chest pulls when benching

[chubbsthedog6]

everytime I bench and start getting further into my bench workout my chest feels like its just tearing apart like bringing the bar down to touch my chest it even hurts like physically when i touch it but then i go onto my next chest excercise like incline bench or DB bench press and it doesnt do it... So I was thinking it wasn't an overtraining it hasnt always been doing this just over the last two weeks... any input or theories are greatly appreciated thanks

 

[owlicks]

Is the pain in your sternum area? It's possible for the cartilage to become inflamed in that area -- I forget what the condition is called. I had a similar problem for a while. If it hurts to do flat bench, just avoid it for now and give your body time to heal.

 

[chubbsthedog6]

yeah it is around the sternum... im gunna really try dropping down the number of sets on bench cause it only hurts once ive down a few sets so if I don't ever get to that point

 

[owlicks]

Have you tried dumbbell instead of the barbell? About the best thing you can do is just to avoid aggravating the injury further. If you are able to still do heavy incline and fly movements, your chest development will not suffer.

 

[GeekPoop]

Are you flaring your elbows? Sounds like it

 

[Rodja]

Sounds like traditional BB'er technique, which is god-awful and going to lead to injury. Keep your traps tight, tuck your elbows, put the weight on your lats, and "pop" your elbows at the top.

Go to YouTube and look up Dave Tate's videos on bench.

 

[Movin_weight]

def sounds like chostochondritis... or inflammation around the cartilage in the sternum. If your bouncing the weight off your sternum, or even allowing the bar to rest on your chest, eliminate that.

Also Rodja made very good points.... by flaring your elbows, you further lengthen the pec muscle during the eccentric phase of the bench press, which increases the amount of tension on the origin and insertion points of the pec, one being the sternum. When you tuck your elbows in, you reduce the amount of tension on the muscle which will allow you to increase your range of motion, decrease stress on the shoulder joint, and increase your lifts.

After maybe taking a week off, I would narrow your grip slightly, focus on tucking your elbows, and work on stretching out your chest muscle to relieve some of the tension on the sternum

 

[chubbsthedog6]

wow ok thanks a lot guys... i mean i guess i do "bounce" a little of my chest but i really didnt think it would be anything to worry about like i dont know if i would even call it a bounce but ok ill definently give the elbows a look... anyone have any good links that could show me this? ive never even worried about or thought about what i do with my elbows...

 

[chubbsthedog6]

ok just saw the dave tate recommendation

 

[chubbsthedog6]

ok so good news today i benched and just did a 3x3 of 185 asnd got em all no chest pull... i slightly made my grip a little closer and used the elbow tuck as best I could... but it felt like i was bringing the bar down to my stomach cause i saw dave tate and he had kinda like a semi circle motion so i tried it maybe i just need to practice more but also once i push it like three inches off my chest can i flare my elbows then? cause i did better when i did that

 

[Movin_weight]

it will take some time to adjust because it's a different tracking pattern then your used to. You may be weaker for a few weeks, but once your used to it, you should blow by your old plateaus

 

[Torobestia]

When you guys are referring to flaring your elbows as a bad thing and tucking them instead, you're talking about when the bar is close to the chest and not towards the top, right?

EDIT: reread Movin_weight's post and saw he was talking about flaring on the eccentric.