Psychology of a pec tear

[napster]

A fellow bodybuilder tore his pec a while back and now is having difficulty confronting his demons when he goes to bench. Basically he's scared to push it in case it all happens again even though his physio has given him the all clear.

What can I say to this guy that might help him overcome the psychological barrier that is holding him back in his chest workouts?

[Jack87]

I never torn a pec... I did partially tear my rotator cuff while
benching years ago during a workout I felt great doing until
I heard and felt the tear happen... Took a longtime to heal
and mentally I worried about tearing something again for a
longtime once I started back flat benching again...

You left out some important info like how long has it been
since his injury? Did he need surgery or was it only a partial
tear the didn't require surgery? The mental part is tough to
deal with especially if it was a full tear needing surgery to
reattached his muscle...

Just to offer some ideas higher reps, lower weights and also
probably sticking to more machine work and dumbbells is a good
place to start getting back into the swing of things... I wouldn't
jump right back into a hardcore flat bench routine IMO

[diesel21]

thats great advice, and what i have been doing for my torn pec, actually tendon.. it was coming back great, now it feels like a sharp needle pain again, its been over 1 and a half months

[napster]

Thanks for the posts guys. I'll pass on your comments.

[AnabolicBoy1981]

thats great advice, and what i have been doing for my torn pec, actually tendon.. it was coming back great, now it feels like a sharp needle pain again, its been over 1 and a half months

Dude, did you give it at least six weks of complete rest before hitting th weights again? Do you have the ok from your doc to lift n stuff.?

[diesel21]

kind of.... i had active release done... i was doing great, back to lifting 100 dbells 12 reps, racking machines, felt great, and all with slow good form... did chest today and the needle type pain is still there.... it sucks!! i just want to lift again... i'll take it a little easier.. its def. the tendon... (i screwed it up doing back) i'll keep the progress updated

[dirtymike]

I had a slight tear in my chest when I was younger. It happened doing incline presses. i felt an uncomfortable pain, but I like an idiot I just worked through it. The next day I woke up with blood under my arm pit and tricep/bicep. I took a little time off and I was fine.

My second lifting injury was not too good. I was having the best bicep/tricep workout of my life and then I felt a weird feeling in mybicep/forearm area. I did one set of bi's on the staight bar and I looked down and my arm was all swollen. Scared the shit out of me. I went to the doctors and luckily it was only an inter-muscle tear in my bicep. No surgery required, just lots of rest. This has been my only serious lifting injury and boy does it suck to take so much time off and trying to get your strenght back. GL bro, It's just gonna take some time and he'll be back to normal.

[napster]

Thanks very much for posting your experiences dirtymike. I will pass these comments on.