diff --git a/src/runners/mjx.py b/src/runners/mjx.py
index 3511fd2..33c9ab9 100644
--- a/src/runners/mjx.py
+++ b/src/runners/mjx.py
@@ -125,10 +125,25 @@ class MJXRunner(BaseRunner[MJXRunnerConfig]):
         model = self._mjx_model
         default = self._default_mjx_data
 
+        # ── Per-actuator limit info (shared helper on MuJoCoRunner) ──
+        lim = MuJoCoRunner._extract_actuator_limits(self._mj_model)
+        act_jnt_ids = jnp.array(lim.jnt_ids)
+        act_limited = jnp.array(lim.limited)
+        act_lo = jnp.array(lim.lo)
+        act_hi = jnp.array(lim.hi)
+        act_gs = jnp.array(lim.gear_sign)
+
         # ── Batched step (N substeps per call) ──────────────────────
         @jax.jit
         def step_fn(data):
             def body(_, d):
+                # Software limit switch: zero ctrl pushing past joint limits
+                pos = d.qpos[:, act_jnt_ids]              # (num_envs, nu)
+                ctrl = d.ctrl
+                at_hi = act_limited & (pos >= act_hi) & (act_gs * ctrl > 0)
+                at_lo = act_limited & (pos <= act_lo) & (act_gs * ctrl < 0)
+                clamped = jnp.where(at_hi | at_lo, 0.0, ctrl)
+                d = d.replace(ctrl=clamped)
                 return jax.vmap(mjx.step, in_axes=(None, 0))(model, d)
 
             return jax.lax.fori_loop(0, substeps, body, data)
diff --git a/src/runners/mujoco.py b/src/runners/mujoco.py
index c86b391..bd3f7ff 100644
--- a/src/runners/mujoco.py
+++ b/src/runners/mujoco.py
@@ -18,6 +18,20 @@ class MuJoCoRunnerConfig(BaseRunnerConfig):
     substeps: int = 2
     action_ema_alpha: float = 0.2  # EMA smoothing on ctrl (0=frozen, 1=instant)
 
+
+@dataclasses.dataclass
+class ActuatorLimits:
+    """Per-actuator joint-limit info used for software ctrl clamping.
+
+    Real motor controllers have position limits that prevent the motor
+    from driving into the mechanical hard stop.
+    """
+    jnt_ids: np.ndarray     # (nu,) joint index for each actuator
+    limited: np.ndarray     # (nu,) bool — whether that joint is limited
+    lo: np.ndarray          # (nu,) lower position bound
+    hi: np.ndarray          # (nu,) upper position bound
+    gear_sign: np.ndarray   # (nu,) sign of gear ratio
+
 class MuJoCoRunner(BaseRunner[MuJoCoRunnerConfig]):
     def __init__(self, env: BaseEnv, config: MuJoCoRunnerConfig):
         super().__init__(env, config)
@@ -134,8 +148,8 @@ class MuJoCoRunner(BaseRunner[MuJoCoRunnerConfig]):
             for body in root.iter("body"):
                 for jnt in body.findall("joint"):
                     if jnt.get("limited") == "true" or jnt.get("range"):
-                        jnt.set("solreflimit", "-1000 -100")
-                        jnt.set("solimplimit", "0.95 0.99 0.001")
+                        jnt.set("solreflimit", "-100000 -10000")
+                        jnt.set("solimplimit", "0.99 0.999 0.001")
 
             # Step 4: Write modified MJCF and reload from file path
             # (from_xml_path resolves mesh paths relative to the file location)
@@ -145,6 +159,22 @@ class MuJoCoRunner(BaseRunner[MuJoCoRunnerConfig]):
         finally:
             tmp_mjcf.unlink(missing_ok=True)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _extract_actuator_limits(model: mujoco.MjModel) -> ActuatorLimits:
+        """Extract per-actuator joint-limit arrays from a loaded MjModel.
+
+        Shared by MuJoCoRunner and MJXRunner so the logic isn't duplicated.
+        """
+        nu = model.nu
+        jnt_ids = np.array([model.actuator_trnid[i, 0] for i in range(nu)])
+        return ActuatorLimits(
+            jnt_ids=jnt_ids,
+            limited=np.array([model.jnt_limited[j] for j in jnt_ids], dtype=bool),
+            lo=np.array([model.jnt_range[j, 0] for j in jnt_ids]),
+            hi=np.array([model.jnt_range[j, 1] for j in jnt_ids]),
+            gear_sign=np.sign(np.array([model.actuator_gear[i, 0] for i in range(nu)])),
+        )
+
     def _sim_initialize(self, config: MuJoCoRunnerConfig) -> None:
         self._model = self._load_model(self.env.robot)
         self._model.opt.timestep = config.dt
@@ -158,6 +188,8 @@ class MuJoCoRunner(BaseRunner[MuJoCoRunnerConfig]):
         nu = self._model.nu
         self._smooth_ctrl = [np.zeros(nu, dtype=np.float64) for _ in range(config.num_envs)]
 
+        self._limits = self._extract_actuator_limits(self._model)
+
     def _sim_step(self, actions: torch.Tensor) -> tuple[torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor]:
         actions_np: np.ndarray = actions.cpu().numpy()
         alpha = self.config.action_ema_alpha
@@ -170,6 +202,17 @@ class MuJoCoRunner(BaseRunner[MuJoCoRunnerConfig]):
             self._smooth_ctrl[i] = alpha * actions_np[i] + (1 - alpha) * self._smooth_ctrl[i]
             data.ctrl[:] = self._smooth_ctrl[i]
             for _ in range(self.config.substeps):
+                # Software limit switch: zero out ctrl that would push
+                # a joint past its position limit (like a real controller).
+                lim = self._limits
+                for a in range(self._model.nu):
+                    if lim.limited[a]:
+                        pos = data.qpos[lim.jnt_ids[a]]
+                        gs = lim.gear_sign[a]
+                        if pos >= lim.hi[a] and gs * data.ctrl[a] > 0:
+                            data.ctrl[a] = 0.0
+                        elif pos <= lim.lo[a] and gs * data.ctrl[a] < 0:
+                            data.ctrl[a] = 0.0
                 mujoco.mj_step(self._model, data)
 
             qpos_batch[i] = data.qpos