Elbow Pain While Squatting? Fix Your Squat Grip!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2019
- Shoulder or elbow pain while squatting? Is your squat grip the cause?
One of the most common issues we see while coaching the squat is an incorrect squat grip. We prefer to teach the low bar squat with a thumbless grip, relatively vertical forearms and neutral wrists.
Paul Horn's Low Bar Position Stretch for Shoulder Mobility: • Low Bar Position Stret...
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What do you struggle with while squatting? Let us know down below...
Lifting the weight.
I have had some pain in the base of my left thumb near the wrist. I actually think it is related to the overhead press vs. the squat. Could you please do a video on problems related to grip in overhead press? Thank you.
Awesome suggestion, Mama Bear!
Not doing a deadlift as well when I sqaut. Getting the proper angle takes a lot of effort.
My problem is with my wrists which don't like the narrow grip at all. Yesterday I tried wider grip just to test and it was actually great. I was able to lift more weight and my wrists were not aching at all.
I totally get the positive sides of the narrow grip like you showed in the video, but I'm gonna continue with the wider grip from now on.
I finally found a video to help my low bar, couldn’t find any videos that specifically pin pointed the pains. Been getting forearm and elbow pain from my grip and not figuring out how to fix it. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the kind words. We know that it can be frustrating to have a problem--especially one that causes pain--and not know how to fix it.
can you explain what did you do i dont have enough English to understand the whole video
I'm sorry but that logo is genius.
Just wanted to voice my appreciation.
Thank you!
Great video....tendonitis might be a minor injury but a major source of pain while squatting.
Very helpful. I wish you guys had this video a few years ago when I started. My elbow is almost back to normal now but when I started I through some elbow pain. Great vid.
I can’t tell you how much this video helped me! After training CrossFit for 9 years, now working at a commercial gym Personal Training for almost 4. One of the hardest things diving into starting Strength NLP is switching to low bar back squats. Years of competition CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting meets, I have always trained high bar. Frustrated because my squats have been held up my the painful position of the low bar....Mostly coming from lat insertion. This video helped me a lot thank you!
Omg....tried this today, and all forward tendancy disappeared from my squat! 🤦🏻♀️ I literally surprised myself with how much better my form is! ❤
Wow, that's awesome. Glad it helped!
A video I wished I had seen years ago. Thanks for this.
I watched 4 videos on this topic before this one which finally answered my problems. Excellent instruction!!! Super grateful
Well thanks for that very kind comment.
Thank you! I commenced Starting Strength last week and already have sore elbows starting.
Great stuff!
Fantastic video, especially the part about shoulder extension and how it leads to thoracic flexion. I struggled with that for months until an SSC told me to simply keep my elbows down!
Very informative. Thank you!
Bro just switching the thumb changed everything!!!!! Thank you so much I squat 390 and my wrist were dying
Thank you!!
Got your self a new sub. Throughout my 12 years of working out, Ive heard yes the bar is really sitting on your back and your back is carrying the majority of the load and that your hands are there just for support basically to balance the bar. And since I’ve done low bar squat the vast Majority of my years of working out and incorrect hand placement that you were mentioning of the elbows flaring out. I have a muscular imbalance where my right arm/shoulder Chicken wings out. Which brings me to you can never stop learning I’ve been researching and searching videos on how to improve my mobility. Which brings me to my last point I’m making that transition from a Certified personal trainer to PTA. 😊
Nice!
Great video! Learned this from reading Mark Rippletoes books and this is the way I always teach my clients, but i didn't know the science behind why it works.
Also, its a lot easier to dump a bar on a failed squat when your thumbs aren't wrapped around rhe bar.
Excellent video! I think this is exactly my problem. My wrist is super extended while squatting and that caused inflammation in my hand and golfers elbow. But I also think my wrist position while benching contributes to that. It is cocked back too much.
Thank you! This is very helpful
Great video and thank you so much for sharing this!!
thank you very much for this video
thank you so much for this video!!
Glad you liked it!
This helped me. Thank you.
Glad it helped.
Thank you so much for this video. Also, in really like your logo!
Thank you!
Great video
I def have developed some inner elbow pain on my dominant right elbow. After watching this I tried the Paul Horn stretch and narrowed my grip for just a couple practice reps. It feels a little better I guess but I still get the dull pain right after racking. I know this wont go away over night but I'm not gonna stop squatting.
Awesome video, excited to try this out. I recently widening my grip which felt better initially as I felt more weight on my spine but I noticed If my wrist lost compression with the neutral position (often finding extension occurs during high intensity) my elbow takes some damage. Makes sense with physics and the moment arm.
Thank you for such a great, informational video! I'm guilty of gripping the bar has hard as I can as a cue to tighten my back, but my elbows are getting aggravated pretty bad by this. Gonna try this one out next session!
-Ensure the bar is in the right spot
-Ensure your back is in proper thoracic extension
-Keep your elbows still
-You might want to do your pressing exercises before you squat (doesn't fix the problem but might allow you to press without pain or at least with less pain)
Try it and let us know!
Fo, those who may experience disorientation occasionally, the Point of View on Axis was inverted for the Hand extension vs flexion.
I need this.
Got her by accident (TH-cam suggested videos), but this is absolutely solid. Great content, thanks so much!
Awesome, thanks for watching! We hope you'll come back for more.
Excellent - thank you
Thank YOU
Hey, Love your videos and tips. ❤️ Yan
Thanks for watching and the kind words.
I have noticed that when I start up out of the hole I tend to really bear down/squeeze the upper torso to maintain good back angle on the ascent and keep the hips from getting ahead of the shoulders/bar. That bearing down increases the downward/ribward tension in all my arm muscles (forearms, biceps, triceps) and get the burning twinge sensation right in the medial portion of the elbow. It's taken some time to figure that out and then develop enough body awareness to keep the mid-back, upper back and delts tight without torqueing the elbows in too much, all while driving the hips up and holding the knees out. Squatting is almost as bad as a golf swing for the number of little things that have to go right. Fortunately, a little mis-groove in the squat doesn't usually put you in the water hazard.
2:52 I literally just left the physical therapist for this, over extended wrists causing tendonitis
The best instructional! Thank you!!
Thanks for watching!
5:30 my problems in my forearms described perfectly thanks a lot
Awesome. Glad it helps.
Sometimes , you have to adjust your squat grip position to be ideal for you in the low bar . Do the best you can . I have two shoulder surgeries on both shoulders . My shoulders are basically frozen in place . I have to use a wide grip on the Olympic bar . I can’t get my shoulders to get in the perfect low bar elbow angle . You cant force bone on bone .My elbows stick out and up beyond the parallel plane of my back in the low bar. You can’t stretch out my delt , shoulder elbow tie in...it’s an impossibility... so in the end do what works for you and get as possible to the low bar grip that you can..if not and your form collapses, you will have to try a different form of squat ... IMHO.. Try Paul Horns squat grip stretch ... it works well 👍🏻
Super helpful couldn’t figure out what was going wrong
Awesome...glad it helped
Figured out my elbow problems finally thank you
Awesome
Brilliant
Thank you for this, really
Thanks for watching & commening!
@@BarbellLogic for real I just finished a squat workout applying your tips and for the first time in weeks I have no pain 😭 this has to reach more people
@@enriquesantatecla6046 This comment made our day. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome explanation - best one out there. This info was great. The other piece of the puzzle for me was to do myofascial release on the pec. Combination of one of those rock hard spiky balls and putting all my body weight on a foam roller and rolling the pec in all directions (up/dow, across, and then at 45 degrees from the central stomach corner to your armpit). Can now get my grip in super tight with zero pain - used to feel like my tendon was going to pop out of my medial elbow.
I need to try this. I am "forced" to do high bar squats because my shoulders are not mobile enough to put my wrist and elbow in comfortable position on lower traps. If I do wider grip then my wrist is ok but then my elbows are hell. And if I go narrow then my elbows are great but my wrist gets over extended. I had that elbow tendonitis before but I didn't know it's from squat. I thought it comes from biceps training. But when corona started and gyms got closed I started working out at home only upper body and my pain went away in 3-4 weeks so I realized it has to be grip on squats.
THANK YOU SO MUCH I'M SUFFERING RIGHT NOW WITH ELBOW PAINS BECAUSE OF MY SQUAT SO NOW I KNOW WHAT TO DO TO FIX THE PAIN
Thank you for this video. Yesterday I squatted and had major pain at the end in elbow, bicep, and shoulder. Now I know why can't wait until next squat session and see if this fixes it, which I am sure it will.
That's great, glad it could help! Let us know how your next squat session goes.
I wish I watched this video before I tried lol I have elbow pain on the outer/top part of elbow and hurts when I ball up my fist 😢 I hope it goes away soon it’s only been 2 days since can’t wait to try these techniques.
Oh my god this is good.
Frick elbow pain for six months. Happy that there is a solution
What’s the background music? It’s very lit
I actually dont get wrist or elbow pain, but I do get shoulder pain. I also sometimes get a loud pop in my left shoulder when I get the bar into position, and its fairly painful when it happens. Wondering if you have any suggestions for a fix? Thanks for all the great instructional videos
This is not an uncommon problem. Couple solutions you could try:
-thumbs around grip might fix this
-wider grip
-high bar squat
Communication Skills are denormalized. This is the best Squat Video.
If the forearms were to criss-cross the arm, then we can bow deflex the entire squat allowing for double-triple mechanical loads.
This video is fcking amazing. Ty!
This comment is frickin amazing. Thank YOU!
So if some pain starts showing up, is taking a narrower grip usually the solution?
I’ve noticed that my left hand and thumb goes numb when squatting. Would you recommend a wider grip?
Great vid btw!
Wider grip could help or thumbs around as opposed to thumbs over.
That being said, might be worth taking a video or picture of this and emailing podcast@barbell-logic.com to take a look at what might be going on here.
I always get a lot of wrist pain when squatting, I think it's because I was wrapping my hand around the bar and trying to support the weight with my wrist.
I'll try tomorrow to grip it with the thumb up and see.
Let us know how it goes.
Check a few things though:
-ensure the bar is in the right spot; for low bar, that means on the "meat shelf" of the rear deltoids; for high bar, that means on your trapezius
-maintain a "proud chest"
-your arms pin the bar against your back, but don't carry any weight
good luck!
I knew it...i knew my grip was not right..next time
So I hyperextended my elbow a few weeks back doing jiu-jitsu and apparently injured the medial ligament or whatever, and I get this pain on the medial side of the elbow and forearm when squatting. I had it checked, no bones broken and the doctor told me to rest it and ease into training when the pain allows it.
Am I right if my takeaway from this video would be to stretch the front delts and chest to achieve a narrower squat grip? The pain in the elbow is greater when the elbow is more extended and doesn't really happen when the elbow is flexed.
I try to squat with a grip as narrow as possible, but my original guess was to widen the grip, which seems to have worsened the problem, instead of working to narrow it to ease the pain on the elbow and forearm.
"me to rest it and ease into training when the pain allows it."
The Docz were not saying this. They were saying stop and don't do it until it is completely healed. Among other things ... A Principles of Homepathic expert would tell different.
I was getting elbow pain too. As soon as I widened my grip I felt NOTHING in my arms. I felt 100x stronger.
Awesome!
My confortable grip leaves me with a whole inch between the rack and my fingers lol
@@cobrav3n0mx78 That stinks, the rack is probably a little more narrow than we'd prefer.
@@BarbellLogic Yeah i just resorted to SSB squats
@@cobrav3n0mx78 Some people need to. You might do some extra mobility work for your shoulders, but sometimes you just need to get on the SSB so you can keep squatting.
What if you feel the pain in the bicep area? I’m 6 weeks into low bar and I feel the pain from beginning top of bicep to forearm. I have the neutral hands, wide for now til I build up flexibility.
It is likely not flexibility related. It probably is due to the way you are carrying the bar. email experience@barbell-logic.com to get a form check.
I hurt my right elbow and it was messed up for years. I never knew now I know. Overextension wow, safety squat bar now and gettin loose until I eventually low bar again.
Awesome!
I struggle with wrist compression and keeping my back tight. I feel that my grip and bar placement have a lot to do with it. Do you have any tips/tricks for bigger guys who lack some flexibility there?
Try one of these:
-wider grip
-thumbs around (not over) the bar
-high bar
I’m honestly giving up trying to squat. My shoulder external rotation is so bad that whenever I even attempt to pull my shoulders back to grip the bar on my back i’m in so much pain
Try front squatting instead then, and experiment with drills so you can do back squat latter on.
Great video, what is the best way to get rid of the elbow pain besides from putting the weight of the bar on the back instead of the wrists ? Should i just stop squatting till elbow feels better ?
Here's an article: barbell-logic.com/elbow-pain-while-lifting-weights/
You can probably keep squatting. You might make some of the adjustments above (could do high bar, could do thumbs around, could do SSB, could do front squat). There's adjustments you can make.
Basically: need to stop the thing causing the pain to allow it to heal WHILE making adjustments so you can continue squatting, even if not the exact same way
Hey so that cue to "try to bend the bar" etc, how does it work with this method of just holding the bar gently and letting your back take the weight?
I haven't heard the "bend the bar" cue used except on the bench press. Although I haven't heard it, it could be focusing on ensuring your arms are solid, though they should definitely NOT be bearing weight.
It’s frustrating because I have a smith machine and it hurts my arm and I can’t figure out how to take off the safety hooks and position myself
You might try getting a barbell and not using the Smith Machine.
That being said, where does it hurt your arm? Shoulder? Elbow?
My chest collapses by the time I do 4th rep of a set. This causes my back to go too horizontal and I end up good morning it.
Have a coach check out your form or upload a video of your squats to the SS Facebook page or forums so you can get that sorted out.
What if you are someone who has quite a curvy back that can't easily straighten and long hands? Last time I felt more comfortable not gripping the bar, but resting the wrists over the bar (like a shepherd resting his hands over his cane). Something tells me that's also wrong, but that way I didn't experience elbow pain.
You might try thumbs around grip or moving your wrists out more.
You could send a video to podcast@barbell-logic.com so we can look at this.
Might have trouble straightening back, but should still be able to do it and should be easier to do over time.
Is there a hack to keep wrist straight?
Any tips for anyone whose got a messed up elbow on how to fix it?
Have you tried the grip suggestions from this video?
Will a wrist extension help with the elbow pain? Is this a better option than a neutral one, considering the fact that it doesn't create wrist pain?
It really depends.. have you had a coach look at your form?
No i never had the opportunity for real time coach at my form.
By it depends means it might not help, but it can't get worst, but it can't help either right?
during and after the squat I have pain in both shoulders what mistake do I make?
You might not be making a mistake. Some people can't get into this position without pain or discomfort.
1) The pain or discomfort may go away after awhile. Getting into this position is not comfortable, but getting into it may stretch out the shoulders over time.
2) If it's legit painful, you may need to try a thumbs under the bar grip - this can help.
3) If it's still painful, you may try high bar or an SSB is you have access to it.
@@BarbellLogic ok thank
Dunno if I’m doing this wrong but when I tried locking my wrist my elbow started hurting with warmup weight 😢
Possibly doing it wrong. Could try bent wrists. Could send video to experience@barbell-logic.com
Does this count for low bar squaring as well?
Yes
Why did my scapula hurt me when I'm squatting ????
Might have the bar ON TOP of the spine of your scapula as opposed to JUST BELOW it.
So anybody know why my bicep feels like its gonna explode when i bring my grip in closer? Like i feel squats in my biceps more then anything else. Ive been going wider which helps but i have to raise my elbows alot which isnt good.. this bicep pain runs up into the shoulder as well and its starting to affect my bench.
Could be a couple things. Here's an article on the topic (barbell-logic.com/elbow-pain-while-lifting-weights/).
To quickly answer your question (though the article answers it).
You may be rounding your upper back.
You may have the bar in the wrong spot (which means it will want to roll up or down your back).
The bar should rest on your rear delts with your arms only holding it there but not holding any weight.
Ever solve this ? Always get the same thing
@@jeffriggins9106 I was holding the bar a bit to low causing my arms to help hold it up. I started holding the bar a lil higher and the pain went away. If that ain't it then the link above has more info
@@jasonfleenor appreciate it, starting to think I'm holding it a bit too low as well and left arm is taking the beat down. I'll give it a shot brother thanks for your time
It's quite hard if you have a small back, better build that upper back.
Hey! When I squat, I struggle to hold the bar in place. It always wants to roll down, which causes a lot of pain in my shoulder, once the bar is around 400, because Im no longer able to hold it in place.
My back naturaly lags a lot of curvature and even with a good amount of muscle and stiffness, I fail to create that shelf on which the bar should rest. Had to stop squatting, which bugs me a lot.
Has anybody an idea what I can do?
Couple ideas:
-try high bar
-video yourself from directly behind at level with where the bar goes (include setting the bar) and send it to experience@barbell-logic.com
-use an safety squat bar
@@BarbellLogic thank you so much for your answer! I think, my studio just bought a safety bar. It felt a lot more shaky. Is there a cue, that can help with unwanted rotation in the upper body?
Thank you so much for your offer with the video coaching! What would you charge for such a coaching?
Greetings from germany
KEEP YOUR ELBOWS UP. Here's our video on the safety squat bar: th-cam.com/video/IT6hMuj1Y4o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=b_-3XaDjYJuFu6Q3@@PhilippMehr
if I got that tendonitis do you know how to get rid of it, iv been messing up :( other than fixing the squat grip asap
That is the thing you have to do.
To give your grip a break and let it heal, you might go high bar, safety squat bar, or front squat for a bit.
@@BarbellLogic alright will do, any idea how long it usually takes to heal? thing is messing up my presses like crazy.
either way, thanks guys
Really depends how bad it is. Might takes weeks / months. Focus on doing what you can, and then occasionally retry what bothers it. @@knife1406
Main problem is balence and flexibility of arms.
Then keep working on shoulder flexibility or just use high bar or safety squat bar.
Leon lush?
will try this asap, i have felt an increase in elbow pain since i took up squatting again and got stronger and now squatting a substansial wheight with apparantly a bad form (very wide grip and letting a lot of weight rest in my hands and not on my back). today it was totally killing me, i had so much pain i was almost fucking crying, i swear.. my bench my deadlift and squat all went up a fair bit and i dont want to start all over again because of another injury :(
How is this adjustment working for you? That sounds like a bad case of tendinitis!
@@BarbellLogic so far no pain from squatting! Every set, before lifting of i think about this, leaning slightly forward feeling weight on my back, not in my hands, and so far so good :) only sligth pain in shoulder from presses but it is getting better also :)
@@vwtompa Amazing! That's great to hear. Keep those elbows from moving around during the set and you should be good to go.
I had a severe pain in my left elbow when squatting with thumbless grip. Putting thumbs around pretty much did the job, but now i "feel" it more in the wrists. We'll see how it goes.
I've noticed a few of the smarter, more mature (some really young, some not as young) strength trainers/powerlifters/bodybuilders on youtube using wrist straps for both their low bar squat and their bench press. I cringe when I see a bent wrist with low bar especially with thumb around the bar because I know the pain improper grip can cause. Whether they wear these out of necessity because they did the research and know they HAVE to or not I don't know, but their wrists are bent and I think it's a good thing. My point is if it's absolutely necessary and it's hurting your wrists, I might suggest you use a pair. I'm not an SSC so IDK but it makes sense to me.
@@HAL-dm1eh I've seen a lot of heavy squats with thumbs around grip, both in real life and on you tube, so i don't know... It's probably an individual anatomical issue. I did squats with thumbless grip for years with no issues, but now they seem to irritate my elbows...It may be that i am now 25 kg heavier than I was when I started lifting, who knows... My wrists ain't hurting for now so i'll keep riding like this. But i'll definitely consider buying wrist wraps if they start hurting :)
Am i the only one who has ever gotten shoulder impingement from squatting? I have been struggling with this for 4-5 months now. Wrists are straight, thumbless grip, bar doesn't move when I squat. I think I have it narrowed down to thoracic flexion but I thought I had this problem "solved" a few times now only to have it flare up again. Progress has stalled on my NLP @ 1.65 x BW and I'm unsure how to proceed. No SSC within 200+ miles. I haven't seen this issue addressed by anyone.
How do you know your shoulder is impinged?
@@BarbellLogic I'm going off of what the doctor and physical therapist told me.
Are you also overhead pressing? We typically see shoulder impingement during an incorrectly executed overhead press. Has a coach looked at your form?
@@BarbellLogic Yes, I also press every other workout though it doesnt seem to bother my shoulder. I've added quite a bit of weight to the press during the time that my squat stalled out. I've never had an SSC or someone similarly qualified look at it, only local trainers. The nearest SSC is 200+ miles away.
Have you considered online coaching with a SSC? We're currently running a sale: barbell-logic.com/online-coaching/ Or you could submit form checks to the SS Facebook page.
Cool, so Austin/Jordan/Alan have a video up all squatting in Austin's garage. All of them use thumb around grip when squatting. Those guys all seem pretty smart and experienced, so why are they doing so if thumb on top is correct?
Lots of our coaches squat with thumbs around. Thumbs around is fine. If you have the shoulder mobility, thumbs around allows your wrists to be straight. Thumbs around CAN be a problem for lifters wrist. We default to thumbs over. Thumbs around is not wrong.
@@BarbellLogic in your experience which grip is best for those with a kyphosis?
@@clintkennedy8387 Kyphosis doesn't really affect the grip, typically. Try thumbs over first. If you have issues with that, just go thumbs around.
This explanation is top top draw
What's up with that shirt the demo guy is wearing? It that some sort of sticky stuff to keep the bar in place?
Yeah. It's a squat shirt.
Maybe for bench?
A7 Shirt!
Would the correct grip be any different with a high bar squat? Asking for a friend … 😊
A thumbs-around grip is typically used with high-bar squats.
Thanks guys, keep up the great work with all the great content 😊
I tried, but i couldnt .
ty no more ow
grips are so under thought about to be honest
Fact
I put the bar in the tip of my fingers, extended elbow