Man, my right elbow started acting up every time I swung my tennis racket last month. Felt like someone stuck a hot needle right in there every backhand. Decided I needed to sort this out, found a physio buddy who said, “Hey, try building up the bicep muscles gently – sometimes the tendon’s weak and stuff around it needs backup.” Made sense to me. Stumbled on that “Bicep Exercises For Tennis Elbow Safe Moves To Build Strength” concept.
Getting Started & Playing It Safe
First things first, I hauled my lazy self to the garage and dug out my dusty pair of light dumbbells – nothin’ fancy, just some cheap adjustable ones. Got a chair too. My physio pal warned me HARD: NO heavy weights at first, and NO straightening the elbow all the way. Overextend that angry tendon? Big mistake. Made that error once early on, and yeah… felt like lightning shot up my arm. Learnt that lesson fast. Slow and steady wins this race.
The Actual Moves I Did Carefully
Sat my butt on the edge of the chair, feet flat. Picked up the light dumbbell in my sore arm (right one). Hand facing up like I was holding a cup of tea. Then, with my elbow tucked snug against my side the whole time:
- Started Curling: Just bent my elbow slowly, brought the weight towards my shoulder as gentle as you please. Didn’t force it up high if my elbow grumbled.
- Held It: Squeezed my bicep tight at the top for a second or two. Felt that muscle wake up.
- Lowered It Slow: This was key! Dropped the weight back down super controlled, but stopped BEFORE my arm got poker-straight. Kept a tiny, comfy bend in the elbow the whole time down to the bottom. Felt much safer.
Did that maybe 10 times per set? Only did two sets to start. Then switched to my left arm too, even though it wasn’t sore. Gotta keep things balanced. Seriously, the controlled lowering part is where you actually build the strength safely. Flying down fast? Nope, that gets ya nowhere but back to square one.
Tiny Wins & What Felt Better
Stuck with this stupidly simple routine – just two sets on each arm, maybe every other day? After like two weeks, honestly, the change was subtle but real. Washing dishes? Didn’t make me wince grabbing plates anymore. Picking up my laptop bag? Noticeably less griping from my elbow. Still ain’t Roger Federer, mind you, but I can swing the racket without feeling like my arm’s gonna fall off. Still get a tiny ache sometimes, but man, it’s WAY better. Gonna keep at it, maybe add a teensy bit more weight soon if it feels okay. The main thing? Don’t rush the lowering part. Ever. Solid.