Before I respond to this, I have two questions:
1) Who's Andy?
2) Are you planning to delete that video later? Because if you are, I'm not going to respond to it and you'll be banned/deleted in some sense for doing so.
Hello,
I butted into another thread and Andy asked me to post my video in another thread.
Have been dealing with elbow pain for an embarrassingly long time--mid-April. My new normal is to have lots of pain, drop weight, do chin-up protocol, feel better, increase the lift for ~15lbs., then repeat. Have done this at 275, 300, and now 315 pounds.
I have been told that my back is soft, and I think can see it, but just can't figure out how to get into the right position. Same with my elbows, especially at the bottom of the lift.
I also struggle getting my back in position to deadlift, which seems consistent with just failing wrap my mind around how to force my back into positions.
Going to break a few rules and post two videos, and the second isn't a 5 or max effort. But it's so shitty, think there's a chance it might actually be informative.
Here is my 310lbs. I also have a 315, but I experimented with a wider grip and thumbs around, so don't think that's going to be relevant, here.
Here is the money angle on the world's dumbest warmup squats. Sharing as it illustrates my gnarly elbows. Also, for some reason, I drift to the left on the way down (I'm left-footed). Doubt that's normal. Thinking I should have picked up bowling instead.
(33 y/0, 6'2", 235lbs.)
Thank you for taking a look.
Before I respond to this, I have two questions:
1) Who's Andy?
2) Are you planning to delete that video later? Because if you are, I'm not going to respond to it and you'll be banned/deleted in some sense for doing so.
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I answer all my emails: ALewis@StartingStrengthGyms.com
Is this the most narrow you can get your hands? I see some movement that indicates you can get narrower which is going to need to happen.
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That’s about as narrow as I can get right now. On days with less pain, I can squeeze in a little more—maybe a finger. If you can see the spacers in either video, I can get my index fingers to cover those. Probably should have mentioned that the pain is only in my left (non-dominant) elbow. So in these videos, I could move my right side in a little, but I try to keep the width even on both sides. Maybe this is wrong.
Some of that movement could come from the bar shifting during the lift and me trying to recover the starting position.
I’ll work on getting tighter, and I’ve seen you remarking on other threads about wrists being too flat, which I might also be offending.
Thank you!
Yes, the bar can shift and you can lose grip because of being loose (or relaxing your grip which should not be happening). I would work getting your hands narrower. It's a pain in the ass to deal with, but it's worth it in the long run. If you haven't seen it, check out Paul Horn's video.
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You're welcome. Good luck.
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Dear Andrew,
If you're still watching, would appreciate another glance from you. What I really want to know is if you believe these elbows look safe enough to continue training and improving.
Since my last post, I took the week off of heavy lifting, opting for a bunch of 135 reps to try and find a way to get the elbows down. Also carried around a broomstick most of the week while at home, and did the rack stretching thing every day I was in the gym.
Today I worked back up to 275, trying to narrow my grip and do everything in my power to pull the elbows to my love handles. One difference I felt was I had difficulty finding the shelf on my shoulders compared to my last heavy squats at 315. So something is different, but maybe still wrong. Did not take ibuprofen today just to see what the pain was like--pain in the gym was like a 3, and a few hours after, it's like a 2. So not too bad.
My plan is to treat 275 as my new top set and work up from there with normal programming while continuing the recommendations in the Horn video, provided, in your opinion, that I'm not setting myself up for failure.
Again, truly appreciate the guidance.
(Actual lifting starts at :48)
Look at your grip and elbows. What told me you were wide on the last video was that your elbows were shaking. Here's they're much more stable, indicating that your shoulders are tight and you aren't using your shoulder extensors to keep your elbows in position. So, this looks better. Get your wrists in slight extension. They're pretty flat here.
I think your programming plan is probably fine.
What you'll notice as you get a really tight, narrow grip is that you'll accidental push the bar up sometimes. Usually, this means it's too narrow.
What most people mistake in elbow tendinitis is that a correct grip will immediately relieve the pain. It will not. It will take a few weeks at least for it to go away when your grip is correct.
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