Joint pain with tricep presses - form problem?

[bRobertson]

'lo everyone, been lurking for awhile, really enjoying reading through the forum archives.

My newb question of the day is this: while doing tricep presses (like

this

, but with both arms at once) I'm noticing a lot of pain just above the point where the muscle attaches to the bone spur on the back of my forearm. It really threw me off my last arm workout, so I'm hoping to get the problem ironed out before my next one.

I'm able to use the same weight for kickbacks, so I'm not lifting too heavy.

I try to keep my upper arms right next to my ears; is this too far back? If I angle them a bit farther forward, the pain sorta transmutes into a normal sensation of effort - am I just stretching things too far?

I appreciate any advice you guys may offer.

Thanks,
Bob Robertson

[inflated]

You are probably suffering from tendinosis--a milder form of tendonitis. I get it occasionally the best advice I was given is to lighten up on my grip on all lifts especially bench press. Ice the sore spot after a workout--a bag of frozen peas or frozen corn makes a nice icepack. Some stretching right after a workout is a good idea--then ice the area later.

[bRobertson]

Hey, thanks for the reply!

I probably could've phrased things better. I'm only getting pain during the actual motion, not afterward. Or is this just how it starts?

Thanks for the advice about stretching, though. I'll incorporate a quick routine, like I should've been doing. I am surprised, though, that it hit so quickly. I've only been lifting a few weeks, and sporadically at that.

Thanks again,
Bob Robertson

[hyooge]

This movement has always been painful for me. Given the awkward position that it puts your arm into, I don't think that it's as effective as other exercises for building your triceps.

For me, nothing is a good as old-fashioned dips:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ridgely8.htm

Skull crushers are also good:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...gTriExtSC.html

I would suggest giving these a try. If they're less painful than what you're doing, you might consider making these your core triceps movements.

[bRobertson]

Oooh, those look good. I'd honestly not considered just swapping it out for something else, for some (poor) reason - thanks! I suppose I can do dips off the side of a couch or something; it shouldn't be too difficult to improvise something.

What's your opinion on kickbacks, if any?

Thanks,
Bob Robertson

[Hulk2be]

I know alot of people like skull crushers, but I'm not amoung them. They're called skull crushers for a reason...lol. Guess where the barbell is going to fall when your triceps reach failure. And yes, I talk from experience on that one. I would suggest, especially if you are a beginner, to do the skull crusher movement, but with a dumbbell in each hand instead. That way, when you reach failure, you can drop them off to the side. I do this exercise myself, have for a long time, and like it quite a bit.

[Hulk2be]

As for kickbacks, I like them too. Dumbbell skullcrushers and kickbacks are two of the three tricep exercises that I have in my routine. The third is pushdowns on a lat pulldown machine. The kickback is essentially a dumbbell skullcrusher done in a different position. My advice for kickbacks is to focus on correct form, and not on the amount of weight used. Be sure you're doing them correctly, and if you have to drop weight to do so, then so be it.

[AS2000]

I personally like the overhead tricep press that's in the video. But I'd suggest trying it one armed. From my experience, if I try to do 2 at once, I tend to get a little off-balance, and my form goes to hell. (Then again, I'm not exactly a gymnast when it comes to balance, so take that with a grain of salt.)

The other thing, as inflated mentioned, is to watch your grip. I also got some pain doing this and other exercises at one point, and gripping too hard was part of the problem, I think.

Another thing is rest. Depending on the pain, you may want to take some rest time for a week. The last thing you want is tendinitis, which you can get if you aggravate an injury. (I can't really say if this is the issue, but anything other than regular soreness I tend to treat with caution.)

I took a week when I had some pain in my forearms, and it was for the best. (Although what hurt was the band that encircles the mid forearm (forget what it's called) which you have to be careful with.) Just about any arm exercise hurt for me, whether triceps, biceps, whatever. So I gave it a week, and came back, and could lift nice and heavy again. :) Ultimately, it depends on what exactly is hurting.

[bRobertson]

Heh. I'm definitely still working the kinks out of both routine and motivation, but I do appreciate all the advice I've gotten here. Thanks a lot, guys. I'll definitely be sticking around, albeit quietly.

-Bob