ok, so last night was my last bench session before the meet Dec 6th. worked up to my opener (540lbs/245kg). about 3 inches off my chest on the way back up, I blew out the sleeve of my DBL Phenom from armpit to about 2 inches from the sleeve tip. needless to say i missed the lift.
Today my pec has been killing me at the sternum, at the belly about an inch down from the armpit crease and in the shoulder joint itself. little bit of shading, but nothing that sticks out as a wicked bad bruise. its swollen and hurts to touch or move the arm.
What do you guys think? just a bad pull that will heal in time? or am i looking at something else? Meet is in 12 days
Don’t do the meet. Get it looked at. I had a blowout with way less weight, on the way down, and despite feeling only a little sore it turned out I’d done some damage to my shoulder and pec minor. It was about 9 months before I was back to where I was, mainly due to not seeing anyone and trying to work through it.
It’s from a long time ago, but here’s the bench:
I would agree, get that checked out before you decide to do the meet or not.
I hear the Phenoms blow-out like that pretty frequantly. How long have you been using yours?
Mine’s about 6 months old. I had the seam taken in a bit and the thread must not have been as strong as the guy said it was.
irony was that one of my training partners said to film it. I said why bother, since it was just openers, and nothing exciting was gonna happen 
If your hurtin I wouldnt do the meet. Theres always gonna be another one in a few months.
[quote]chrisarmes wrote:
Mine’s about 6 months old. I had the seam taken in a bit and the thread must not have been as strong as the guy said it was.
irony was that one of my training partners said to film it. I said why bother, since it was just openers, and nothing exciting was gonna happen :P[/quote]
That’s about how long Rob Luyando says those shirts will last.
I guess it’s time for an Overkill
Damn dude that’s some scary shit. I was doing board presses the other day with 500+ and thought about what I’d do if the shirt were to ever blow out. So I check my rack spot pins everyset like I got OCD or something and pray nothing happens. Glad you didn’t get really messed up. Good advice about taking it easy and getting it looked at. HOPEFULLY it will be something minor.
[quote]crashcrew56 wrote:
chrisarmes wrote:
Mine’s about 6 months old. I had the seam taken in a bit and the thread must not have been as strong as the guy said it was.
irony was that one of my training partners said to film it. I said why bother, since it was just openers, and nothing exciting was gonna happen
That’s about how long Rob Luyando says those shirts will last.
I guess it’s time for an Overkill[/quote]
Its a shame too, I’d gotten the groove down real well. I was getting a little over 200 out it; simple reinforced neck, plain old dbl phenom. Ive been looking at the Overkill shirts the last little while. My coach, Clint Harwood, has a ton of shirts around (I believe “assload” would be a more accurate statement) so i’m gonna be giving most of them a shot after the meet.
He’s also looking at getting and Overkill, so i may also be able to give it a run too, see if it would work before i look at buying. He also wants me to give denim a run, since I have the build for it.
if I wind up doing the meet, I’ve taken a few runs in his SDP with the collar pulled up, so I can get a relatively easy touch, and the groove is about the same what im used to.
Man, it’s amazing when those phenoms let loose how much they tear.
I have done meets with a strained pec before. I have had some swelling and a little discoloration. I have literally not been able to warm-up beyond 135 RAW without pain, and then shirted up and been OK. The shirts do protect the pecs quite a bit.
I have torn the pec on the right side 2X but both times just muscle tears with minimal tendon involvement. If you get about 800mg’s IBP in you 3X per day right away and then taper to 500 3 days later, and ice at least 2X per day and just let it be, you have a decent chance of being operable by meet day if there is no tendon involvement. Remember that IBP has to accumulate to a systemic level to be effective. For soft tissue injuries you can’t just take it once or twice and expect it to do anything. You typically need to run at least 5 days of IBP.
The reality of things is 12 days out you are about as strong as you are going to be, anyway so use this time to ice and ibuprofen and hope for the best.
Thanks apwsearch, ive started on that now. plan right now is to still squat openers tomorrow and rest it for the week before the meet. then if it hurts on meet day after 1st bench, skip 2nd and 3rd attempts. of course if squatting tomorrow causes “strange pain” (to quote Cartwright) I’ll see a doc.
until at least tomorrow I need to maintain the attitude that I will be competing, otherwise the headgames will throw me off in the event this clears up. right now its still somewhat painful to move, but tomorrow will help me see better if this is hurt or injured. Hurt i can get thru, injured may be a sign to slow down
Yeah, I couldn’t tell if it was a full meet or not. Worst case scenario you end up with a 55# bench.
Good luck. Let us know how you do.
[quote]chrisarmes wrote:
Thanks apwsearch, ive started on that now. plan right now is to still squat openers tomorrow and rest it for the week before the meet. then if it hurts on meet day after 1st bench, skip 2nd and 3rd attempts. of course if squatting tomorrow causes “strange pain” (to quote Cartwright) I’ll see a doc.
until at least tomorrow I need to maintain the attitude that I will be competing, otherwise the headgames will throw me off in the event this clears up. right now its still somewhat painful to move, but tomorrow will help me see better if this is hurt or injured. Hurt i can get thru, injured may be a sign to slow down[/quote]
Will do. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, I’ll make sure to post meet results afterwards
