Medial Elbow Pain from Weightlifting?

[@mattdavidson8742]

Holy crap... It's like you read my mind. I have just recently been feeling pain like this in my elbows and didn't really know what to do about it. This was spot on and so timely! This stuff right here is why I subscribe to Catalyst. Always the good stuff....

[@cm_x7235]

Me: my elbow kinda hurts. KZbin: Catalyst Athletics just posted a new video!

[@xchrissimmonsx]

Legit just started having this issue in the last 2 weeks! Thanks Greg!

[@yetanotherRjven]

I'm not really a weightlifter but I do use weightlifting movements to sprinkle on general strength/powerlifting training. I used to get this kind of pain like crazy when I started front squatting. It was so strange to me because everyone seemed to complain about wrist pain but noone complains about elbow pain in the front rack position. My wrists on the other hand were completely fine. I couldn't find any help online so I just played with the width of my grip. I noticed wider grip would aggravate the pain so I just narrowed it instead. Took a few weeks to get my mobility up to par and now i'm good and pain-free. Not really a question but I just felt like sharing my experience :) Thanks Greg, you're the first I see to touch on that point!

[@CatalystAthletics]

@@LCWMI Wider grip will typically aggravate the area more, but that's usually attributable to restricted shoulder mobility--if you fix that, a wider grip will be fine. This exercise will help heal an already aggravated elbow, but it won't resolve the underlying cause.

[@yetanotherRjven]

@@LCWMI Hey. No I didn't use his method because 1/ I wasn't aware of it back then! 2/ I wouldn't have needed it because it wasn't so bad that I needed rehab. It would only hurt while front squatting and go away once I was done. So like I said, I adjusted the width of my grip. Less than a centimeter/half inch narrower made a big difference. I also relaxed my grip a tiny bit. I used to have the strictest full grip. Now I still have a full grip but the bar is resting on my calluses rather than my thumb crease if that makes sense. Finally, for warming up, I would just put some weight on the bar and hold the front rack position without actually squatting. Emphasis should be put on high elbows up and actively trying to externally rotate the shoulder rather than give in at the elbows. I would hold that position for 15-30s for a couple sets. That seemed to help and I got more comfortable after 6-12 weeks. Good luck!

[@jlcragle]

What a timely post Coach, as I warmup and mobilize before and after lifting, but I started getting some pain in this very spot. I will working on this starting tonight! Thanks for all of your tremendous posts!

[@awanderingman]

This has come at the perfect time. Thanks Greg.

[@johnstonpierre-antoine9251]

Thank you so much this is what I was looking for.

[@marcmmclellan]

This drill hits the exact spot!

[@50faflores]

Thank you for sharing this. I truly appreciate it

[@dustech]

Thank you

[@kailasshinde8456]

Always helpful coach

[@jeremeyfolster]

Hey Gregg, thank you for continue to pump out top notch quality content. I've purchased several of your books and have gained tremendously as a result. My question has to do with volume during a gaining phase, my plan is to run a phase of your Weight Gain protocol from the 3rd edition . Could you elaborate more on this program?

[@CatalystAthletics]

I can elaborate if you give me some specific questions to work with.

[@Scott-zh5ip]

I keep getting elbow pain on the outside, brachialis area in the clean and jerk. Throughout a session the aching sensation can become so bad that I can barely raise my arm above 90°. However 30mins after finishing clean and jerk the pain goes away entirely. Looking for possible causes but struggling to find one. Have you heard of anything like this before Greg? Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks for all the amazing content, love it.

[@mashedpotatoes1534]

Squat University had a good video on tennis elbow here's the link kzbin.infoQJKIiQtg85g?feature=share

[@SnakeC666]

I need to try this tip :)

[@dirtrak5351]

Hey Greg, I have medial elbow pain during heavy snatches and it is prevalent in the front rack positions. It seems that my triceps may be tight as it seems to help when I roll them out with a barbell. you mention shoulder mobility as a possible root cause. can you elaborate on where the mobility would be limited to cause medial elbow pain and what can be done to improve this area of shoulder mobility? Thanks!

[@CatalystAthletics]

Anything that restricts the easy lifting and rotation of the upper arm into that rack position will mean there's additional strain on the elbow. So tight triceps can be at least a part of it. That's why my general recommendation is stretching and rolling on everything that attaches under the arm rather than trying to figure out precisely which muscle. Give these a try - kzbin.info/www/bejne/foeom2qZp5qMgs0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYavh6pjjayFeqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJzRnImwmrOMnNU

[@kailasshinde8456]

Great

[@JJO5656]

What is this called? Super helpful

[@CatalystAthletics]

Don't have a name for it.

[@JJO5656]

@@CatalystAthletics I'm telling my friends it's the Everett elbow saver ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@HamzaAli-yw1qt]

Hey coach Everett, I had a question on the snatch: how important is it to push out the knees when you pull the bar from the ground to knee level? You see it often in 'Eastern' weightlifters (klokov, who also teaches this amd also in rebeka koha's snatch for example) but I believe that you do not teach it

[@CatalystAthletics]

Knees should be pushed out in the starting position and stay out until bar is past knees (don't need to be pushed further out like Koha does). Video about it right here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHiXgKmEjbtsbtE

[@stanleysheng3224]

Hey coach Greg, really love your channel and your ig. I have sharp pain in only one side of my elbows , I notice my body is bit of unbalanced, does this exercise help with my condition as well?

[@CatalystAthletics]

If it's truly sharp pain, that's unlikely to be tendinitis, so this is probably not the solution for you. I'd get a pro to check it out.

[@stanleysheng3224]

@@CatalystAthletics a bit of detail here, so the pain appears mostly during reracking jerks to front rack position, but it's pretty durable and normally will be gone after workouts. but recently it's getting progressively worse during cleans untill today's session that i couldn't hit my 90% of my clean because i was bit of scared to worsen the situation. I suspect my front rack mobility is still not substantial since i'm relatively new to the sport.

[@CatalystAthletics]

@@stanleysheng3224 Could just be early tendinitis. Invest more time in shoulder and upper back mobility, and take extra time warming up those things and the elbows. Back off anything that aggravates it until you make some progress. Here is a collection of videos for the mobility work - www.catalystathletics.com/collection/3/Overhead-Mobility/

[@TropicalJuiceRules]

Hi Greg, could you please explain the 'how' behind this exercise? Is it the wider grip and humeral/ulnar rotation through ROM that is helping? Or Is it the eccentric bicep/lat work that is helping? Or both? Thanks :)

[@CatalystAthletics]

The slow eccentric loading is what's stimulating the tissue healing, and the motion/position is what's getting the tissues in question active.

[@TropicalJuiceRules]

@@CatalystAthletics Thank you

[@ivanraynovski7886]

Hi Greg, as usual a very useful and informative video! I have a question in regards to your 2014 American Open Cycle. I started the programme this week and it's going well but I realised only have 11 weeks until the meet(1st of Dec). I know this is not ideal but my question is which week would you suggest I can skip in order to make best use of the program?

[@CatalystAthletics]

The earliest week you can - sounds like you're on week 1, so skip week 2.

[@ivanraynovski7886]

Thank you!

[@Kam1goroshi]

Will just climbing do? I train at crossfit gym, they have a bunch of climbing ropes I could utilize

[@CatalystAthletics]

No because the point here is the slow eccentric and complete control of that exaggerated wrist position. Climbing is more likely to aggravate it.

[@Kam1goroshi]

@@CatalystAthletics Thanks. Just wanna say, you are the best for taking the time to reply and explain in so many vids + creating all this content.

[@iq30k30k]

What is the cause of this medial elbow pain? I.e., what joints/tendons/muscles are involved and what is it about weightlifting (faults in technique?) that bothers them?

[@CatalystAthletics]

Can be all kinds of things, and can be unrelated to lifting itself and only noticed then; can be excessive grip work, or a mobility restriction in the shoulder causing a compensatory position in the hand/wrist and extra strain..... UCL, pronator teres, flexor carpi radialis... I can't really tell you every possible cause.

[@jordan-kristina2014]

I got a different issue right now. The last couple weeks my achilles tendons have been so tight when I wake up that it hurts to walk for a few minutes. Ankle mobility is pretty good though. Any thoughts?

[@CatalystAthletics]

That's not good. Sounds like you're overdoing something... I would back off training that involves any kind of plyometric type loading for a while, and you can still try this basic method by doing some slow eccentric calf raises, but be careful and start with only 1-2 sets and no weight - probably don't ever need to add weight honestly.

[@megiMove]

After i fell on my elbow pushing in hard back. I can't do cleans anymore.. its like my elbow stops and my wrist cant go back further. Like something is preventing it. Does this exercise help ?

[@CatalystAthletics]

Probably not. I'd get it checked out by a pro.

[@botuser666]

Why those exercises?