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How to Tear Your Pec!
Written by John Romano
Saturday, 09 January 2010 15:13
I can't imagine someone going out of their way to intentionally tear a pec, but when you consider how often this injury occurs (more than any other muscle tear by far) I sometimes wonder. Bodybuilders have been known to do some ludicrous things and if you watch how some train, you can't help but think that they're actually out trying to tear something.
There is something venerable about the bench press. Above all exercises it is the one that seems to define one's strength. When someone wants to know how much you can lift they are generally referring to your bench. While squats and deadlifts can yield higher poundages, no one gives a rat's ass about either move. If you've got a big bench you've got a big image; everyone understands a bench press. And, if you understand the bench press, you know where the pec tear lives.
The term "tear," in this case refers to a partial or total ripping (avulsion) of the pectoral muscle (pectoralis major) either by pulling apart or breaking the fibers of the muscle belly. Or more commonly, a tear from where the muscle connects to the tendon which connects it to the bone. In most cases, that would be at the point of insertion (the pec's insertion point is in the bone of the upper arm (humerus)). Since the pec originates at the sternum and flares out in a starburst pattern up the sternum and then the clavicle, this broad surface area gives the origin a lot of strength. The weak link in the pec chain is at the point of greatest concentration of muscle connecting to tendon: The insertion. I've never heard of a pec tearing off the sternum, but partial or complete tears off the clavicle are not unheard of. Still, the tear at the point of insertion is the most common.
Although the actual tearing of a pec hurts, considering the amount of damage it involves you'd think it would hurt a lot more. I never tore a pec, but I have torn my bicep so I have some clue as to the sensation. I do know a few guys who have torn their pec and I've been assured that my assumption is pretty close. What seems to hurt more than the tear itself is the thought of what the tear means to a bodybuilder. Even if reattached within the recommended 72 hours, and even if the surgeon was that rare artist who made the reconnection flawless, the scar is still massive. Not necessarily the scar on the body, but the one on the brain. Long after the doc gives you the green light, chances are better than good that you'll never lift again like you used to. But that's probably a good thing.
The following three examples illustrate the most common causes of pec tears. While each example is true, they may have been embellished slightly just for fun and of course the names have been changed. Judging by how often this injury occurs, it is not my intention to amuse you as it is to keep your attention. With what we know today about exercise physiology, there should be relatively no pec tears. Unfortunately, as long as a big bench means so much to some people, there will always be pec tears. I hope the following will illustrate a few ways you can keep it from happening to you.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD ABOUT LIFTING COLD?
The original World Gym in Santa Monica was a thrifty sort of place back in the early 80s. Owning up to his spendthrift ways, the owner never turned on the heat. Southern California is indeed a sunny and warm place, but at 5 AM on a dreary February morning the iron can feel so cold you'd think it would stick to your skin. This was but a minor nuisance to Gary and Charles, owners of egos so large they barely fit in the gym. Their competitive nature left little room for constraint when it came to challenging one another in various feats of strength. Having competed furiously in almost every lift known to man, it was only the bench press that was left for a challenge. It soon came to pass that the two would duel over the bench to see who would finally reign supreme in the strength department.
Their bench press competition was slated for a very early morning time slot, before each of them had to go to work. Low clouds and a light mist in the air created a chill that seeped right down to your bones when the two squared off. Garry considered himself by far the better bencher and had benched himself into a serious state of overtraining in the weeks leading up to this competition. He sat on the side lines while Charles worked up to weight worthy of Garry's lifting abilities. After Charles racked the 275 he had just repped 10 times, Garry pulled off his sweatshirt and got under the bar without so much as even tugging on the nearby dip bar to stretch out. Forget about even warm up with some light reps of anything involving his chest. This impressed the gathering crowd almost as much as much as it did Charles, who was now sure something bad was about to happen. Before he could voice his concern, Garry had un-racked the weight and lowered it. He pushed up the weight with what seemed a bit of difficulty as the crowed urged him on. His second rep came down a bit faster than the first and hit his chest. Garry held his breath and exploded out of the hole. He hesitated for second while something seemed to jiggle under his tee shirt. Gary let out a scream that could have shattered a bowling ball, but it was quickly stifled when the bar landed on his sternum. His spotter had to accomplish what amounted to a 275 pound bent over row to get the weight up off Garry, who sat up abruptly holding onto his pec with the opposite hand.
Unable to continue, Gary bowed out of the competition before it even started and left the gym to seek medical attention. The next day he looked like someone had beaten him about the chest, under his arm and down his side with a baseball bat. Surgery was scheduled for later that week to reattach his pec to the tendon that inserts into his humerus. Charles, meanwhile, won the bench press contest with perhaps the lightest weight ever recorded.
COMMENTARY
An out of work political strategist couldn't have engineered a better recipe for disaster. Garry's weeks of overtraining riddled his muscles with little micro tears that weaken the muscle and heal only at rest. Since his concern was with lifting, he opted not to rest. This combined with the cold damp weather and lack of warm up sets caused the greatest stress on the weakest link of the system: Where the muscle connects to the tendon that inserts into the upper arm. This is the most common area to pull or partially tear. In this case, the loading was so abrupt and the muscles so cold, that the muscle tore completely off the tendon. Even with immediate surgical reconstruction, Garry will surely never achieve his full benching potential.
PREVENTION
It would seem that even a 60s throw-back who fried his brain on crystal meth and bad acid would know enough to warm up before lifting anything heavy. While there are conflicting studies regarding the effectiveness of stretching, clearly warming up is an essential part of training, especially heavy training. The cold damp climate should also have had Garry stay in his sweatshirt to help retain the heat. Lifting cold in light of weeks of overtraining left Garry open to just what he got. Adequate rest and warming up prior to this not so heavy lift would surely have seen Garry fare much better than he did.
Written by John Romano
Saturday, 09 January 2010 15:13
I can't imagine someone going out of their way to intentionally tear a pec, but when you consider how often this injury occurs (more than any other muscle tear by far) I sometimes wonder. Bodybuilders have been known to do some ludicrous things and if you watch how some train, you can't help but think that they're actually out trying to tear something.
There is something venerable about the bench press. Above all exercises it is the one that seems to define one's strength. When someone wants to know how much you can lift they are generally referring to your bench. While squats and deadlifts can yield higher poundages, no one gives a rat's ass about either move. If you've got a big bench you've got a big image; everyone understands a bench press. And, if you understand the bench press, you know where the pec tear lives.
The term "tear," in this case refers to a partial or total ripping (avulsion) of the pectoral muscle (pectoralis major) either by pulling apart or breaking the fibers of the muscle belly. Or more commonly, a tear from where the muscle connects to the tendon which connects it to the bone. In most cases, that would be at the point of insertion (the pec's insertion point is in the bone of the upper arm (humerus)). Since the pec originates at the sternum and flares out in a starburst pattern up the sternum and then the clavicle, this broad surface area gives the origin a lot of strength. The weak link in the pec chain is at the point of greatest concentration of muscle connecting to tendon: The insertion. I've never heard of a pec tearing off the sternum, but partial or complete tears off the clavicle are not unheard of. Still, the tear at the point of insertion is the most common.
Although the actual tearing of a pec hurts, considering the amount of damage it involves you'd think it would hurt a lot more. I never tore a pec, but I have torn my bicep so I have some clue as to the sensation. I do know a few guys who have torn their pec and I've been assured that my assumption is pretty close. What seems to hurt more than the tear itself is the thought of what the tear means to a bodybuilder. Even if reattached within the recommended 72 hours, and even if the surgeon was that rare artist who made the reconnection flawless, the scar is still massive. Not necessarily the scar on the body, but the one on the brain. Long after the doc gives you the green light, chances are better than good that you'll never lift again like you used to. But that's probably a good thing.
The following three examples illustrate the most common causes of pec tears. While each example is true, they may have been embellished slightly just for fun and of course the names have been changed. Judging by how often this injury occurs, it is not my intention to amuse you as it is to keep your attention. With what we know today about exercise physiology, there should be relatively no pec tears. Unfortunately, as long as a big bench means so much to some people, there will always be pec tears. I hope the following will illustrate a few ways you can keep it from happening to you.
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD ABOUT LIFTING COLD?
The original World Gym in Santa Monica was a thrifty sort of place back in the early 80s. Owning up to his spendthrift ways, the owner never turned on the heat. Southern California is indeed a sunny and warm place, but at 5 AM on a dreary February morning the iron can feel so cold you'd think it would stick to your skin. This was but a minor nuisance to Gary and Charles, owners of egos so large they barely fit in the gym. Their competitive nature left little room for constraint when it came to challenging one another in various feats of strength. Having competed furiously in almost every lift known to man, it was only the bench press that was left for a challenge. It soon came to pass that the two would duel over the bench to see who would finally reign supreme in the strength department.
Their bench press competition was slated for a very early morning time slot, before each of them had to go to work. Low clouds and a light mist in the air created a chill that seeped right down to your bones when the two squared off. Garry considered himself by far the better bencher and had benched himself into a serious state of overtraining in the weeks leading up to this competition. He sat on the side lines while Charles worked up to weight worthy of Garry's lifting abilities. After Charles racked the 275 he had just repped 10 times, Garry pulled off his sweatshirt and got under the bar without so much as even tugging on the nearby dip bar to stretch out. Forget about even warm up with some light reps of anything involving his chest. This impressed the gathering crowd almost as much as much as it did Charles, who was now sure something bad was about to happen. Before he could voice his concern, Garry had un-racked the weight and lowered it. He pushed up the weight with what seemed a bit of difficulty as the crowed urged him on. His second rep came down a bit faster than the first and hit his chest. Garry held his breath and exploded out of the hole. He hesitated for second while something seemed to jiggle under his tee shirt. Gary let out a scream that could have shattered a bowling ball, but it was quickly stifled when the bar landed on his sternum. His spotter had to accomplish what amounted to a 275 pound bent over row to get the weight up off Garry, who sat up abruptly holding onto his pec with the opposite hand.
Unable to continue, Gary bowed out of the competition before it even started and left the gym to seek medical attention. The next day he looked like someone had beaten him about the chest, under his arm and down his side with a baseball bat. Surgery was scheduled for later that week to reattach his pec to the tendon that inserts into his humerus. Charles, meanwhile, won the bench press contest with perhaps the lightest weight ever recorded.
COMMENTARY
An out of work political strategist couldn't have engineered a better recipe for disaster. Garry's weeks of overtraining riddled his muscles with little micro tears that weaken the muscle and heal only at rest. Since his concern was with lifting, he opted not to rest. This combined with the cold damp weather and lack of warm up sets caused the greatest stress on the weakest link of the system: Where the muscle connects to the tendon that inserts into the upper arm. This is the most common area to pull or partially tear. In this case, the loading was so abrupt and the muscles so cold, that the muscle tore completely off the tendon. Even with immediate surgical reconstruction, Garry will surely never achieve his full benching potential.
PREVENTION
It would seem that even a 60s throw-back who fried his brain on crystal meth and bad acid would know enough to warm up before lifting anything heavy. While there are conflicting studies regarding the effectiveness of stretching, clearly warming up is an essential part of training, especially heavy training. The cold damp climate should also have had Garry stay in his sweatshirt to help retain the heat. Lifting cold in light of weeks of overtraining left Garry open to just what he got. Adequate rest and warming up prior to this not so heavy lift would surely have seen Garry fare much better than he did.
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