What does it mean to keep the joints straight

First of all, Thank You Coach Sommer. I have been working on body weight exercises for nearly 6mo, but two weeks ago, I started the progressions in your book for am already much stronger than before.

I wanted to seek advice about exactly what it means to keep the joints straight. I understand that this is done to increase leverage, however, I am not sure if I am over-extending.

For instance, when I do L-sit practice, or handstands, I completely lock out my elbows and then push even harder with my triceps to push them as far out as possible . Some times it hurts to lock them that hard.

So, should I lock out completely and put a lot of effort into keeping my triceps flexing as hard as possible, or should I simply keep my arms straight, but not put as much strength into keeping them straight. I hope you understand what I mean, but I can try to clarify if this doesn't make sense.

Thanks

Odd quote but lock out your arms.

You want them locked out as straight as they will go, but if you have hyper extended elbows you really don't need to press very hard with your triceps to keep them straight. If you elbows are not hyper-extended, and they don't completely straighten, then you will want to push very hard to make sure that there is no bending whatsoever.

With regard to the pain you say you felt during l-sits or handstands, if they elbow joint itself is hurting, stop. you're either trying to straighten your elbows too hard, or your elbows aren't ready to do l-sits and handstands yet, at least not at the volume you are training them. If it's your triceps that are hurting, as in, they're cramping or something, then that's probably not an issue, and will go away with time.

If you have a picture or video we could give you feed back on whether they are straight enough.