Is the Paul Horn stretch an elbow stretch?

[Adam Levine]

I've been using the Paul Horn stretch to get me under the bar for squat. A few of those helps quite a bit with getting under the bar.

However, I was under the impression it was a shoulder stretch. When I do it, it feels like an elbow stretch - it hurts in the elbow joint not only for the stretch, but my first squat warmup set or two. At first, I thought I was catching the weight on squat, but then I felt it with the stretch (no weight) and from the empty bar.

Is that normal and how it's supposed to work?

-->Adam

[Justin Smale]

You said that it hurts during the stretch and your first set or two of warmups, but how does it feel once you get to your working weight? Have you posted any videos lately of your squat after using the stretch to better get into position? That would help any diagnostic here.

[Adam Levine]

You said that it hurts during the stretch and your first set or two of warmups, but how does it feel once you get to your working weight? Have you posted any videos lately of your squat after using the stretch to better get into position? That would help any diagnostic here.

It feels better at working weight, and it's not a terrible pain - it feels like well, a stretch.

If it's helpful, my latest squat set is here, image 3 of 8:
Adam Levine on Instagram: “Workout 23 of 150 Workouts are starting to get more challenging again. Still not really hard. Added an extra belt for each set of chins.…”

[Justin Smale]

I’ve seen some of your previous form checks Adam, and....these look waaaaay better! There’s still things to fix for sure but your effort is slowly paying off! You’re definitely less of a train wreck!

For what it’s worth, I have super tight shoulders and it probably takes me 5ish minutes to be able to get into low bar comfortably as I warm up. Like you, my first few warmup sets are borderline painful in my shoulders and I get a bit of discomfort in my elbows too as everything gets itself into place. But once the worksets comes around that discomfort in the shoulders and elbows has fixed itself.

These squats look respectable enough, but what jumps out to me is that your wrists are neutral to start but at the bottom of the first rep the bar rolls down your back and cranks your wrists into extension, and you end up supporting the bar with your arms. That’s not necessarily the cause of your elbow discomfort since you said the working sets aren’t bad pain/discomfort wise, but it’s something to work on. I know that you’ve got the advice to get tight and stay tight before, and I think you’re getting there and it’s likely going to take you some time until your body is consistently stretched out enough that you can create that solid shelf easily. One thing I read on here that’s been a little cue that’s helped me is to really think of your arms as a clamp rather than a supporting structure. They’re not there to hold the bar UP on your shelf, they’re there to push the bar AGAINST your back keeping it on that shelf. That’s my two unqualified internet person cents anyway. Keep at it though, you’re improving!

[Justin Smale]

One other quick thing, these look a bit high. Just record one of your sets from the side so you can you review your depth and adjust accordingly but ppplleeeeeaaassse don’t go back to using that band

[Nockian]

I've been using the Paul Horn stretch to get me under the bar for squat. A few of those helps quite a bit with getting under the bar.

However, I was under the impression it was a shoulder stretch. When I do it, it feels like an elbow stretch - it hurts in the elbow joint not only for the stretch, but my first squat warmup set or two. At first, I thought I was catching the weight on squat, but then I felt it with the stretch (no weight) and from the empty bar.

Is that normal and how it's supposed to work?

-->Adam

That's exactly what it feels like to me. I'm guessing you feel it in the forearm just in front of your inner elbow ? I think that Alan Thrall mentioned he had an issue with thumbs over the bar/elbows and changed his grip to beneath the bar. I can't be sure, but that's what I recall from one of his YouTube videos. I've tried moving my thumb during the stretches and it certainly takes the pressure off the elbow. Not yet tried it in a full squat.

[Adam Levine]

That's exactly what it feels like to me. I'm guessing you feel it in the forearm just in front of your inner elbow ? I think that Alan Thrall mentioned he had an issue with thumbs over the bar/elbows and changed his grip to beneath the bar. I can't be sure, but that's what I recall from one of his YouTube videos. I've tried moving my thumb during the stretches and it certainly takes the pressure off the elbow. Not yet tried it in a full squat.

Good to know other people feel it the same way - I'll assume I'm doing it right and move on. I did thumbs around for quite a while and I don't like it. I'd like to know that if I really had to dump the bar or if the bar fell off my back, I could let go without cracking my thumbs off.

-->Adam

[Mark Rippetoe]

If your thumbs are already off the back side of the bar....?

[Clyde]

That's exactly what it feels like to me. I'm guessing you feel it in the forearm just in front of your inner elbow ? I think that Alan Thrall mentioned he had an issue with thumbs over the bar/elbows and changed his grip to beneath the bar. I can't be sure, but that's what I recall from one of his YouTube videos. I've tried moving my thumb during the stretches and it certainly takes the pressure off the elbow. Not yet tried it in a full squat.

What do you mean by thumbs beneath the bar? Your "thumbs over the bar" must mean the thumbs are behind the bar (think open palm), but what is beneath the bar? Does that mean the same as thumbs around the bar? I get the same inner elbow pain, although today I spent a lot of time with the mentioned stretch, and it really helped a lot.

[Nockian]

What do you mean by thumbs beneath the bar? Your "thumbs over the bar" must mean the thumbs are behind the bar (think open palm), but what is beneath the bar? Does that mean the same as thumbs around the bar? I get the same inner elbow pain, although today I spent a lot of time with the mentioned stretch, and it really helped a lot.

My thumbs rest on the top of the bar, not behind it.