Your workout is going well.
You grab the pull-up bar.
Halfway through the set, you feel pain on the inside or outside of your elbow.
You finish the workout, but the ache sticks around.
If you lift weights in Fort Collins or anywhere in Northern Colorado, elbow pain during pulling exercises is more common than you might think. Whether you’re doing pull-ups, rows, lat pulldowns, or even climbing, your elbows absorb a lot of repetitive load.
The good news? Most elbow pain is not a serious injury.
Why Pulling Exercises Can Irritate Your Elbow
Every time you pull, your forearm muscles and tendons work to grip the bar and stabilize your wrist.
During a hard workout, that can mean hundreds of repetitions.
If your training volume increases quickly or your muscles are not prepared for the demand, the tendons around your elbow can become irritated.
At UpSlope Physical Therapy and Performance, we often see this in active adults who increase their lifting, climbing, or CrossFit workouts during the summer.
What Is Actually Causing the Pain?
Elbow pain is usually not caused by one bad workout.
It develops over time as your tendons are asked to handle more load than they are prepared for.
Common contributors include:
- Sudden increases in training volume
- Weak grip strength
- Poor forearm strength
- Limited shoulder mobility
- Repetitive pulling without enough recovery
Many people assume they simply need to stretch more.
In reality, irritated tendons usually respond better to progressive strengthening than stretching alone.
Why Rest Is Not the Long-Term Solution
Taking a few days off may calm the pain.
But if you return to the same training load without improving tendon capacity, the symptoms often come right back.
Tendons need the right amount of load to become stronger.
The goal is to gradually build their capacity, not avoid using them altogether.
How To Keep Training
Most people do not need to stop lifting.
Instead, consider temporarily reducing training volume while continuing to strengthen the muscles that support the elbow.
Building grip strength, forearm strength, and shoulder stability can reduce the stress placed on the elbow during pulling movements.
It is also important to pay attention to recovery. Tendons adapt more slowly than muscles, so they often need more time to catch up.
When To Get It Checked
If elbow pain keeps returning, limits your workouts, or makes everyday activities like gripping or lifting uncomfortable, it is time to address it.
The earlier tendon irritation is treated, the easier it is to get back to pain-free training.
The Bottom Line
Pull-ups and rows should build strength, not create pain.
If your elbow hurts every time you train your upper body, there is usually an underlying reason.
Improve your strength. Manage your training load. Address the problem before it becomes chronic.
If elbow pain is limiting your workouts, schedule an evaluation at UpSlope Physical Therapy and Performance in Fort Collins. We will identify what is causing your symptoms and build a plan that gets you back to lifting without pain.
Strong elbows help build a stronger body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my elbow hurt during pull-ups and rows?
Pulling exercises ask your forearm muscles and tendons to grip and stabilize for hundreds of repetitions. When training volume climbs faster than your tendons can adapt, the tissue around the elbow gets irritated. Common contributors are sudden volume increases, weak grip and forearm strength, limited shoulder mobility, and not enough recovery between pulling days.
Should I stretch or strengthen an irritated elbow?
Most people assume they need to stretch more. Irritated tendons generally respond better to progressive strengthening than to stretching alone.
Will rest fix elbow pain from lifting?
A few days off may calm the symptoms down, but rest alone does not build the tendon capacity that caused the problem. The pain usually returns when you go back to the same training volume.
