Intense picking arm strainage

[FarBeyondMetal]

Basically, when i play fast tremelo picking riffs my hole arm tenses up, from my forearm all the way up to my bicep. I tried practicing the riffs slow and i can do that with no strain but when i speed it up i just get tense. Has anybody had similar problems if so how did you correct it?

 

[Harry Hughes]

STOP playing fast right now, don't continue to keep playing that stuff fast because the way you're going you're going to cause yourself an injury.
Just keep practicing that stuff slow and gradually work up the tempo while making sure your arm is relaxed, don't just go from slow to warp speed tempos.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

Thanks for the response. I do practice slow all the time, because most of the time when I play I play from the wrist, but I noticed when I tremelo pick I start using my arm more than my wrist. I avoided fixing this for years, telling myself things like "if it's good enough for Jeff Hanneman it's good enough for me", but I doubt that he strains as much as I do. I guess I just need to go back to the basics

 

[PhilTheBeard]

yeah dude use your wrist for speed picking. i can speed pick as fast as i can for like an hour without stopping but if i used my forarm instead i would cramp up to.