Close grip dumbbell presses for someone who had torn pec surgery in May of 2006

[Jimmy L]

I completely tore my pec tendon bench pressing in March of 2006. In May of 2006 I had surgery. However my doc was only able to reattach 75% of my pec because the other 25% of my pec was too scarred down to reattach. So now when I do heavy flat or incline dumbbell presses I feel a strain in the pec. And than an hour later...the strain goes away.

However I don't like having that feeling when I'm lifting so my question is this: if I were to do close grip dumbbell presses where I start off with my hands gripping the dumbbells in a neutral position (like a hammer curl grip) and than as I press the weight up I pronate my hands to where when I'm at the top of the movement my hands are overhand (pronated), would that be ideal for me to build my chest WITHOUT doing them the traditional way and straining my pec? I realize doing them this way puts a great load on the front delt and triceps but would my chest be getting worked AT ALL? Or should I just do them the traditional way and just take the strain and HOPE it doesn't tear again?

I would like to keep dumbbell bench presses in my routine but I don't like feeling the strain in my pec when I do them the traditional way. Would doing them close grip style the way I described be good for building my chest?

[nuyork143]

Ever think about dropping some weight?

[Jimmy L]

It hurts when I do only 80 lb. traditional dumbbell bench presses for sets of 8. Let's say I drop it to 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells. Eventually I'm gonna work back up to 80 lbs. dumbbells. So what's the point of doing that?

Either that or I just stay at 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells when doing traditional dumbbell bench presses. But if I do that, what's the point of even doing the exercise at all if I'm not doing enough to give my chest a good workout?

That's why I thought close grip dumbbell bench presses (like I described) would be a better alternative. What do you think?

[tu_holmes]

It hurts when I do only 80 lb. dumbbell bench presses for sets of 8. Let's say I drop it to 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells. Eventually I'm gonna work back up to 80 lbs. dumbbells. So what's the point of doing that?

Either that or I just stay at 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells. But if I do that, what's the point of even doing the exercise at all if I'm not doing enough to give my chest a good workout?

That's why I thought close grip dumbbell bench presses (like I described) would be a better alternative. What do you think?

Well, if you tore your peck, odds are that the stretch you get from doing dumbbells is what you're feeling... which I'm guessing is good, but it just feels weird.

I mean, you tore a muscle... once you have a tear, it's more likely to get torn again... perhaps do light dumbbells and do a heavier cable exercise like cross overs, or do machine presses... maybe as far as chest is concerned... free weights may be impossible for you to do without feeling some of that "strain" you mention.

[nuyork143]

It hurts when I do only 80 lb. traditional dumbbell bench presses for sets of 8. Let's say I drop it to 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells. Eventually I'm gonna work back up to 80 lbs. dumbbells. So what's the point of doing that?

Either that or I just stay at 40 lbs. or 50 lbs. dumbbells when doing traditional dumbbell bench presses. But if I do that, what's the point of even doing the exercise at all if I'm not doing enough to give my chest a good workout?

That's why I thought close grip dumbbell bench presses (like I described) would be a better alternative. What do you think?

Well I think youre retarded if youre still trying to rep out 80's without ever having given your chest time to heal properly.  And yes you should drop down in weight.  And work your way back up to 80's.  It may not seem like a lot of weight in your head, but your chest will thank you for it.