Elbow-friendly exercises

Exercises that do not load the elbow, to keep training legs, glutes and core if you have tennis elbow, golfer's elbow or elbow pain.

The elbow is involved in nearly every upper-body exercise: anything that pushes or pulls means bending or straightening it under load. That is why tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) are common among people who train, especially after quickly ramping up curls, triceps extensions or pull-ups.

While your elbow recovers, your training can focus on legs, glutes and core, which do not involve it. In the upper body, lateral raises and light shoulder work are usually better tolerated than exercises that bend the elbow under load.

The list shows the exercises in our catalog that do not load the elbow according to our classification. Cutting back on grip volume and seeing a physical therapist usually speeds up recovery.

71 exercises do not load this joint.

Lower body

Quads

• Barbell back squat
• Goblet squat
• Hack squat
• Smith machine squat
• Leg press
• Leg extension
• Walking lunges
• Jump squat
• Box jump

Glutes

• Reverse lunge
• Bulgarian split squat
• Box step-up
• Kettlebell swing
• Machine hip thrust
• Barbell hip thrust
• Floor glute bridge
• Cable glute kickback
• Quadruped glute kickback

Hamstrings

• Conventional deadlift
• Romanian deadlift
• Barbell good morning
• Leg curl (seated or lying)
• Nordic hamstring curl

Abductors

• Hip abduction machine
• Seated banded abduction
• Side-lying leg raise
• Clamshell

Adductors

• Hip adduction machine
• Standing cable adduction

Calves

• Standing calf raise
• Seated calf raise
• Leg press calf raise

Upper body

Chest

• Pec deck fly
• Cable crossover

Shoulders

• Dumbbell lateral raise
• Cable lateral raise
• Front raise
• Reverse pec deck

Back

• Straight-arm cable pulldown

Core

Abs

• Machine crunch
• Standing cable crunch
• Floor crunch
• Reverse crunch
• Dead bug
• Lying leg raise
• Flutter kicks
• Scissor kicks
• Single-leg lowering
• Hollow body hold
• Tabletop crunch
• Toe touch crunch
• Ab wheel rollout
• Hanging leg raise
• Mountain climbers
• Farmer's carry

Obliques

• Bicycle crunch
• Heel touches
• Machine torso rotation
• Pallof press
• Cable woodchop
• Russian twist

Lower back

• Back extension

Cardio

Cardio

• Stationary bike
• Recumbent bike
• Elliptical
• Rowing machine
• Incline treadmill walk
• Stair climber
• Treadmill running
• Jump rope
• Burpees

If you have an injury, pain or a medical condition, check with a professional before doing this exercise.