Reply With QuoteMuscle insertional pain / tendon pain responds very well to heavy slow resistance training. I prefer 3-1-2 tempos since they move a bit more intuitively than 3-2-3s. I'd also recommend exchanging one of your bench days for Spoto Presses.
Member
Mid clavicle pain
I've been benching 2x a week for the past few months, but recently started getting some odd pain. Back when I started lifting I would get this sort of pain on dips, so I just steered away from them. 1.5 years later, the pain has started appearing whenever benching, first on my right clavicle only on very heavy sets, then on the left clavicle too, and now even lighter weights or a single push up rep hurts.
For anyone who's had forearm/shin splints, the pain I feel is exactly the same. It's on the middle of the bone, so I doubt it's a problem with AC or SC joint. Also, slower reps seem to be more bearable, around a tempo of 3-2-3, but still cause some discomfort, albeit not classifiable as pain. I've never broken nor dislocated a clavicle. Any help is greatly appreciated and I can give more info if necessary.
Starting Strength Coach
Muscle insertional pain / tendon pain responds very well to heavy slow resistance training. I prefer 3-1-2 tempos since they move a bit more intuitively than 3-2-3s. I'd also recommend exchanging one of your bench days for Spoto Presses.
Member
Thank you for replying. So do you think I should keep doing the 3 sets of 5 for bench but lower the weight so that i can complete the 3-1-2 tempo? I've also started taking naproxen 2 days ago, not sure if it'll help.
On top of that, I'm pretty light, being 172lbs for a 6' guy. Being this light probably isn't helping my connective tissue safety during heavy lifts. Again, thank you for the help, I'll follow the program and do the sets with that tempo. If you think any more info could help you be sure of the issue, please ask.
Starting Strength Coach
I honestly don't think you have much to worry about with the supposed correlation between your connective tissue and your bodyweight. This might come into play more when you are benching 2.5 times your bodyweight or taking copious amounts of anabolic steroids.Originally Posted by Elture
I try and keep the weight as heavy as possible, but I tend to reduce the in set volume to 3 reps per set, and 4 sets seems to be the right mix of volume, intensity, and time under tension to help these types of injuries.
Happy hunting.
Member
I am back with information you might consider important.
My brother, who has been lifting for a few months, is now also facing the EXACT SAME ISSUE. He feels the same pain in the same spot on both clavicles.
Moreover, we both have a "line" which looks like some sort of tendon or ligament going down our necks and under the clavicle right in the spot where it hurts.
This is making me believe it might somehow be genetic. I've only seen a couple of people online complaining about this issue but somehow both me and my brother have it.
I am going to continue with the 4x3 slow sets and instruct my brother to do the same, but I hope this new info could lead to an important explanation.
MVIMG-20200225-205025 — ImgBB
Above is a link showing the line I mentioned and the spot on the clavicle where we both feel pain.
I hope this leads to some new advice.
Starting Strength Coach
This looks like a bipartite SCM. It is an anatomical variation, but does not explain lower clavicular insertional pain. Certainly, if you have a bipartite SCM, it would make sense that others in your family may have the same thing.
Bipartite SCMs are only really described in cadaveric anatomy research.
So, as much as I’d love to be able to blame your issues on something that looks a bit weird, I don’t think my original advice changes at all. I still think you are dealing with pec insertional pain which responds best to heavy, slow resistance training.
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