pec tears?

[AdamTheStud]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has experienced a pec tear on this board, and if so, were there symptoms of it before it happened? I am asking because over the past month or two, I have increased my working sets of bench presses by about 50 lbs. or so, partly due to a cycle of mag10 combined with proviron, and a light usage of humalog insulin. After each workout I have noticed a very deep aching feeling right in the pec-shoulder tie in, that sometimes seems to extend partially down my bicep as well. It is mainly in the right pec that I feel this. I have tried incorporating partial lock outs to strengthen the tendons but it didnt really seem to help a whole lot.. I have not benched heavy in about a week and a half due to this problem. I have heard deep tissue massage is good, any other suggestions or advice? Thanks

[Hogg]

If, when benching, you feel an achiness in what seems like your anterior deltoids.....in other words, you will feel it in your front delts, not your chest, those are your pec tendons telling you to cease and desist. Achiness and cramping post workout is often byproducts of protein degradation...and perhaps a lack of zinc. If you feel the pain I described when you begin warming up, you should not continue your training. If it ruptures while you are benching, it will be a very scary experience and the repair is not fun either.

Take care.

H

[AdamTheStud]

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any suggestions on how to speed recovery as well as preventing strains like these from happening in the future? I backed off in training before anything happened (other than the initial signs).

[Hogg]

Unfortunately, if your body is structured such that you are predisposed to these types of injuries, the only suggestion that I can make is to train natural and allow your body enough time to recuperate between training sessions.

It is seldom that you hear of natural guys tearing a pec...it is always the juicehead who has a massive pectoralis and a tiny pec tendon or perhaps a juicehead with a massive scar-tissue-laden pectoralis that gets hurt. Elasticity in the contractile and connective tissues is critical and unfortunately, using anabolic steroids reduces the elasticity of both.

Simply put, increasing connective tissue strength and size takes time. your tendons simply need time to catch up to the contractile force of the pectoralis. I use to think that growth hormone would solve the problem but it doesnt. The body simply needs time.

[eleven11]

You might want to give up bench presses they are hard on that area. hammer strength machines and dumbells is where I had to go..........11

[Hogg]

Originally Posted by eleven11

You might want to give up bench presses they are hard on that area. hammer strength machines and dumbells is where I had to go..........11

That is a valid point, dumbbells are much easier on the pec tendon however, you can still tear a pec with a dumbbell. if the musculotendinosus junction is weakened or if the pec has is able to develop far more contractile force than the pec tendon can bear, it will yield.

I cant do hammer strength at all......heck, even flat benching feels better than using hammer and that was how I ripped my pec off to begin with.

[shaboz]

When I tore my pec, I think it had more to do with a lack of warming up enough and not enough shoulder girdle strength.

My sets were such when I tore it..
135 x 15
225 x 10
300 x 4
325 x 3
350 x 2 really easy two reps. I did 350 for 7 the week before.
375 as soon as I bent my elbows my right pec started tearing. It fucking hurt like a bitch! My spotter racked it and I went to the trainer.

Looking back, I should have done some more warm up sets. I should also have focused on upper back strength and shoulder strength for more support thru the motion. I had always focused on pressing strength and not enough on stability.

Now I always do a 20 minute warm up on the bike or eliptical machine. I cant bench press anymore. I stick with dumbells and pullovers, maybe some hammer stuff.

I tore it about a year and a half ago and it is about as healed as it is gonna get.

[Hogg]

What do you mean by 'started tearing'? Did it rupture or was it a fascia tear? Did you have discoloration in the days that followed?

I did not experience much pain. Rather, it was similar to being shocked with a healthy amount of electricity....and then I went in to shock.

Originally Posted by shaboz

When I tore my pec, I think it had more to do with a lack of warming up enough and not enough shoulder girdle strength.

My sets were such when I tore it..
135 x 15
225 x 10
300 x 4
325 x 3
350 x 2 really easy two reps. I did 350 for 7 the week before.
375 as soon as I bent my elbows my right pec started tearing. It fucking hurt like a bitch! My spotter racked it and I went to the trainer.

Looking back, I should have done some more warm up sets. I should also have focused on upper back strength and shoulder strength for more support thru the motion. I had always focused on pressing strength and not enough on stability.

Now I always do a 20 minute warm up on the bike or eliptical machine. I cant bench press anymore. I stick with dumbells and pullovers, maybe some hammer stuff.

I tore it about a year and a half ago and it is about as healed as it is gonna get.

[shaboz]

It ripped. Not completely off. But I could feel it tear. I was all black and blue around my armpit. Then when that started to clear up, I then got all black and blue around my nipple. I saw a doctor and he told me that it was still attached, albeit not by much. It was a bitch to sleep with. Every time I rolled over and my arm stretched I would wake up. It was just misery.

Once I started to lower the bar, when it started to rip there was no stopping it. It just came crashing down. No way to stop it.

[damirp]

I tore my right pec and left tricep about 5 years ago. Both tore at the same time. I put it down to it a lack of warming up and the rapid strength increase from the use of gear after a long time off.

My sets were such when I tore it..
132 x 10
222 x 8
308 x 6
352 x 4
396 x 3
440 tear as soon I bent my elbows my right pec started to tear. Talk about pain..still uncomfortable to think about now. Left tricep tore trying to compensate and my spotter had no chance racking the weight so I lay there in agony while 2 guys watching nearby rushed over to help.

The previous week I had done 440 with ease with just a slight ningling in the right pec.

Looking back, I should have done some more warm up sets. The biggest thing a feel contributed to this was jumping on the gear after having 3 years lay off. Being a former national powerlifting champ with a best bench of 540 raw - the rapid muscular and strength gains from gear together muscle memory was a recipe for disaster.

I stopped training. About 7 months ago I started again (4 year layoff) but not making the same mistake. Its best to let your body get its strength back naturally. My progress has been good now benching 350- although. Left tricep is proving to be a stumbling block. Somehow I think it will never be right...thinking about surgery....see how it goes

[jasthace]

I put my pec tear down to lack of warming up and fast strength increase from roids
trying for one rep max..........
Really stupid in hindsight
I got to the bottom of the movement {benchpress} as I tried to explode the weight up my pec simply ripped and it went rip,rip, rip three times,I felt it and I think I heard it
It was complete agony for about one second, then nothing, just a swollen pec all the way up to my neck ,a couple of days later the blood surfaced in my arm,it looked like I had ripped my bicep, then all around my nipple.
Now to avoid any further pec tears I don't move up in weight until I can achieve 10 reps of my current max weight.