Question

1. An old man is walking away with a golden apple in his hand. He is holding the golden apple up high.

2. He is walking away with a golden apple up in his hand.

3. He is walking away with a golden apple up high in his hand.

[Can #1 be combined into #2 or #3?]

4. He is walking with his hair up.
5. He is running with both hands up.
6. He is sitting with his right hand up towards the roof.
7. He is sleeping with his right leg up on the chair.
[What about these sentences? Are they grammatical with 'up'?]

Answer 1

#3 is not clear. Is there a high and a low to one's hand, his hand? One can hold an apple up high (as opposed to at your waist), or hold your hand up high (above your head, shoulder height, etc.), but how can you hold something either high or low IN YOUR HAND?

1 and 2 both make sense.