Locking Elbows?

[mrmatt]

When doing shoulder press, bench, pull/chin ups... do you ever lock your elbows?



I'm experiencing a pain in my elbow and believe the cause may be poor form on my part and locking my elbows.

[Bostongeorge617]

No, I do not. The only movement I lock-out on are deadlifts at the top. When you lock out on any exercise, you take the weight off of the muscle you are working and placr it on your joints instead. Always stop just shy of locking out with few exceptions.

[dizzay20]

No, u should keep a slight bend at ur elbows. Locking out just takes the stress away from ur muscles and places it mostly on the joint. U dont need to lockout to strengthen joints and ligaments.

[TheBroBrah]

No, I do not. The only movement I lock-out on are deadlifts at the top. When you lock out on any exercise, you take the weight off of the muscle you are working and placr it on your joints instead. Always stop just shy of locking out with few exceptions.

This

[John-John2]

You should take a break cause joint pain means that you're wearing your joints out

[noflyingcars]

Yes you should lock out.



http://www.startingstrength.com/reso...ght=squat+lock

[thatguyinthegym]

First off, I wouldn't attribute joint pain to locking out necessarily, it is most likely tendonitis.

Generally you shouldn't lock out on most exercises unless you care about your ego but some I would on heavy sets.

Squats - yes only because much more weight can be lifted which IMO is more beneficial

Deads - yes

Shoulder press - no

Bench - no

Pullup - I'm guessing you mean the hang at the bottom with your arms extended fully? If so, yes

Most tri exercises - yes except skulls and overhead extensions

[Dhanesh]

is it safe to lock out on dips to get a full contraction? I usually stop short.

[-Lucifer]

It is safe to lockout. It is entirely up to you, though. You won't f*ck up your joints. I have been doing so, for years, without any joint problems.


It was discovered in the mid-eighties that your knees, elbows, etc. have special
mechanoreceptors, or sensors, which respond to loading. If you freak at the
thought of putting some weight on your joints, expect your joints to remain weak.
Whenever you attempt a heavy lift, the mechanoreceptors will stop your muscles
from contracting by sending panic signals to your spinal cord. Old timers understood
this well and built what they called ‘ligament strength’ with various heavy
support feats. John Grimek, a legend of American weightlifting and bodybuilding,
used to support up to 1,000 pounds overhead! And lived until around ninety years
old to tell about it.

^ Taken from Pavel Tsatsouline's famous book, Power To The People.