How to Fix Elbow Pain and Bulletproof Your Elbows -

Struggling with Golfers Elbow or Tennis Elbow? Here’s a Simple Exercise that’ll Help…

By Elliot Newman

I’ve seen A LOT of elbow pain over the years…

When I competed in Powerlifting, a lot of lifters struggled with it, due to the demands of both the Squat and the Bench Press.

When I played golf and tennis, loads of players would be sidelined due to elbow pain.

And now I’m climbing, guess what many climbers suffer with?

You got it…

Elbow pain! And climbers get it really bad… suffering with both tennis and golfers elbow.

It seems like lots of people who are physically active are at risk of irritated elbows.

Don’t Ignore it and Hope it Goes Away!

90% of gym goers, powerlifters, golfers, tennis players and climbers deal with nagging elbow pain in the WRONG way…

First they ignore it. They simply pretend it’s not happening.

Then they take painkillers. Big mistake (because painkillers simply mask the pain – they do not deal with the CAUSE. So, in the long-run, painkillers actually allow you to use the elbow while injured, without the body’s usual pain signals to tell you when to stop… thus making the injury WORSE in the long-run!)

Finally, when the pain gets bad enough they have to STOP doing the thing that caused the elbow pain… weightlifting, tennis, golf and so on.

Sometimes they have to stop for MONTHS before they can do the activity again.

Then what do they do?

Exactly what they did before!

They do the activity until the pain comes back and they have to stop again.

It’s not a smart approach. Yet I see really intelligent people make this mistake all the time.

The question is:

How Should You Deal with Elbow Pain?

I have 5 suggestions (#5 is very effective and will “Bulletproof” your elbows):

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Take Contrast Showers post exercise
Stop doing things that aggravate your elbows!
Warm Up well before exercise
Do Band Pushdowns

Let’s take a look at each of these methods in a bit of detail…

Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

When you have PAIN in your body – be it in your elbow or any other joint – you typically have INFLAMMATION.

Therefore, if you want the pain (and inflammation) to go away, it makes sense to eat a diet that is anti-inflammatory.

This means eating more fruits, veggies, quality meat, poultry and fish, healthy fats and so on…

And less refined sugar, seeds oils, trans fats etc.

Basically, eat more REAL FOOD and less PROCESSED food to reduce the inflammation and pain in your elbows.

Simple enough (not always easy though, given the way the world is, but definitely simple).

Take Contrast Showers Post Exercise

Contrast showers simply involve doing 1 minute of hot water, followed by 30 seconds of cold water.

Then repeat for 4-6 rounds in total.

This dramatically speeds up recovery after exercise, and helps reduce inflammation – so aiming the water directly at sore elbows can really help.

Caution: don’t use water so hot it burns your skin, or water so cold it gives you a chill (over time, as you adapt to hot and cold, your tolerances for both will increase).

Stop Doing Things That Irritate Your Elbows!

This is so obvious I can’t believe I’m having to write it…

But 90% of people do the opposite; so it has to be said

STOP doing things that irritate and hurt your elbows…

If you don’t, the pain WILL get worse, and the likely outcome will be…

Aches… pains… injury.

Sometimes all you have to do to stop having certain exercises and movements hurt your elbows is to…

Warm Up Well Before Exercise…

So many people ignore this one, and it costs them a lot of pain and “time out” in the long-run…

If you want to lift weight, play golf or tennis, or climb, you HAVE TO warm up sensibly before you begin doing that activity at a high intensity. If you don’t, the wear and tear on your body will increase massively and those sore elbows aren’t likely to get better.

What’s the best way to warm up the elbows?

Here’s the answer…

Do Band Pushdowns…

I learned this exercise years ago, when I first started Powerlifting, in 2008.

As a long-armed lifter, Tricep Extensions would always HURT my elbows. But, you need strong triceps if you want a good Bench Press.

So, how did I train my triceps without experiencing elbow pain?

Well, one day I read an article by Louie Simmons – former owner of Westside Barbell – and in it he was talking about lifters who couldn’t do extensions because of elbow pain.

He said the solution was to train the tendons and ligaments, using very high reps.

The exercise suggested was Band Tricep Pushdowns, done for 2-3 sets of 30-100 reps. Louie’s elite powerlifters would often do these every day.

I did them 2-3 times a week, and never had elbow pain again.

My brother is a keen golfer. When he got elbow pain I suggested the same thing to him. He got rid of his elbow pain in a week, and it’s never come back.

I’ve also shared this exercise with several climbers – many of whom had really banged up elbows (to the point where they couldn’t climb at all) – and they all found the same thing…

Within a couple weeks of doing the band pushdowns, their elbows felt GREAT.

How To Do Band Pushdowns for Bulletproof Elbows:

The technique:

If you’re at a gym, simply loop the band around the top of a power rack. If you’re at home, loop it over the top of a door
Assume an athletic posture – hip width stance, slight bend in the knees, torso at 45 degrees to the floor
Grip the band so there’s tension at the start of the movement, arms bent to around 90 degrees
Straighten your arms, then go back to the start position. Repeat for reps.
The reps should actually be performed quickly, to maximally strengthen the tendons and ligaments

This isn’t a difficult movement!

Frequency, Sets and Reps:

For most people, doing the Band Pushdowns TWICE a week works well
Do them every 3-4 days (Mon-Thurs, Tues-Fri or Wed-Sat. You get the idea)
Start off with a couple sets of 10 reps. Add a couple reps each week. Once you get to 30 x 2 sets, you may find that’s all you need to make your elbows feel GREAT. But, don’t be afraid to go higher with the reps – up to 100 per set is fine. You can also do 3 sets if you want
To ensure that you recover from the Pushdowns, reduce the reps by 40% of Day 2. So, if you did 20 x 2 sets on Monday, do 12 x 2 sets on Thursday.
I recommend you do these Pushdowns at the end of a gym workout, or on a rest day. If you play tennis or golf, do them the day after you play
In addition to the high rep (30-100 rep) pushdowns, feel free to use Band Pushdowns as part of your warm up before a gym session, tennis match or round of golf. For this purpose do fewer reps – 10-15 x 2 sets is enough

Final question:

What type of resistance band should you use?

For 95% of people, a Mini Band from Westside Barbell is ideal.

As you get stronger, grip the band higher up to increase the resistance. If you get a lot stronger, a Monster Mini Band or Light Band is an option. Alternatively, if you’re out of shape, haven’t trained in years, or just plain weak, start with a Micro Resistance Band.

Be sure to give these Band Pushdowns a try – they’re a total “game changer” if you want to bulletproof your elbows and get rid of nagging elbow pain once and for all!

Thanks for reading. Have a great day, and I’ll talk to you soon,

Elliot Newman

P.S. I’d be really grateful if you’d…

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