Switch to “neutral Grip” to Avoid Elbow Pain During Pull-Ups.
Your elbow is a very important but fragile joint that can be exacerbated by overuse and poor-looking pull-ups. Elbow pain sucks, but if you want to keep pulling up for real benefits, try a “neutral grip,” where your palms are facing each other.
The ATHLEAN-X video above describes some of the ways to do pull-ups with less or no elbow pain, including switching to a neutral grip. To explain why grip matters, you first need to understand that pull-up elbow pain probably starts because you are probably trying to cheat your reps.
Think about what you are doing: in a traditional chin-up (palms facing forward), you naturally have to twist your wrist and generally do your best to complete the rep. When this happens, your elbow takes on the brunt of this tension and stress; then disaster happens when you gradually wear out your elbow joint. Thanks to the neutral grip, your wrists won’t need to rotate and they won’t wear out too much.
Basically, don’t try to fool your reps. Stay in shape: A good and safe pull-up does not start at the elbow. The main thing is to place your elbows on the sides (not in front of the body) and start moving, straining your lats and lowering your shoulders down .
Elbow Pain When Pulling Up (FAST FIX) | ATLIN-X