Fixing your exercise

Good — that clarification helps. Since you’re already doing isometric dumbbell holds and icing the shoulder after tennis, the remaining missing piece is true biceps-tendon rest days, not just “lighter” days.

Below is a clear, tendon-specific way to add rest days without cutting out the sports you enjoy.

Key concept (important distinction)

A biceps tendon rest day does NOT mean:

• No activity

• No tennis or pickleball at all

It means:

• No elbow-flexion loading

• No supination under load

• No pulling or hitting volume that recruits the biceps repeatedly

Swimming, sauna, walking, legs, and even light tennis footwork are fine.

1️⃣ What counts as biceps-tendon load (to avoid on rest days)

On a true rest day, avoid:

• Chin-ups / pull-ups

• Rows (bands or machines)

• Dumbbell curls (even light)

• Hitting tennis or pickleball balls

• Wall hitting drills

• Resistance bands involving elbow bend

👉 Tennis and pickleball count as biceps load, even if pain feels “shoulder-based.”

2️⃣ Where to place rest days in

your

week

You need 2 non-consecutive biceps tendon rest days/week.

Best candidates from your schedule

✅

Tuesday = Rest Day

Make Tuesday:

• Swim (easy to moderate)

• Sauna

• Massage chair

• Gentle stretching only

❌ No:

• Pulling

• Racquet sports

• Gym machines for upper body

This is a perfect tendon recovery day.

✅

Sunday = Modified Rest Day

Keep Sunday, but make it tendon-safe:

Allowed:

• Planet Fitness legs only

• Massage chair

• Sauna

• Walking

Avoid:

• Pickleball

• Upper-body machines

• Pulling motions

👉 If you must play pickleball Sunday, then Tuesday must be strict rest.

3️⃣ How this fits with your current tennis volume

You currently play tennis:

• Mon (evening)

• Wed

• Fri

That’s fine if:

• No chin-ups or pull-ups on those days

• Isometrics are pre-play

• Ice is post-play

4️⃣ Adjust chin-ups / pull-ups (important)

Since you asked specifically about rest days:

• Do chin-ups/pull-ups only once per week

• Put them on Thursday morning

• Never within 24 hours of tennis

Example:

• Thu AM: light pulling

• Fri 11 a.m.: tennis

  
  

  ✔️ This spacing protects the tendon

5️⃣ Daily tendon care (you’re mostly doing this right)

Before tennis (keep doing)

• Isometric dumbbell holds

• 3–4 × 30–45 sec

After tennis (refine slightly)

• Ice directly over biceps groove, not just shoulder

• 10–15 min

• Same day only (don’t ice the next morning)

6️⃣ Why stiffness persists despite isometrics & ice

Because:

• Tendons need 48 hours between meaningful loads

• Right now your biceps tendon rarely gets that window

Once you insert two real rest days, stiffness usually drops within 10–21 days.

7️⃣ Simple rule to self-monitor

Each morning ask:

“Does my right biceps feel ropey or tender at rest?”

• If yes → that day is NOT for pulling or hitting

• If no → tennis is fine

Pain during play matters less than next-morning feel.

Bottom line

You’re doing many things right already. The fix is structural, not effort-based:

• Add 2 true biceps tendon rest days

• Separate pulling from tennis

• Keep isometrics + ice exactly as you are

If you want, I can rewrite your entire week in a tendon-optimized version that still keeps all your tennis days intact.