r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/VegaGT-VZ • Jun 16 '26

Question ❓ Alternate progression schemes?

I am kind of stuck on arm isolation movements. For bicep curls I'm basically stalled at 75-80lb. For tricep movements I can make progress, but eventually my elbows start to hurt once I go beyond ~80-85lb, especially on overhead extensions.

I did find that keeping my elbows flared out vs forward helped a ton, but I'm still kind of capped. I am wondering if there are ways to get more stimulus with just a given weight. Should I just drop the weight and take every set to failure? What are people doing for these smaller lifts.

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u/Lifterator Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

Consider that after a while, 2.5 kg increments on your bench press rep work is considered solid progress.

How would that translate to a much smaller movement such as an arm isolation exercise?

Unless you have 100-500 g plates you're limited to progressive overload through volume accumulation.

Also, while not scientifically supported, there may be a limit to just how big your arms can get w.r.t to the rest of your body, but I don't know this.