Here’s an excellent article by Doug Brolus, who has trained for over five decades and is still getting results. He’s found out through vast experience ways to train and eat that will take care of your body for the long haul. Here he gives you insights into how to train to protect your joints and improve your results.

Training Tips To Help Prevent Injury

Exercise: Preacher Bench Curls

When you use a straight bar on preacher curls your hands are locked in one position and can cause inflamed tendons near your elbows (which is called epicondylitis), from too much pressure on the tendons. I use dumbbells so my wrists are not locked in one position. I can rotate my wrists and this will take the pressure off the tendons. I also put a 4 to 5 inch block under the back of the preacher bench to give it more of an incline. This also takes the pressure off the tendons and will give you a much more peaked biceps.

Exercise: Dumbbell Bench Press to the Neck

When you use a straight bar on the bench press you put a lot of strain on the shoulder tendons because your hands and wrists are locked in like they are on the preacher bench curls when you use the straight bar. I use dumbbells for the bench press like I do on the preacher bench curls and rotate my wrists. This will take pressure off the tendons and give you better muscle size because you can come down deeper with the dumbbells.

Also, I put a 4 to 5 inch block of wood under the end of the bench to give it a little decline to take the pressure off the tendons.

Exercise Variation

I switched some time ago from the regular bench press to the bench press to the neck. With a straight bar, you lower the bar to your collarbones (clavicles), higher on the chest than the ordinary bench press. You can do this with dumbbells by keeping your arms back, in line with  your shoulders (and clavicles) as you do the exercise. This will give you a high chest look, with better development.

Vitamin C

A very important thing is to take vitamin C each day and eat fruit with vitamin C. Vitamin C is the only vitamin that will make collagen, the protein substance of the white fibers of the tendons and ligaments which holds the body together. Take 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams a day. Take some with breakfast and some with dinner.

Train hard!

A Younger Doug Brolus