ive been hearing alot about bench pressing and pec tearing. Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent tearing a pec while under the bar?
Bringing your grip in a little closer and/or making sure you’re benching with your elbows tucked and not flared way out can help you take some of the stress off the pec muscles.
Tucking the elbows and using a narrower grip are the best steps form wise.
A large part of it is soft tissue quality as well- if the subscapularis (one of the 4 muscles of the rotator cuff) is shut down from trauma than the pec major has to pick up the slack which can lead to strains and tears.
- Proper warmup and hydration.
- Benching with a very controlled eccentric.
- Good bench technique.