your elbow hurts instead of your tricep, you might need to make some changes. As long as you're feeling the exercise in the triceps, there's nothing at all wrong with starting at one minute. Good luck, Ralph. Let us know how things go!

 

Mike

 

Thanks Mike!

 

I notice that I actually got a dull pain in my shoulder. Is that normal, or is something wrong with my form?

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Does it feel like muscle pain? Sometimes your shoulders might get worked a bit just by holding the weight up. And there's nothing wrong with that; it'll probably go away after you do the exercise a couple of times and you'll have stronger shoulders because of it . If the pain feels sharp and seems to hurt inside the socket, there might be something wrong. Of course, I'd be careful and keep an eye on things, but it seems to me that it would be hard (though not impossible) to hurt your shoulder doing this exercise. I would be more worried about the elbow. If that doesn't hurt, I think we're cool.Were you able to find a good description (maybe online) of how the exercise is performed, with pictures and such?

 

Mike

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