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How I Tore My Pec!

by John Izzo, NASM-CPT, PES

As a 20 year old, I thought I was a bad-ass like most young lifters who think they are invincible to weight-room injuries


On October 30^th, 1996 most of the chatter in the university weight-room was regarding Halloween parties that were going to be held around campus. It was a Thursday and that was a big drinking night, so the plan was to hit the gym, go home eat, shower and hit a bar. This was the usual routine on Thursdays, but because of the next night’s festivities, the gym was particularly packed.

As usual, with a night crowded in the gym and everyone around me benching a max of 275, I wanted to hit my max of 315. On this particular night, my roommate didn’t work out with me. He had a group project and his nerdy classmates wanted to meet on a drinking night. I figured I would ask someone for a spot once I started hitting my near max numbers.

My typical set usually went like this:

135 x 10
155 x 10
185 x 8-10
205 x 6-8
225 x 4-6
275 x 2-4
315 x 1-3

As you can see, that is alot of benching. A total of roughly 51 reps. But just like every other testosterone kid at the time, I liked the pump. I liked slamming the bar back onto the racks and getting up off the bench and watching everyone observe from the corners of their eyes. It was customary to try to "punk" or "psyche" people out in a gym--some people do it by wearing tight sleeve busting shirts, others do it by lifting heavy weights. I chose the latter. Again, I wasn't a big guy, but I was strong and I worked hard.

One this particular night, I was benching for reps with 255 pounds. My mind was on hanging out with my roommates after wards, so I wanted to simply belt out a few heavy reps. I had Terry spotting me. Terry was fellow teammate and a defensive end from New York. He was a big boy and a scholarship player. he was ona partial "free ride",  but he was always perplexed at my work ethic in the weight-room.

As I laid on the bench with a strong grip on the bar, I looked up at Terry and told him I needed a "lift-off on 3". That simply meant I was going to count to three and once reached, he would help me lift the bar off the racks. It was a custom to have a "lift-off" after one has reached the 225 mark on benching.

As I lifted the bar off the racks with Terry's help, the reps were going "as planned". The first rep went up without a hitch and I already planned that I would stop at 4. If the fourth rep was strong, I would go to 6. I never liked odd numbered reps and always (and to this day) finish my sets on even numbered reps. When I wasn't following the basic football program by the program, I typically would decide how may reps I would complete (in the set) after the first rep was initiated. So my second rep went up easily. Then on the 3 rd repetition, I felt a "POP" at the bottom motion as soon as I was lifting up. Terry said he heard  n audible "popping" noise and reached down to grab the bar. When I heard the pop, I thought I had ripped my shirt or shorts, but suddenly the searing pain was over-bearing. I couldn't lift the bar up. I had 255 pounds stuck in the bottom position--until Terry's big hands came down and helped me lift it up.

I sat up on the bench and Terry asked me if I was alright. I was rubbing my left armpit area, as it felt like someone had took a bat and swung it into my armpit. I told Terry I was alright, but he could see in my eyes that I was in pain and looking a bit flushed. As I stood up, I felt light-headed and dizzy. Terry helped me sit back down and he want to get some staff members. I attempted to stand up on my own because I was feeling somewhat embarrassed. Remember, the benches are located in the middle of the gym floor and are pretty much under the spotlight. Therefore, I was under the spotlight (especially in front of the girls) and I was feeling a bit defeated and embarrassed.





When approached by the gym personnel, I was asked a few questions and given an ice bag. I placed the ice bag on my left armpit and filled out some paperwork. I was getting alot of stares as I sat in the front office. Some lifters were coming up to me and asking me if I was alright. I thought that was courteous of them, but at the same time, I didn't know what I was dealing with.  So after the staff followed the appropriate procedures for a on-site injury, they sent me home. I walked home to my apartment to find all my roommates and friends getting ready to go out. As expected, I sat home by myself in pain, and constantly checking my arm pit. By this time, swelling had occurred and it was feeling very, very tight. I took a shower to "wash away" all the nervous sweat that had accumulated on my body and applied more ice before going to bed. It was probably the earliest time I went to bed in my whole college career.

The next day I woke up and discovered my entire left arm from the biceps to the armpit had swelled up and had formed a massive contusion. The bruising was colorful and massive. The tightness I felt the night before was even more stiffer and more restricted.

My roommate's had convinced me to see the campus physician, which I did later that day. The campus doctor  was a great physician because he spent alot of time with me and was very involved with the inspection of my pectoral region. He had presumed that I had a pectoral "strain", but he stressed that I should see an orthopedist. A few days later I went to visit Dr. Richard Diana - a premiere orthopedist (and former NFL Miami Dolphin) in New Haven, Connecticut. He concluded that I had a pectoral tear and that he felt more comfortable if I was examined by a doctor who specialized in pectoral tears. He stated that not too many cases of pectoral tears were recorded in literature and that a specific doctor at Yale Hospital (also in New Haven, CT) had conducted studies and presentations on tears of the pectoralis in New England. That doctor was Dr. Scott Wolf. I visited Dr. Wolf 2 weeks later. By this time, the bruising had begun to subside and my arm was looking more yellowish. The tightening feeling had subsided too. However, I was left with a VERY visible concaving on the axillary line of the chest cavity--basically my armpit.

Upon visiting Dr. Wolf, he had conducted various tests with me that concluded I had a pectoral tear and he desired an MRI to confirm his findings. A week later, I had an MRI and 4 days later, I was back in Dr. Wolf's office. He confirmed I had a ruptured the pectoralis tendon. He knew it was a tear, because the concave along the chest wall was excessively evident to the naked eye. He stated it was a common sympton in previous findings. I knew something "bad" had happened because the pain was overwhelming and the weakness I felt in that arm was pretty evident to me.

Dr. Wolf had explained to me the surgical procedure to repair the torn muscle. It sounded like a pretty evasive procedure to my young 20-year old ears and quite terrifying. He said that I can elect to not have the procedure done and simply modify my exercise program. He warned that I will have a noted weakness in the left side and that I should stay away from activities that will over-stress the right side. he also mentioned that although I can't tear the left side anymore than it already is, I can place the right side (good side) at risk.

For more information on pec tears, please check out www.Pectear.com or check this out.


Troubleshooting My Pec Tear

As years have passed since that incident, I look back on how it changed my approach to my personal exercise program, my abilities, and my work ethic. Back then I didn't know what to attribute my injury to, but as time went on and the thirst for more knowledge--the how's and why's begun to mount up --I researched and came to certain conclusions.


1.) I was lifting alot of weight, alot of the time. I don't think I knew what the concept of "de-loading" meant. I sure didn't like the word "rest", so I figured at the time, if I can lift heavy weights, I need to keep lifting heavy weights, so I can continue to lift heavy weights. Did that make sense? The amount of volume every week and sometimes, twice a week, called for 50-100 repetitions of flat bench pressing. Talk about over-training.

What I Know Today: De-loading and continuously changing the volume amount is critical to keeping tissue healthy and muscles fully recovered. Today, I change up muscle groups, have light days/heavy days and follow more compounded movements to take stress away from muscles that participate in single joint actions.

2.) Over-training. I wasn't just performing chest pressing. At the time, it was about getting bigger and stronger. So I accompanied the bench pressing with incline pressing, decline work, cable crossovers, flyes, peck-deck, pull-overs, and tons and tons of other upper body exercises. I included tons of shoulder work: military press, behind the neck presses, upright rows, front raises, lateral raises, and shrugs. Over time the repetitive stress on these joints caused an enormous imbalance in my anterior musculature versus the rear antagonists which simply tore muscle fibers without letting them heal fully.

What I Know Today: As I have gotten older, my goals have obviously changed. I mean, at times, I still want to walk into any gym and "punk" out a lifter, but I know I am not as strong as I was--simply because I have had injuries that have prohibited me from maxing all the time. Therefore, my goals have changed and so has my exercise program. Instead of workouts consisting of 5 days, I have scaled back to just 3 lifting days and 2 days cardio. Because I practice more intervals with my cardio work (high's & low's), I am able to shorten my workouts and concentrate on my diet and rest. It also helps as I am able to spend time doing things outside of fitness which contribute to my life's fulfillment.


3.) Imbalance. With the amount of shoulder work I did with my chest work, I exhibited a terribly protracted shoulder girdle that portrayed me as a walking ape, and also spelled disaster for my shoulders and surrounding muscles. At the time, I wasn't overly concerned with my posterior chain muscles; and the amount of "mirror" muscle work always out-weighed and out-did the amount of back exercises in my programs.

What I Know Today: I understand the repercussions of a tight anterior shoulder capsule and how the movement pattern is affected by the condition of the surrounding joint structure. Today, I make it a point to give equal attention to antagonist muscle groups, and concentrate on eccentric actions during lifts. I tend to pay close attention to the rotator cuff and scapular muscles; as well as the core.

 
4.) Fixed Joint Angles. Yes, back then I only used machines. If I wasn't up to bench pressing, then you would find me on a Cybex Chest Press machine or a plate loaded Hammer Strength. The following machines were staples in my upper body workouts: peck-deck, incline or seated chest press, Nautilus pullover, side raise machine, and shoulder press machine. I thought these pieces were god-sends at the gym and for years, I always looked for these dinosaurs whenever I joined a facility. It was obvious that the loading pattern had taken its toll on the joint structure and the pattern of load had weakened the fibers of the pectoralis muscle. The barbell (bench press) is just as guilty here, because the bar's bilateral property causes a fixed plane that the shoulder joint has to follow.

What I Know Today: I understand that joints must be able to work in the range of motion that is allowed. I understand that injuries cause scar tissue and that will affect range of motion in my muscles and/or that of my clients. Therefore, it is imperative that I utilize movements that allow my joints to move in the strongest plane and make corrections where needed. No need to apply tons of balance boards and other tools, but simple free weights and bodyweight exercises will satisfy this. Word to the wise: if it shakes and quivers...it is weak.


5.) Nor stretching, nor mobility was in my repertoire. Mobility? huh? I didn't even know what that was. Stretching...hmmm... I knew what stretching was, but no one cared to do it. It was all about getting big. We didn't want to be flexible. We wanted to be strong.

What I Know Today: Injuries develop scar tissue. I know that because my left pectoral is filled with scar tissue. Scar tissue does not carry the same tensile properties that muscle fibers do and therefore is inherently weaker and less pliable. Therefore, mobility work--especially in the scapular region-- is important;  and stretching (both static and dynamic) are detrimental to overall tissue quality. When I learned the importance of foam rolling back in 2003, I put myofascial release on my menu of exercise prep drills, and the kinesthetic "ball shaped knot" in my left chest wall has lessened and the entire range of motion in my left side has improved dramatically.

Hopefully, this article will entrust in you a warning that injuries and mishaps can occur from training and performance. Today, it is recklessly assumed that we can "prevent" injuries from occurring in athletes and active individuals, but I truly believe (as this is recently), that injuries will occur. Injures occur in top level professional athletes who pay big bucks to great strength coaches that devise great programs, but in the end, we can REDUCE the risks of injuries and still benefit from lifting strong and hard.

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