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Old Forum How far do you straighten your elbows when doing pull-ups?

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Jeff

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Do completely straighten your elbows or keep them slightly bent?

I have been doing weighted pull-ups and have a bit of irritation where my forearm muscles tie into the elbow.  I think that leaving my elbows slightly bent would help, or I could reduce the amount of weight  around my waist.  Which would be preferable, to keep my elbows slightly bent or to use less weight?

 

 
 
Jeffrey, I find my elbows only bother me if I _don't_ straighten them fully at the bottom.

Make sure your shoulders and t-spine are moving freely and as they need to - a dead hang at the bottom shouldn't be uncomfortable.

For now, the first thing I'd do is take a few days off and then ease back in at lower volume and possibly less weight as well and see how it goes.

A video of your weighted pullups would help everyone here offer comments about form.

-S-
 
Jeffery, you don't want them to be 100% locked out.  That puts all of the tension on your tendons and connective tissue in your joint.  Just be 99% straight, just keep an ever so slight kink in the elbows, that puts the tension on the muscles.  That is probably the reason for the irritation.  What kind of weight are you using?  Like steve said, it may be a good idea to back down on the weight and slowly build up.
 
"Jeffery, you don’t want them to be 100% locked out."  Mine are 100% locked out - it's fine for me, can't speak for anyone else.

-S-
 
It should not hurt to lock out your elbows.  If it does something is probably wrong with your elbows.   Too much volume can get them sore.
 
I am doing sets of 3 with 17.5 kg.  I currently weigh around 165 lbs.  I am using 1.5" PVC pipe for handles on either end of Aaron section of rope that is slung over a support.  It would be like using gym  rings except they are just straight handles.
 
I want to be able to rotate my hands to the most comfortable position.  oasis no less stable that gym rings.
 
Gymnastic rings are not what I'd call stable - a pullup bar is much more stable.

-S-

 
 
An unstable bar like that may also be a reason for your elbows being sore. It really depends person to person, what may bother my arms may work great for you like steve said.  Find what works for you.  Are these pull ups for general fitness, or are you getting ready for something specific
 
I video taped myself tonight for the first time.  The first thing that surprised me was how far my upper arms were from being straight over my head.  There was a noticeable angle between my upper body and my upper arms.  Funny how you can think you are doing moe thing different than what you are really doing.  I thought my upper arms were straight overhead.

it is very difficult to straighten my elbows while still keeping my shoulders packed. I guess from overall lack of mobility.  Maybe I should do my pull-ups with no extra weight and focus on working towards a full range motion hole keeping my shoulders packed.
 
One thing I noticed for myself is that when I found out about shoulder packing and started doing that I noticed that Pull Ups were alot harder than. It really takes some adjusting to when you have been doing it in the uncorrected way for a couple of years.
 
Jeffrey, we're all students here - please post your video and let others offer suggestions.

-S-
 
Arms should be FULLY straight (dead hang)... Shoulders packed. I suspect your inability to shoulder pack is straining your elbows. Practice shoulder packing/unpacking from the dead hang position. Once that's strong, start the whole adding weights thing again. Back off, start again, don't kip, get the hands directly over the shoulders... can't do that? work on shoulder mobility, then start out again.

 

Might sound like the long way round, but you wanna do it right yeah?
 
I agree with having the proper shoulder/thoracic mobility and scapular stability. The pull-up is a press, packed shoulders each way with the prerequisite shoulder mobility. Also, tissue quality along the arm lines (Anatomy Trains) might be an issue. Make sure you're hydrated and rested.
 
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