Help with French Press and my Elbows

M

munchkin928

Cathlete
Hi all! This is the most exercise form and injury savvy board I've read, so I figured I'd post my question over here...

I just got the CTX series and am working my way through the first week. Everything has been going great, until today when I did 10-10-10 and the triceps work. The close-grip press was fine, and the kickbacks were fine, but the frensh press (both lying down and sitting down) made my left elbow sort of pop.... it felt like a tendon (or something) was rolling over the bone closest to my head. Does that make sense? Anyways, I was wondering if anyone else has ever had this happen, and what they did about it. I've had problems with it before (when I did pushups) but as I got stronger it went away. I'm sort of assuming that's what will happen here. I was planning to just skip the exercises that felt weird for a week or so and then try to add them in slowly. However, I'd love to hear if it's just something silly I'm doing with my form that will be easy to fix.

Umm, more about me. I'm still a semi-beginner, and was only using 3lb dumbells this morning. I have loose joints in general, and I can do a really gross trick with my elbows and sort of turn my arm around. When I hold my arm out as far straight as I can it goes too far (does not make a straght line). I had read that you should strengthen your muscles to prevent injuries if you have loose joints, so I'm really wanting to strengthen my muscles up. I guess what I'm really wondering is if I need to avoid making my elbow 'pop' or if I should just work through it. Hope I'm making sense! Thank you so much for all your help in advance!

Amanda

P.S. Cathe (if you aren't too busy to read this... I am LOVING the CTX series so far... thank you so much for your wonderful videos! They are so motivating and fun to do, I almost forget how hard I'm working. I feel great knowing I'm moving towards getting that much more healthy)
 
Hi, Amanda! IMHO, the issue you've described and the questions you have about it would be great for our own Maribeth, who has a master's degree in exercise science as well as being a licensed physical therapist and certified personal trainer. I'll e-mail her off the board and give her the heads-up on your question. I'm interested in her answer as well, because I tend to take my elbows for granted and don't want to do anything to injure them.

Is it possible that you have hypermobile joints? Have you ever gotten checked out for that?

Annette Q. Aquajock
 
Annette,

Thanks so much for e-mailing Maribeth.... I was hoping that she would answer as well, since she always has such great advice. I looked up hypermobile joints on the good ol' internet, and I think that I do have some joints that are hypermobile.... I can do my elbow trick, touch my thumb to my forearm, and palm the floor when I lean over (as long as my leg muscles aren't amazingly tight). However, there are also some scary syndromes out there that include hypermobility and I dont' think I have any of those other symptoms. My grandmother evidently used to be able to do the elbow trick too, so I know where I got it from. I'd never thought about getting it checked by anyone, because I didn't figure there's much to be done about it... I think I was hoping that building up nice biceps and triceps and maybe even forearms would help keep the joint more stable. Hmm... I wonder if there are special exercises that can be done to help it more (sort of like rotator cuff exercises for elbow?). Well... I'm babbling so I'll stop. Thanks so much again!

Amanda
 
Just wanted to throw in my two cents. I have always had a similar problem with "skull crushers." I finally broke down and bought myself a curl bar, and it made all the difference in the world. It is also much more comfortable for my wrists. You can also use it for bicep curls and upright rows. Hope this information helps.
 
Thanks active girl! I'm actually a little bit short on money and space right now, so I dont' have a barbell or anythign like that, but I'd like to get one... now I may have to invest in a curl bar at that time as well! Even though I dont' think I can get a curl bar right now, it's making me think that maybe if I change the angle I'm holding the dumbells at it might help? I may experiment with it a little bit.

Annabel, a curlbar is like a barbell except it's shaped 'funny'... I think that it's made for doing curling type motions, and because of its curves its more comfortable to use/ hits the muscles in a different way. (I'm mainly guessing here, so if someone says something else go with them). Cathe has a bunch of links from her main website, and I'll bet several of the equipment manufacturers carry curlbars. I've never actually worked out heavily with bars of any type, so I don't know how helpful it woudl be... wouldn't hurt to go to a store and try one out!

Amanda
 
Hey, Amanda,
Sorry it took me a bit to get back to the board--Annette e-mailed me yesterday, but things got a bit hairy for a bit.

Anyhoo, chances are what you described as a tendon rolling is just that--a tendon rolling. What happens is when you are working really hard, or just kinda blank on form, you will tend to not keep your wrists perfectly neutral--neutral means not only no wrist flexion or extension, but no radial or ulnar deviation (side to side motion), too.

The long wrist and finger flexors and extensors cross the elbow. When you let your wrists leave the neutral position, the tendons of these muscle groups will sometimes roll over the epicondyles of the humerus (the inside and outside of your elbow), making a thunking sound.

Problem is that if this continues, it can cause irritation of the tendons, the bursa and/or the cartilage on the outer surface of the bone. So, it isn't something you want to have happen over and over again. Really watch your wrists, both in triceps and biceps exercises--keep those babies neutral to avoid problems!

E-mail me if you have any questions--sometimes I don't get back to the boards as often as I'd like, but I do check e-mail fairly frequently!
Maribeth
 
Thanks very much Maribeth! I haven't gotten back around to the triceps work again yet, but I'll try and be very careful this time around and if I still have questions I'll let you know. I appreciate your help sooo much... you are a true blessing to this forum. Thanks again!

Amanda

P.S. If I do decide to e-mail you.. how do I do that (ie, what is your e-mail address)? Out of curiosity I hit the "e-mail Maribeth" button, and the address shows up as a 0... which I don't think is right.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-23-02 AT 05:30PM (Est)[/font][p]Hey, Amanda!
Don't know why my e-mail comes up a 0. It is [email protected].

Gotta get in there and change it!
Maribeth

Just checked it--when I clicked on the address card, the correct e-mail address came up. Hmmm...
 
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