I've been using a kettle bell for basic bicep work, i'm having alot of success with it. Here's what i've been doing 5 times a week when i wake up. This is just accessory and not part of my other training that happens in the afternoon i'm using a 35lbs weight atm etc...
Try messing around with cables. They are the money when it comes to helping out your joints.
My bicep routine is usually 100x 90lbs on the curl bar and then finished with a dropset to failure on hammer curls (or lately) using an exercise band for the hammers. I had to back off high weight hammer curls because of elbow issues. I do preachers on occasion too but I always liked Arnold's thought that the curl can be a full body lift and prefer to be in a more athletic position.
100x90 as in 100 reps in a single set? Or spread out over a certain amount of sets?
Alright so now I see what you mean here. I don't know if the problem was technique or just adding too much at once, but after a few days of this I strained my lower-back-hips-right-side-area. That is of course the scientific term. Did the presses, then ended up having to quit in the middle of swings. First time that's happened in forever. Seem to be feeling better since it happened day before yesterday, but I think I need to reevaluate.
With kettlebells, it's unlike regular lifting in that you shouldn't chase weight you should chase technique.
I mean, I don't think I was going THAT hard on weight. I was using 25 pounds, which I feel like I've mastered for the Turkish get up.
That would help, and just play it by ear for now and tend towards going easy.
Another way of alleviating elbow issues is mixing up regular curls with modified reverse curls (see attached video for correct technique). This is not a beginner exercise and it definitely takes a while to master, but the payoff is well worth it. It's great for your wrists too.
You could try some spider curls. Try an EZ bar and dumbbells, use whichever feels better. Another technique I've used to good effect was reverse grip curls. I use an axle bar and only bring my forearms up from extension until they're slightly past 90 degrees (so from full extension the bar is probably even with my belly button). Don't worry too much about what's optimal for hypertrophy in your condition. Try different stuff and see what aggravates your tendons the least until they recover fully. I've endured a similar injury in the past so I know what this is like; don't not lift while you're on the mend.
I roll around with 13.75" cannons myself.
So, you're a woman?
Close. I'm a 5'7" man.
Sorry, let me rephrase. Would only doing presses every 3 days or so be enough for the exercise to benefit me? Or is that too big of a gap?
Yes, it would.
To echo the big guy, for sure it would. As long as you're doing enough work to cause a physiological stimulus and then enabling recovery and adaptation, that's all that matters. I don't know how new you are to this but I can tell you for certain that commitment and consistency will get you 90% of the way towards your goals.
I've been semi-consistently doing Simple and Sinister (with much lower weights) for about a year and a half. But I basically just did the exercises that the book told me to and didn't really learn why. Now I'm trying to branch out a little. Progress has been slow, which is fine since I was basically starting from nothing, but I feel like maybe I need to do a few other things at this point.