wife's elbow pain during pullups

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice for my wife. She has stopped doing pullups because it has been bothering her elbows. She used to be pretty good at them but stopped for a while and now has been trying to build them back up again.

I'm thinking she needs to take a step back and spend time on some prep work but am not sure what to suggest to her. Maybe spend time with rows and bent arm hangs? I'm not sure about mobility exercises. What is it about pullups that bother some people's elbows, is there a proven plan to fix it?

I suspect the correct answer is Foundation 1 but she's not interested in pursuing that. The pullups are something she's doing on the side so I'm hoping certain elements from F1 could serve as a "prescription" to target this issue.

Thanks.

Just show your wife the rope climb progressions and let her take as much rest as she needs in between sets.

Something to consider, when your wife is doing pull ups. Does she flare her elbow out the sides or keeps her elbows close to her sides?

Try rows. Try doing with rings where the hands can be in a more neutral position, it's the only way I can do them.

I think you are right in that she needs to take a step back to work on mobility and find a pulling progression that is more suited to her current level of strength. I completely understand not wanting to regress after coming back from a (sometimes very, very long) break, but we all have to be honest with ourselves about our bodies unless we want to risk injury and needlessly lost training time. If it is causing you pain then it is too much. Pick an easier exercise and build back up to it.

I agree with Rayne. Show her the rope climb progressions with the iM and see how far she can get. Once she fails to complete mastery have her start working on that movement until she can move on to the next. It's too bad she isn't interested in outright following foundation. Also, if pullups are an aside for her what is her primary regimen?

I disagree. The RC progressions are too advanced for your wife. If basic pullups are too intense for her, why would we have her work advanced pullup variations?

I recommend she master the row variations before returning to her pullup work.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks for the advice! I'll show her the row variations and see how that goes.

Are there any mobility drills outside that which might help?

She used to work out at home, mostly kettlebells and things that commonly go with them. Then one day a switch flipped in her head and she had no interest in working out at home anymore. Since then, she's been going to a local gym for the group classes.

What happens for pullups to bother elbows? It was never a problem when we were younger.

Regarding what happens with pull ups to the bother the elbow. You have to understand there are tendons that pass over the elbow joint. Namely the distal bicep tendon and the tricep tendon. If either of the two tendons are being overused, tendinitis(Inflammation or irritation) will develop and cause joint pain in the elbow.

WebMD: Tendinitis

How your wife happens to do pull ups could be one of a few factors that are contributing to the tendinitis she is experiencing because her tendons aren't in the same pristine condition they were in when she was younger.

That was then and this is now. Her strength levels have dropped and she needs to train accordingly - at least until she remedies the situation.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Just to clarify, by "rope climb progressions" I was refering to the entire RC series in foundation, which would of course begin with RC/PE1.

I hope she is willing to go through the progressions and find her way back to healthy pullups.

The Hansenator said:

It was never a problem when we were younger.

Welcome to old age

Thanks for all the advice. I showed her RC/PE1 yesterday and she plans to start it on Tuesday, I guess that's where it fits into her schedule. Hopefully she'll stick with it.

What I found helped in a similar situation was (1) use a narrower grip and (2) apply torque to the bar, as if trying to snap it in two.