"Tricep Dumbbell Kickback" causing fatigue pain in back side of shoulder

Question

"Tricep Dumbbell Kickback" is my favorite exercise to work on triceps but fatigue pain (Not a pain because I am hurt). I can't hold weight with elbow at 90 degree position. The position that I chose to work on triceps is shown in edited picture, also I marked where I feel pain. It started paining before I feel pumped up (worked out) triceps. I do 3 sets/each arm, each sets has 12-10-8 reps, with gradually increasing weight. I take rest for 10-12 seconds between each set, though I want to rest lesser but I am afraid that fatigue pain would not let me complete the next set, so I rest longer.

Question is, this pain is normal for every body builder(expert or beginner) and no alternative to it or is it with me only, I am doing it the wrong way?

Answer 1

I feel the same when doing Triceps dumbbell kickbacks , and feel that is because you need to control the weight from going down , you are working against the gravity.As one increases the weight , more tension can be felt in the shoulders and the focus shifts from triceps to shoulders. I found this video/suggestion by noah siegel , an optimum nutrition athlete and one of my idol . In this video he is using ropes instead of dumbbells in the same triceps kickback movement.Triceps Kickback using ropes

This movement focuses only on triceps and there is no tension on the shoulders .

Answer 2

It's not uncommon to develop joint pain that is inflammation related during weightlifting, however inflammation doesn't go away if you keep doing the same things.

There's some possibilities as to what's causing the inflammation in the order of likelihood:

• Overuse of that movement pattern (tension in the rear delt with the arm held close to the body)
• Insufficient strength in surrounding or antagonist musculature
• Improper warmup

For the time being, you'll have to stop the triceps kickbacks to let the shoulder recover. See if there are other triceps exercises that don't cause pain such as standing triceps extensions on the machine with the rope attachment, etc.

To help the shoulder recover, you'll have to use it in different ways to build up the surrounding musculature:

• Diesel Shoulder Rehab

Lastly, examine your programming (exercise selection and volume). Look at what you are doing, or not doing, that can cause your shoulders to come out of alignment and cause inflammation problems. It could be that you are simply doing too much volume on certain muscles, but not enough on the ones you are trying to target. Selecting different exercises can help do what you want without overworking things you don't want. Ensure that you have antagonist muscles hit with sufficient volume to keep everything balanced.

Answer 3

This is a common issue. Your posterior delts need more training. I suggest doing:
Rows:

or bent over lateral raise:

Also, you may want to increase you rest time as follows:
If your goal is muscle endurance: 30-45 seconds
If your goal is muscle hypertrophy: 60-90 seconds
If your goal is strength: 3-5 minutes

Answer 4

Nobody here can tell you "yes, that's normal for you" or "everyone feels that". Simply can't be done over the intertubes.

However, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is your form. If you are a little wild/loose with your form, you could be using the rear deltoid to lift your arm/shoulder slightly as you do the kickback. As the rear deltoid is easily fatigued, this can be causing the fatigue you are feeling.

For a proper kickback, the only joint that should be bending/straightening is your elbow. If your shoulder is moving around, you've got form issues. Not only will it fatigue the muscles but it could also lead to injury.

If your shoulder is not moving, and is still fatiguing, then you just need more time and exercise on that area as Peter suggests, and you can do other exercises (Such as tricep pulldowns with a rope) to target the triceps muscle.

Answer 5

That's the achilles of the triceps kickback. The posterior shoulder giving out before the triceps do. Maybe do some other triceps exercise instead? Close grip push ups are already a much more effective movement. Look up a YouTube video where Bill Kazmaier gives a little seminar in a small gym. He speaks on the triceps more near the end of the video. Skull crushers are devistating to the elbows. Triceps pushdowns make the core the weak link. Kickback he regards as fluff. Decline close grip bench press is what he advocates. Hence I say, close grip push ups. Bas Rutten can also be seen doing push ups for the triceps. Look up 'Bas Rutten push ups' on YouTube. Those push ups make your triceps functional in strength. Not just appearence.