Elbow position during Pull ups#1360

Hello
In pull ups where our elbows should be during the entire movement?
Tucked to the sides or facing forward?

Out to the sides

Since there are different grip widths I’ll just rephrase it to be a bit more general; right underneath your hands (apart from in the deadhang position at the bottom, since obviously there they sometimes can’t be)

Thank you Brother :)

I thought we need to tuck the elbows to the sides naturally just like in push ups around 30-45 degree.

Here you advised Right underneath your hands..dooes that mean elbows just underneath my wrists during entire movement (not in the deadhang) ??

My elbows always flare like this in the picture..I recently recorded myself and came to know about this problem ..it kinda feels uncomfortable to me also..Is there anything wrong with my elbows..what should I do?

With your elbows in this position (and if that is just what feels nice and natural) you’d essentially want your forearms to be like this, aka grip wider!

Okay..I got it..So basically with different grip widths ,the elbow postion will change accordingly. Just keep the elbows below the wrists.

precisely

Good evening Lars
Currently I’m at the jackknife pull ups and soon going to do my first pull up. Thank you and team for helping me to reach my goal which is my 1st pull up :) I really feel strong in every exercises as I progress.

I wanna ask something regarding this post. Here you told that elbows should be right underneath my hands. Sorry but I couldn’t understand this one. Could you please explain it for me and also about the grip widths of pull ups. I couldnot find much about the elbow form in the ebook. Hope you dont mind :) Being a beginner what should I focus on during pull ups to avoid wrist or elbow injury?

Hey there Lucy! Awesome to hear that you’re so close to your goal already <3

You see how in the picture of Rahul, the forearms are diagonal? :) Like how the elbows are further out than the hands? Essentially you want those to be the same, just like the red lines I drew on the picture!

And whether or not he has the hands further outside or the elbows further in doesn’t really matter too much, there I’d really just go with whatever feels most comfortable and strongest to you (it’s just some minor changes in muscle activation)

So the goal is: the forearms are vertical (straight up and down), and you just grip however wide you feel is good for you at the moment!

You can also think about it as your elbows pointing down if that helps

Does that clear things up?

In terms of avoiding injury aiming for that sort of alignment is the best bet since it puts the least amount of stress on it, but even the higher stress variants won’t cause any issues as long as you build up to them!

Thank you so much Lars:) you are a lifesaver for me.It became possible only bcoz of you and the hybrid team..

I will surely follow your advice on pull ups. Interms of grip width I personally feel comfortable and strongest with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip in both push ups and pull ups. Should I continue with that in future ?
Is it also applicable to push ups as well? Like instead of worrying about the elbow postion, just keeping the forearms perpendicular to the ground(elbows on top of wrists ) and tucking them comfortably to the sides..as often in the gym I was told to flare them only 30-45 degree to the sides to protect the shoulders just like Rahul mentioned here.

But then I realised when I do normal push ups , my elbows are tucked more to the sides and they are flared more in a wider grip. So i was confused then.

You are so very welcome lucy!

It is also applicate to pushups yes! Just going for perpindicular is often the way to go with things, since it just puts the least amount of stress on your forearms/elbow flexors and allows you to to target your chest/back etc. better

Regarding how far away your elbows and thus wrists should be in pushups: anything can be safe, flaring them out completely (90° to the sides) is usually not a great position, but going from around 0-60° is perfectly fair and safe - when your arms are closer to your body you’ll be targeting your triceps some more, and when they’re a bit further away, it’ll be more chest :) neither is wrong, they just do different things

Bonus information: You will also target your chest more by going deeper (deficit pushups) and focusing on really bringing your shoulder blades back (at the bottom in particular), and you’ll target your triceps more by not leaning forward as much as you go down, aka keeping your shoulders more over your wrists, aka letting your arms bend more / having your elbows point back rather than just up as you do them :)

Thanks alot again Lars :)for making things super easy to understand.
I’ll keep all your tips in my mind. It was really really helpful.

I really appreciate it <3