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Every guy I've seen tear a pec was on gear. Do natties get muscle tears?My friend's training partner tore his pectoral muscle while natty, but because of his stupidity - he tried to break his personal best 1RM during every chest workout.
Don't do heavy benches with the elbows flared while on steroids which dramatically increase the risk of tears. I tore both pecs in my early 20s pushing very heavy loads, increasing poundage by 100lbs in a few months and stupid things like that. My most serious tear occurred doing wide grip incline benches to the neck in the smith machine which I'd seen Ed Coan recommend somewhere IIRC. Very vulnerable position. As I recall I had about 280lbs on and was planning on 10-12 and on the 3rd it happened. Benching was crazy fun though and I didnt think it would happen so early in my lifting career. The real tragedy for me was that my surgery was delayed and the result was awful.I'm surprised Ed Coan recommended such a dangerous exercise. From your description, it looks exactly like how Markus Ruhl performed this exercise.
My interpretation is that in a powerlifting bench setup, the scapulas are retracted, depressed and actively pinned to the bench via thoracic extension (and lat tension obviously), so with the same bar path, the strain is shifted almost entirely onto the pecs compared to a traditional barbell bench, where the shoulder blades slide along the ribcage as the weight moves.Thanks for the explanation. Now that I think about it, I can't think of a single bench presser in the sub-200 lbs category who has torn a pectoral muscle, and it's not uncommon for them to bench press 500 lbs raw.
This setup also places the pec origin lower and more posterior (more stretch)
Another crucial detail: during a bench, powerlifters externally rotate their humeruses, which rolls the pecs outward (retarded term, I know) and increases stretch.
Look at the elbows
With all of this in mind, it’s not surprising that pec tears can occur during a powerlifting style bench press.
Too much weight, too much volume, not enough rest between workouts.I agree.....going heavy too often,or attempting a max too often......in powerlifting you have to learn about cycling poundages.
Its because the pectorals are not designed to push away from the body, they are a downward pushing muscle, think climbing over an obstacle.they are also used in a hugging type motion.......such as in db flyes.....the analogy "like hugging a tree" has often been used to describe the function of the pecs....hence I always included flyes when doing chest work.
Watched Triple 9 yesterday. Very good cop movie. Unexpected ending. Great cast.Good flick !!
Look how happy the black is in the last video after randomly knocking out a young white woman
