mattlorig

I tore my right pec on March 25 (about 6 weeks ago as I write this post). I know it was torn because there was significant bruising. But, the tear wasn't so bad that I detached anything. Indeed, I saw an orthopedic surgeon a few days ago and he confirmed that nothing had detached, as he couldn't see any indentation when he asked me to move in various ways.

A few days after tearing my pec, I benched the bar and I have been adding weight regularly in small increments since then. Yesterday, I benched 225 x 5 x 5. For context, immediately before tearing my pec, I was able to bench 275 x 2. So, if we estimate a 285 max, that 225 lbs is less than 80% of my 1RM.

The reason I am posting is that, every time I warm up to bench my pec feels super tight and the first few reps ove every set are pretty painful. And, when I am doing the heaviest sets of the day, I am definitely thinking to myself "geez ... this feels like I'm going to re-injure my pec." As a result, I'm definitely not pushing the bar as hard and fast as I could.

My questions are:

Is it possible that my pec has not yet healed sufficiently to be handling the loads I am at? If not, how should I proceed from here so as to ensure that I don't re-tear the pec?

Mark Rippetoe

If there was no bruising and no palpable gap in the muscle belly, you just tore a few fibers, not the whole muscle belly. Proceed like you have been.

mattlorig

There was a LOT of bruising. That is how I concluded it was torn. There was no palpable gap in the muscle belly.

BareSteel

I wonder about your grip width, Matt. Typically we recommend a grip that places the forearm vertical at the bottom of the lift. That's wider than a close grip bench press, but narrower than most powerlifting style bench presses.

It seems likely that a wider grip would cause more stress to the injured area, but I don't want to assume that outright. Rip, would a lifter in Matt's position do anything different in terms of grip width?

Mark Rippetoe

Yes, I think Matt should switch to close-grips for a year, and then gradually work back a little wider.

kasra_kes

In the blue book, you describe the reasoning against a double knee bend in the deadlift by saying that a heavy deadlift "will not allow a further loss of bar speed without actually stopping the pull and creating an illegal "hitch."" In your article, you again characterize the deadlift hitch by a knee re-bend and the "typical" stopping of the bar. I also read the 2016-07-10 revision of your Strengthlifting rulebook, and I could not find anything against the knee re-bend, but rather the "halt in the upward motion of the bar."

I ask, then, about the case in which the trainee performs a double knee bend while maintaining the upwards momentum of the bar. Has he, too, hitched the deadlift, or is the lift valid since it never came to a stop?

Mark Rippetoe

You cannot flex the knee during a deadlift while maintaining upward momentum on the bar. Post a video that shows otherwise.

kasra_kes

You must either be generous with what you consider a knee bend, or you must not mean a true stop in vertical movement. In the video, I demonstrate a re-bending of the knee, but the bar never ceases its upwards movement. Please help me understand.

Mark Rippetoe

You got me. Your right knee rebends a tiny bit, even though your left does not.

kasra_kes

Have I done a hitch, then?

Mark Rippetoe

No, but you pulled the bar from a position forward of the mid-foot.