TacticalBarbell.com

Do you guys have any suggestions for elbow pain? My left elbow is pretty sore - not debilitating sore, but sore. I feel it especially when I bench press, and sometimes afterward it's sore to the touch. I don't see any inflammation, but there might be some there. I'm taking an easy week, and while normally I would do a Tango circuit on easy week, I'll forgo all resistance type exercises this week and just get in some rest and light cardio. I've tried foam rolling my triceps and biceps and doing some stretches, but if there are other things I should do, I'd appreciate any knowledge that you can drop on me. Thanks.

mikhou

It depends on where your pain is. Mine was in the inner portion of my elbow, I believe it's called medial epicondylitis. I got rid of my elbow pain by strengthening the muscles in my forearm. I used Ironmind Expand your Hands bands. They are rubber bands that you wrap around your fingers and try to spread your fingers as wide as you can.

They strengthen the extensor muscles in your forearm, which in my case were weak due to always working my grip on pulls but never working the opposite motion. I did 3 sets of 12 reps every day and after about 2 months my pain was 99% gone. You can use the Ironmind set or just buy regular rubber bands.

I bought the Ironmind set because they come with bands of several different strengths so I could progress without having to hunt down a bunch of different bands at the store. They sell them on Amazon for about $12 - $15. Check them out

Hey mate,

Sorry to hear that.. Any personal injury is unique in a way. Getting professional consult can be vital. Meanwhile, I would encourage you to spend some time on reading and education yourself about elbow issues. Here are links to the elbow series by Eric Cressey who has great experience with sport related injuries.

I wish you fast and sound recovery!!

https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... al-anatomy
https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... -pathology
https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... g-injuries
https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... g-pitchers
https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... nnis-elbow
https://ericcressey.com/understanding-e ... in-lifters

Obvious answer is see a good sports doc/physio.

I had a quick flick through your log and noticed you have quite a large volume for your pressing and pulling.
It might be worth switching up some exercises like you have with your squat. I find that a cycle or two with single arm pressing or pulling can fix these types of issues if you catch them early.

Another option is to drop down to only 3 sets for a while and see if reducing the volume helps things out.

I occasionally like to go outside TB realms and switch things up by doing sets of 10, 8 etc when I start to feel a bit niggly or flat. The drop in weight and slightly different stimulus can sort things out on its own occasionally.

I have also had success with straight arm pressing type movements e.g “The bent press (pavel,dragondoor)” as a good option when I have had some elbow issues way in the past.

A couple of options that have worked for me in the past to add to the other recommendations.

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm still on an easy week. I've tried some rehab work with stretching and hammer drills, but it's still sore. I'll likely give it some more time and see how it goes. The idea of switching up intensity and volume is also something that I had considered.

johndoeman2017 wrote: because it incorporates overhead pressing which is very important.

And TB doesn't? Have you actually read the books? Which ones?

There's a lot of misinformation in your post, but I don't want to get into it with somebody that's not familiar with the source material.

johndoeman2017 wrote:. .

@johndoeman2017

I've removed your post. We frequently discuss and even recommend other training programs on this forum without any issue. Sometimes other programs are a better fit for specific situations. However, your recommendation was based on misinformation, which indicates you're not familiar with the TB material.

In other words, don't dole out advice on a TB forum unless you're familiar with TB programming. Unless said advice is generic in nature.

I own and have read all of the books except Ageless Athlete. Overhead pressing mostly expressed in TB as an option in lieu of bench press but 5/3/1 utilizes both as staples due to them complementing each other. It's sad that you've removed good information but I see how this forum operates. TB actually suggests 5/3/1 as an option for the max strength in the books if you've never read that then you're not familiar with the content.

Just because you don't agree does not make it misinformation.

johndoeman2017 wrote:I own and have read all of the books except Ageless Athlete. Overhead pressing mostly expressed in TB as an option in lieu of bench press but 5/3/1 utilizes both as staples due to them complementing each other. It's sad that you've removed good information but I see how this forum operates. TB actually suggests 5/3/1 as an option for the max strength in the books if you've never read that then you're not familiar with the content.

Just because you don't agree does not make it misinformation.

The original poster is having problems with a sore elbow. And your response was to recommended 5/3/1 "because overhead press."

It's one thing to recommend another program based on sound reasoning and a poster's individual needs, quite another when it's based on misinformation. Even if overhead pressing made any sort of sense in this situation, if you're familiar with the TB material you'd know there's a million ways to incorporate both pressing and benching. The Grunt cluster, setting up 6/3 or other BP/OHP blocks, conditioning sessions, Fobbits, and so on.

At the end of the day this forum is about discussing Tactical Barbell. Part of that discussion is helping posters customize it to their needs. It's a very flexible system with a lot of moving parts, because it covers multiple fitness domains. If TB doesn't have the answer or isn't the best fit for a particular member's goals, I certainly won't stop anyone from recommending outside material.

"but I see how this forum operates"

K.B. himself, and many others, have recommended other programs on this very forum if the shoe fit. We are very lenient here when it comes to discussing other brands. But you are more than welcome to head over to other forums and promote their competitors, see how you far you get.