Do you guys lock your elbows when doing any kind of raises?

[Tommy Gunn]

Do you guys lock your elbows when doing any kind of raises?

I always thought that you should never lock your elbows and always keep them a little bent when doing either front, scaption, side, or bent over raises. But one of my physical therapists said you should keep your elbows locked when you do front raises so you completely isolate the front delt (I never asked them about scaption, side, and bent over raises). What do you guys think? I've read numerous articles on the net saying to never lock your elbows and to always keep them a little bent but the articles never go into detail why. Is there a medical reason why you shouldn't lock your elbows or is it that keeping them a little bent hits the muscle better?

Any and all views would be greatly appreciated.

[Matt]

Im not sure if your supposed to or not, maybe someone can tell us, however i dont lock them out. I feel when there locked your resting them.

[AdamGH]

try both and do what works best for you.


on a side note i dont believe in "raises" for the shoulders. You should be doing presses, upright rows, etc. for mass on the shoulders. Raises to me are like saying do leg extensions and leg curls to build mass for your legs.

[Voland]

if very light way, yes. i lock when doing lat raises.
but if i'm going heavy i'll use cables and use a special gadget i've built to get the cable attatched to my forearm and do raises. that way i avoid wrist pain.

[GT2]

try both and do what works best for you.


on a side note i dont believe in "raises" for the shoulders. You should be doing presses, upright rows, etc. for mass on the shoulders. Raises to me are like saying do leg extensions and leg curls to build mass for your legs.

Agreed. They're a good finishing exercise though.