Should I really lock my elbows and knees when lifting?

Asked by: Kristy Perry

If you’re locking your elbows or knees for a momentary rest break, skip it! Not only will you avoid potential injuries, but you’ll also get a higher intensity workout which will be a better stimulus for your muscles to improve.

Is it good to lock out your elbows when lifting?

Locking the elbows puts them in a hyperextended state. Adding load, whether it’s body weight while doing pushups or an external weight for presses, further increases the chance of overextending the joints, putting you at risk for injury.

Is it good to lock out your knees when lifting?

When performing a leg press or leg extension movement like squats or seated leg press, do not fully lock out your knees. Locking your knee joint transfers all of the weight from the muscle to the joint. This results in unnecessary stress on the knee that can lead to a serious injury.

Are you supposed to lock out when lifting weights?

Try not to fully lock out your joints. Because when you do that you're putting stress on your joints and releasing it from the muscle keeping the tension on your muscle.

What happens if you lock your elbows?

Elbow Locking is a mechanical problem where loose bodies (fragments of bone or cartilage) move around inside the elbow joint and get caught between the moving parts. When this happens the joint gets stuck until the loose body moves. The joint is often painful after locking has happened.

Why you shouldn’t lock your knees?

Having your knees locked causes the curve of the lower back to become exaggerated. This puts stress on your spine, over contracting the spinal erectors and other muscles of the low back, increasing pain in the area, as well as making it more difficult to engage your core muscles.

Should you lock out at top of squat?

Don't lock out your knees. In reality full range of motion is the gold standard when it comes to squatting or any exercise for that matter.

Should I lock out on bench?

The lighter the weight in a bench press, the easier it is to lock out the elbows. The elbow lockout creates the illusion of achieving the greatest range of motion. However, at the same time, you sacrifice muscle tension. Subjecting the muscles to continuous, non-interrupted tension will produce maximum results.

Should you lock out on tricep exercises?

Extending your elbows requires that you fully straighten your arms, but alas, you don’t want to lock them out. Locking out shifts the stress from the triceps to the elbow joint itself. With a heavy load and momentum, this can actually damage the joint.

Should I lock out on pull ups?

Some people say that you should not lock out your elbows when doing pull ups. The reasoning for this is that it is claimed it can cause injury. It can do that, in fact, but not really in the way most people think.

Should you fully extend on pull ups?

You're a lacking shoulder stability in a very vulnerable position. So. What I want you to do is fix that make sure that even though you go to full extension.

Should I lock my shoulders?

Shoulder Lock Test



If your shoulder is not locked, your body will buckle and sag. If you have very tight pecs, upper traps, you may need to loosen them up with a lacrosse ball before you workout so that you can properly align the head of your arm bone into the shoulder socket.

Do you use shoulders in pull ups?

A pullup engages all your important shoulder and back muscles — your lats, pectoral muscles, rhomboids and trapezius. A pullup also opens your chest, a counter movement to the hunched seated position. “It’s a great multijoint, multimuscle exercise,” Norwood says.

Is 5 pull-ups good?

Men should be able to perform at least 8 pull-ups, and 13-17 reps is considered fit and strong. And women should be able to perform between 1-3 pull-ups, and 5-9 reps is considered fit and strong.

Which is better Chinups or pullups?

Research on muscular activation comparing the pullup and chinup suggests the chinup works the same muscles as the pullup, albeit with a greater emphasis on the biceps and pectoral muscles and slightly less emphasis on the latissimus dorsi and lower trapezius ( 2 , 3 ).

Do pull ups increase shoulder size?

Pullups don’t specifically target the shoulders, but because pullups strengthen the muscles around the shoulders, many people find that their shoulders get stronger with pullups. You can increase the shoulder-strengthening potential of a pullup by altering your grip.

How many pull-ups could Arnold Schwarzenegger do?

Being a red-blooded, testosterone-fueled male, that’s what I want (and nothing demands attention from the opposite sex like a wide back, big shoulders, and big arms). The king himself Arnold Schwarzenegger said that doing 50 pull-ups a day played a huge part in developing his monster back.

Is 100 pull-ups a day too much?

It’s worth repeating that doing 100 reps of any bodyweight exercise every single day for a whole month without allowing time for rest and recovery is bound to create some wear and tear, and that you won’t necessarily see major gains unless you’re adding progression to your workouts.

Do pullups hit chest?

Pull-ups target your back muscles primarily, specifically your lats, but also your chest and shoulder muscles.

Do pull ups give you abs?

Pull-Ups Strengthen Your Chest, Shoulders, Arms, and Core



In addition to working your back, pull-ups strengthen and sculpt your shoulders, forearms, and chest (pecs). They also engage your abs, including your deep transverse abdominis, making them a great exercise for targeting many of the major muscles in the body.

Are chin-ups good?

Chin-ups can help improve grip strength, posture and appearance, while also helping to strengthen muscles that stabilize the spine. This, in turn, can help reduce one’s risk of back pain and injury.

Why are pull-ups so hard?

Pull-ups are so hard because they require you to lift your entire body up with just your arms and shoulder muscles. If you don’t already have significant strength here, this can be quite a challenge. Because a pull-up uses so many muscles, you need to have the holistic upper-body strength to perform them.

What’s the hardest exercise?

The Hardest Gym Exercises You Should Try

• Squats. Squats are the king of leg exercises. …
• Deadlifts. Deadlifts are another dreaded exercise and only a few people perform them in their workouts. …
• Bench Press. …
• Walking Lunges. …
• Military Presses. …
• Muscle-Ups. …
• Skullcrushers. …
• 21’s.

How many pull-ups can a average man do?

How many reps of Pull Ups should I be able to do? How many reps of Pull Ups can the average lifter do? The average male lifter can do 13 reps of Pull Ups. This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive achievement.