One of the most gruesome mistakes you can make when doing the deadlift results in a torn biceps tendon. In this video, I’m going to show you exactly what is causing the bicep tendon tears when deadlifting and more importantly how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Many people think that the exercise itself is the cause. This is not the case. Thousands of reps of deadlifts are performed every day around the world and very few of them result in a torn biceps tendon. That said, when two ingredients are in place the risk of tearing a tendon become significantly more likely.
These are the use of a mixed grip and improperly directing force into the bar through the arms at the top of the lift. Let’s look at the mixed grip first. This is a prerequisite for this injury because it places one of the hands in an underhand position via supination at the forearm. The reason this grip is used is so that someone with a weaker grip can have better grasp of the bar. The underhand provides stability by preventing the rolling of the bar out of the hands as it will with a traditional overhand grip.
That said, it also immediately activates the biceps more and places tension through the upper arm that doesn’t happen through the pronated side.
Next however, is where the combination of this and more tension along with stretch becomes the perfect recipe for disaster. When you start to reach the top of the movement the exercise becomes most difficult. You have probably seen people struggle to get through the top of the move and finish their hip extension. It is at this point that the person is likely to rely on other muscles to help get there. This is when the biceps is mistakenly relied on to try and curl the bar to the top. Big mistake.
Often times, the amount of weight being handled on the deadlift is far surpassing any weight that can be reasonably or safely curled by the biceps. Combine this with the additional stretch that gets placed on the biceps tendon at this very moment (as the arm goes from a more flexed shoulder position to a more extended shoulder position – thereby placing more stretch on the biceps in the process) and you quickly see why tears occur in the distal attachment most frequently at this point.
The best way to avoid this happening to you is to actively contract the triceps throughout every rep of the deadlift. Here is what that will accomplish. First, the contraction of the triceps around the elbow will reciprocally inhibit the action of the biceps and not allow it to contribute at the moment you do not want it to. You have essentially quieted the biceps and prevented it from administering tension into the bar.
The second benefit is that through activation of the triceps you are creating stability of the scapula due to the long head attachment of the muscle. This combined with the conscious activation of the lower traps, rhomboids and lats will help to stabilize the shoulder blade and provide more power through the lift by removing slack from the kinetic chain. It is simple to do and is something you can easily be aware of if you slip and forget to do so.
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Jeff – I haven't been able to find a video where you lay out a strategy/stretches or exercises in which could expel the pain someone may have in their back. The specific issue I as well as many others I have come across and met online is one of many things which we just seem to lay out to be – upper back/trap issues. I've had tons of physiotherapy done on me, a bunch of massage therapy as well but to no avail (this has been an issue for nearly a year now). I play soccer, ambidextrous for the most part though I do admit I dribble with my right foot primarily, which would mean I'm constantly hopping on my left leg. I believe this may have something to do with my issues. My masseuse states my erector muscles on my left side are extremely tight, my physio states my upper left trap seems to be the issue causing my upper left sided back pain. I've tried approaching a solution for both of these diagnosis' but to no avail – though I have received temporary relief. I even come home from soccer and on the same day, feel left medial delt pain, as if I had just been punched with 20 needles/shots in the arm. It hurts so much so that raising my arm so it is parallel to the ground is an extreme struggle/painful. I've tried adjusting how I sleep (the pillow I use + forcing myself to lay directly on my back rather than on a side) I have consciously made an effort to sit less, but when I sit to avoid leaning onto/sinking into one hip, I've tried trigger point therapies (rolling onto a small ball). I'm not sure what else I can do… I feel as if I'm withering away, and coming from a 27 yr old man, whos been an athlete his whole life it is very concerning, even just beyond the constant pain I experience day to day… Please, if anyone can reach out to me with a response I'd greatly appreciate it… I'm willing to do a skype session, phone call, or simply just exchange dialogue via messaging on a platform like Youtube or Facebook. Thank you…
Hey there Jeff, quick question about deadlifting. I found out that if I do it with my legs further apart and with my feet pointing to 10 and 2 oclock and have my elbows travel along the inside of my knees I feel no pain in my groins. Whereas if I do it "normally" at moderate loads I start feeling my lower back and groins. Is one method any better than the other?
I ve been natural Bodybuilding for 4 years now 4 days a week and i still dont get why i need to dead lift what do i gain from it ? That i dont get from Barbell Back rows
so straps then, great
Anyone here because they had a torn bicep fixed with surgery?
I never understand that logic. "oh, I can't lift the weight with my whole body, let try using just one of my arm."
Hi Jeff, can you do a video on how to warm up to PR/ one rep max, so we would know we are warming up or wasting our strength. Thanks a lot !
109 people don't do dead-lift.
Thx
I like the video, I'd like to see another video on how to avoid a biceps rupture. I ruptured my right biceps about for years ago doing what I considered a light preacher curl. My Ortho out the dear of God in me by telling me that most people either reinjure the same am or suffer a rupture on the opposite arm. While the injury wasn't the most painful experience of my life I'd like to avoid ever enduring it again.