Biceps work=sore shoulders?

[Sonnenschein]

I'm finding that working my biceps leaves me sore along the tops of my shoulders. Does anyone know if that's normal, or a sign of poor form or of trying to lift too heavy? Thanks! --Karen

 

[kathryn]

Some thoughts:
It's possibly a sign of either poor form (using your front shoulder to do some of the work instead of the biceps) or using too heavy a weight ( so, again, the shoulders have to pitch in). Try doing the bicep work with dumbbells, making sure to keep your elbows glued to your side (they may move a bit, but not too much). Also, make sure that your shoulders are "back and down" (that scapular contraction that Cathe always tells us about), because I think that maybe if they are rounded a bit toward the front they will be more apt to carry some of the weight.

 

[Aquajock]

Understanding that you can never totally isolate any one muscle group from its surrounding assisters (and the anterior deltoids work closely with the biceps), perhaps focus more on dumbbell isolation curls, where you're in a seated position and the elbow of the working arm is braced against the inner knee (use your other hand / arm to keep the back stable by placing it on ITS knee), and curling in a palm-up position. That will minimize the contribution of the anterior delts, and perhaps reduce the resulting soreness.

Annette Q. Aquajock

 

[Sonnenschein]

Thanks so much for taking the time to help, I'll give the dumbbell treatment a shot. --Karen