Elbow..weakness??

[Jeboris]

I’m 16 years old and I’ve been lifting for approximately 2 years. I’ve seen my deadlift squat and other exercises improve throughout the years, but the exercises that really bother me are the chest ones. I don’t feel like I’m activating my triceps and chest on my left arm when I’m benching or doing dumbbell presses. When I do these exercises, my left elbow starts to become stiff and tight. My right elbow and, as a result arm, I believe is tremendously stronger than my left. I believe this has something to do with my left arm elbow because when I flex and extend my left arm I can feel my elbow cracking whereas on my right it locks as an elbow should. (My left elbow locks as well but I feel it way weaker and less stable than my right elbow) I’ve gone to physical therapy and they’ve told me that my ulnar nerve is caught in my elbow but I believe the problem goes beyond that. Can anyone who has had an experience either in this problem or in lifting give me advice on what I could do to strengthen my elbow and as a result increase my chest press numbers? Thank you in advance, I deeply appreciate that you took the time to read this to help me out.

[rawcuz]

Continue to seek medical advice from your doctor and monitor your elbow. In the gym I would go over your form. First thing that comes to mind is are you locking out. Transferring tension from the muscle to the joint during any part of the lift. Are you losing quality in the reps by going too heavy? Are you overtraining and doing too many pressing exercises in the workout? Question things with an objective mind. If you make changes and see no improvement then I would recommend a second opinion from another doctor.

[HeMB]

Oh boi...


I had a similar issue with the ulnar nerves in my both elbows, for 2 years; at a time I wanted to do a surgery.
And no fuking doctor helped me with 'just rest' and drugs. By their logic, you should rest and not move the elbow for fuking 50 years to heal.

LMAO cringy AF docs.


But thanks to a good physio who motivated me not to get surgery and helped me to fix that.

Instead, you should really focus on grip strengthening.
Hanging of pull up bar with bent arms, neutral grip,

farmer walks,

captain crush iso holds..

Think ways to do that but try to avoid pronated grip if it gives you issues.


Strong forearms add up significantly to elbow stability.


Also, avoid to lockout your elbows fully on pressing exercises.