At some point you’ll get jacked up if you are training hard.
Usually it is in one of the joints, like the knee, shoulder or elbow.
I’ve got 4 Quick Elbow Pain Fixes to keep you in the game, and they don’t take much time.
Squatting and bench pressing seem be the primary cause of a lot of elbow pain.
It’s not necessarily the exercise themselves that cause the issues, it’s the lack of paying attention when the initial signals present themselves.
Powerlifters tend to push through pain, it’s what we do.
It’s not always the smartest thing though.
Ignoring signals that your body sends will always lead to something negative. It can range from a brief interruption in training to a career ending injury.
When orthopedic pain starts to present itself, I suggest that you listen and take appropriate action.
First up on our list of the 4 Quick Elbow Pain Fixes is the Incline Dumbell Curl.
Adding in Incline Dumbell Curls to your training will not only help you get bigger guns, it can reduce and sometimes eliminate elbow pain.
How to do them:
Really?
I am not going to bore you with a treatise on how to curl, but I’ll say a few things.
Sit on an incline bench and hold the dumbells at arm’s length.
Next, do curls.
Simple as that.
But:
Don’t be sloppy. Fully extend the arm and fully contract the biceps at the top by supinating your hand.
You supinate by squeezing the bicep hard at the top and twisting your pinky in towards the pec.
See the difference in Bucky's hand position versus the picture above?
DO THIS.
Slowly lower to full extension, and repeat. Don’t swing them!
I suggest 3-4 sets of 12-20 reps.
You can do these as a warmup before bench and squats or as part of your accessory work.
Next on the list of 4 Quick Elbow Pain Fixes is Band Hand Extensions.
This one works wonders for a lot of people and is easy to do.
One of the reasons we see elbow pain is that the extensor muscles in the arm are underused and they have a strength imbalance with the flexors.
You need to balance your training and your hands are no different than any other area.
You wouldn’t just do Glute Ham Raises for your legs and no quad work right?
The hands are the same.
I suggest hitting these two or three times a week for 3-4 sets of 12-20 reps.
Do them two ways.
1. Open and close your hands fast, as if you were trying to get a pump in your forearms.
2. Open your hands smooth and strong, pause and then close them on a 5 count.
Band Hand Extensions should be a staple in your training and you can do them anywhere.
I usually do them at home while watching t.v.
You have the time to add this in!
Watch the video below on how to do Band Hand Extensions.
Last on the list of 4 Quick Elbow Pain Fixes is Forearm Rotation/Leveraging.
The best tool to do these is an Ironmind Heavy Hammer.
You can also use an old school adjustable dumbbell with weight on one end, or just use a regular dumbbell.
The Hammer is best as the weight is only on one end giving you a greater effect.
To do them:
Brace your arm on a bench and hold the hammer in the upright position, then slowly twist your arm all the way to the right, pause then all the way to the left.
Start with an empty hammer!
Add weight very slowly and keep the reps high, 15-20 for rehab purposes.
A note on weight, if your elbows are banged up, 1 ¼ pounds on this will be brutal. You do not need a lot of weight. It is the movement quality we are looking for.
Do them slow and controlled.
A nice side benefit of these is a massive increase in grip and wrist strength in addition to a reduction in pain.
Last is leveraging.
No words needed here, watch the video.
Remember, I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.
I’ve had a lot of success with these with clients and personally.
Add them in and if one of them makes it worse, stop.
I am willing to bet that most of you with jacked up elbows will see a huge decrease in pain within a few weeks of adding these in as a staple.
Give them a shot and let me know how they work.
AND:
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