elbow problems

[jleatherman21]

I started SSLP over a year ago and I'm incredibly thankful for the program and how much stronger I've become. I'm 43 and squatting 335.
Any advice for dealing with nagging elbow problems in the low bar squat position? The low bar position irritates my elbows, particularly my left elbow. By the third set it's irritated my bicep and grip strength as well.
Is there any other exercises anyone can recommend to help with the mobility and flexibility of my elbows? Hi bar squat doesn't affect it, but I'd prefer to low bar. I've checked hand alignment, etc.
Thanks,
John

[Michael Wolf]

A video that allows us to see your grip in detail while squatting might help, but here's a list of common things people do wrong:

1. Elbows too high up.
2. Setting elbows correctly but then jacking them up during the sticking point of the ascent.
3. "Death gripping" the barbell while squatting.

Also, some people do better with a narrower grip and some wider. You can try both and see if one bothers your elbows less.

Another thing that seems to be unfortunate but true is that a small number of people can grip the bar correctly but still have elbow issues because of it. Just one of them rotten truths. If you try everything and they're still irritated by squats, try wrapping your thumb around the bar and letting your wrist bend back a little. It's not ideal for the wrists, but if you have checked everything else off the list already and you're still having problems, it's better than switching to high bar squats. You might want to get wrist wraps for support, since there will be more strain on your wrists than the normal SS grip set-up.

[Ben Shugart]

John,

I'm not a coach, so (obviously) place a much higher emphasis on the coaches' replies than mine. That said, i experienced the same problem. I'd go through my warmup sets just fine, but by the time I got to my second work set, I'd start to get deep, nagging tendonitis pain in my left elbow that would persist through the rest of my lifts. I've done three things to "fix" the problem.

• I paid very close attention to bar placement in the low-back position. For the longest time, I was just getting the bar in the vicinity of good placement. I had this vague notion of where it should be...and the pain taught me a hard lesson: get the bar immediately and precisely below the scapular spine. Get it there and my elbow is fine. Any lower and I aggravate the elbow. Every. Single. Effing. Time.
• Chinups. Ripps advice somewhere else in these forums based on pin-firing has worked pretty well for me. Not perfectly, but it's helped, for sure.
• Vitamin I

Hope this helps.

Ben Shugart