Anyone have problems with elbow joints?

[ThomasGoldkamp]

So I haven't been working out as regularly as I'd like to, and I've been trying to get back into a routine over the last two weeks or so. Anyway, I did my first hard back and biceps lift Monday and now my elbow joints are killing me.

It feels like I just gave blood in both arms. Now, I've experienced this before, but nowhere near this bad. I'm having trouble extending my forearm out past about 135 degrees from my upper arm and can't get my arm anywhere close to straight.

Can't quite figure out if this is just normal soreness and wear on my elbow joints or I messed something up lifting the other day. The left one is particularly bad.

Any thoughts? Anyone ever have something similar?

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by ThomasGoldkamp

So I haven't been working out as regularly as I'd like to, and I've been trying to get back into a routine over the last two weeks or so. Anyway, I did my first hard back and biceps lift Monday and now my elbow joints are killing me.

It feels like I just gave blood in both arms. Now, I've experienced this before, but nowhere near this bad. I'm having trouble extending my forearm out past about 135 degrees from my upper arm and can't get my arm anywhere close to straight.

Can't quite figure out if this is just normal soreness and wear on my elbow joints or I messed something up lifting the other day. The left one is particularly bad.

Any thoughts? Anyone ever have something similar?

Are you feeling it in the biceps or actually in the attachments ?

[Dreamliner]

Maybe he can't straighten his arms to type a response.

[LeafUF]

Ha. I doubt its the elbow itself. More likely the bicep and forearm are just sore and locking up. I know I have had that happen to me though it usually goes away rather quick. Haven't had a lasting thing like that happen since I was 15 and working out for the first time.

[Dreamliner]

Back in my Nautilus machine days I performed a set of preacher curls to failure, plus assisted reps ... and could barely drive home for the spasms. Biceps were sore and stiff for days.

[gatorman_07732]

My right elbow has worn out cartilage and completely bone on bone from doing heaving extensions

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by gatorman_07732

My right elbow has worn out cartilage and completely bone on bone from doing heaving extensions

Ouch! What are you able to do now ?

[Dreamliner]

My standard advice is to avoid heavy direct arm work. Get your biceps and triceps stimulation primarily through your compound movements. If you must do direct work (and I don't deny that it can be profitable), don't do much of it and use higher reps. And do it on the same day so as to facilitate recovery. Also, avoid overlapping workouts such as an 'arm day' one day and deadlifts another day, etc.

I had a 40 year old trainee ask me if he should do barbell curls with a 1RM weight. I told him only if he wants a ruptured biceps tendon.

[ThomasGoldkamp]

Still extremely sore now four days later, but I'm fairly certain it's just the ends of the muscles in both the forearm and biceps. Hard to tell at first because they were so sore so close to the joints. Still can't extend my left arm all the way, but my right arm's fine now.

Haven't been this sore in ages, though. Typically don't get very sore, so I was a little more concerned than I probably should have been.

Dreamliner, I do a lot of lifts to failure, particularly biceps. I like to do machine curls and start at a high weight and just go up once and let the weight completely pull my arms down until I can't keep them up. Then I drop to the next highest weight and do it again, all the way through the stack. Works like a charm.

[your_perfect_enemy]

From my limited knowledge, isn't soreness a result of lactic acid buildup in the muscle? At least it is in some cases. A glass of pineapple juice does wonders helping to flush it out. Something you might try

[gatorman_07732]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

Ouch! What are you able to do now ?

To be honest I'm not doing any weight lifting anymore. Riding my bike to the office in the morning and doing my farm work on the weekend is keeping me in decent shape. I've paid the price for years a knucklehead training in the gym and taking my advice from the popular magazines of the time. Honestly, I can't throw a ball anymore and all that just for a little rush of slapping 45lbs plates on a curling bar to do extensions.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by gatorman_07732

To be honest I'm not doing any weight lifting anymore. Riding my bike to the office in the morning and doing my farm work on the weekend is keeping me in decent shape. I've paid the price for years a knucklehead training in the gym and taking my advice from the popular magazines of the time. Honestly, I can't throw a ball anymore and all that just for a little rush of slapping 45lbs plates on a curling bar to do extensions.

Yours is a cautionary tale.

On the positive side, who really NEEDS to lift weights ? When in human history, before only very recently, did people lift weights ?

[Jupgator]

Be careful Thomas. Doing stength exercises is great for the ego and I used to work out hard for years. Then I blew out my shoulder doing bench presses, and had surgery, but it never fully recovered. Eventually the muscles will become stronger than the tendons and as you get older, maxing out will injure you. Ask if its really worth it over the long haul.

A better approach, and the one I went to, is to get cardio and work out with much lighter weights to get some strength and shaping, burn cals, and get flexibility.

[Dreamliner]

Jup, I assume that by 'lighter weights' you're still using weights sufficient to challenge the muscles and contribute to strength ?

[StrangeGator]

My elbow joints hurt most of the time. I feel it the most doing curls and getting joint locks in Aikido. I've dropped the free-weight curls for the moment, doing more cable work and chin ups. I can't avoid it in Aikido. One technique in particular, Nikio, just torques the hell out of my elbow. It's one of the most prevalent control techniques, so we do it in almost every class.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

My elbow joints hurt most of the time. I feel it the most doing curls and getting joint locks in Aikido. I've dropped the free-weight curls for the moment, doing more cable work and chin ups. I can't avoid it in Aikido. One technique in particular, Nikio, just torques the hell out of my elbow. It's one of the most prevalent control techniques, so we do it in almost every class.

Strange, you might also experiment with neutral-grip pullups. Neutral grip is palms facing each other. Since the wrists want to rotate when you pull, this version is typically easier on wrists/elbows/shoulders. It's typically the only grip I use these days.

And insofar as you cannot avoid some of the biomechanical stresses of your sport, there is certainly no use in contributing to the stress with your workout.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

Strange, you might also experiment with neutral-grip pullups. Neutral grip is palms facing each other. Since the wrists want to rotate when you pull, this version is typically easier on wrists/elbows/shoulders. It's typically the only grip I use these days.

And insofar as you cannot avoid some of the biomechanical stresses of your sport, there is certainly no use in contributing to the stress with your workout.

Probably a good idea. I also have trouble with my wrists and forearms, which are also Aikido related.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

Probably a good idea. I also have trouble with my wrists and forearms, which are also Aikido related.

Neutral grip has been a godsend for me. I had developed a pronounced hotspot, on the inside of my elbows, using the pronated grip. Four weeks after switching grips the pain was completely resolved.

It's never a bad idea to take a step back and take a bird's eye view of ALL the things you're doing that may contribute to cumulative stress.