Sometimes, it's difficult to tell if you're overtraining, but there's a difference between being sore from a tough lifting session and being sore from overtraining. If you are feeling consistent pain in your muscles and joints or have headaches, insomnia, and uninspired gym sessions - you might be overtraining.
Injury: Overworking the biceps can lead to strains, tears, or other injuries. The muscles and tendons may become overstressed, increasing the risk of acute injuries. Muscle Fatigue: Excessive training can lead to muscle fatigue, which can decrease performance in subsequent workouts and daily activities.
Symptoms of a biceps tear or biceps rupture
Bruising and sometimes swelling in that part of the arm. Shoulder and arm weakness. A bulge in one part of the upper arm – with a gap in the other part – because the muscle has bunched up in one section of the biceps.
Rest. It's particularly important to avoid any heavy lifting, flexing at your elbow and over your head. Physical therapy. Your provider may refer you to a physical therapist to help your shoulder or elbow recover with biceps tendonitis exercises.
Add more rest days to your week to give your muscles the chance to recover, or if the pain continues, see your doctor or a physiotherapist. The NHS suggests that DOMS will typically last between 3 and 5 days, yet you're likely to feel your muscles loosen up after the first couple of days.
Overtraining
This occurs more often than not when training the biceps. The biceps muscle is a small muscle group and limited to elbow flexion only. Clients can experience issues when trying to build bigger biceps because they simply do too much.
The most common symptom of a bicep tear or strain is a sudden burst of pain in the upper arm near the shoulder. You could also hear a “popping” sound as the tendon tears. Other signs that you may have torn a bicep tendon can include: Weakness in the shoulder.
It takes about 3 to 4 months for your biceps muscle to heal. You may be able to do easier daily activities in 2 to 3 weeks, as long as you don't use your injured arm.
Once torn off, the biceps tendon at the elbow will not grow back to the bone and heal. Other arm muscles make it possible to bend the elbow fairly well without the biceps tendon. However, they cannot fulfill all the functions of the elbow, especially the motion of rotating the forearm from palm down to palm up.
Therefore, you must give yourself enough time to recover in between your bicep workouts. Generally, a 24-48 hour resting period is sufficient to avoid any injury. In case you're using heavy weights, make sure to rest at least for two consecutive days.
Doing 100 push-ups a day can help build muscle mass, strength, and endurance, especially in your core and upper body. But it can also increase your risk of muscle imbalances, injury, and overtraining. It's important to focus on proper form when practicing push-ups.
But most people should aim for 1 to 3 rest days per week. You can use your rest days to support recovery by doing light exercise and working on mobility. Your workout schedule may not always go as planned. So listen to your body and take a rest day when you feel depleted or have unusual aches and pains.
If you're feeling your biceps while doing bench presses, it's likely due to improper technique. This can be a common mistake, especially if you're new to weightlifting or haven't had proper coaching. Your elbows may be flaring out too much, which shifts the emphasis from your chest to your arms.
No body part grows by trashing it every day—you need to rest to let your arms recover. In the hours after a workout, your muscles lose strength and power as they heal; after 36 to 48 hours, the muscle actually gets stronger, a process called "supercompensation." Bottom line: give yourself rest.
As your bicep tears, you'll likely feel a sudden jolt of pain either near your shoulder or near your elbow. This pain occurs whether you suffered a partial tear or a complete tear. Popping sound. Along with pain, the torn bicep may produce a popping sound when injured.
If your goal is endurance and lean muscle, use a lighter weight and perform one to three sets of 12 to 16 reps with at least one day of rest in between. For maximum results, switch up your workouts. Don't do the exact same routines every session.
PT Tip: Modify Your Weight Lifting Regimen
You can still do upper body resistance training if you have biceps tendinitis but be strategic, says Dr. Smith. You don't have to avoid any specific exercise — instead, make adjustments that support both your healing and strengthening goals.
Your initial assessment should ideally be within 48 hours of your injury. Above: Gentle massage can help in the treatment for a bicep muscle tear.
Stretching can help you heal from a muscle strain, as long as it's not severe.
Training your biceps every day will put a great deal of stress and strain on the muscle and may mean you reach “failure” quicker than you should. Failure occurs when a muscle can no longer contract concentrically.