Am I on the verge of tearing my pec? Getting cramps in them...

[BULK_CITY]

Sometimes when I workout chest, my pecs will cramp when I reach across my body for something (ex - at my desk and I reach with my left hand to grab some water on my right side). The outter edge of my pec (like if you look down at your chest, right along that line), about 1'' above the nipple is where the cramp occurs. Both sides will cramp, but I've never had em both cramp at the same time.

I also do pretty low volume for my chest, as it's pretty developed compared to other body parts, and it's still cramping.

Diet + minerals/sodium, etc is totally fine.

I only do incline bench press, machine and hammer smith movements. Today I worked shoulders/triceps and chest at the end. I only did hammer smith incline press for 3 sets of 5 reps (heavy weight) and it cramped after that...

I'm worried that I'm going to end up tearing my pec.

 

[Turkishexpress]

I have the same problem but usually after stretching a little in between sets and slowing down the motion of any given exercise it goes away. Usually happens to me right after heavy incline with drop sets...

 

[12high]

Bro I have severly strained both sides of my chest multiple times but thank God did not tear. I had the same warning signs as you describe but disregarded them and continued to push myself. If I were you, I wd back off or take a break. The last thing you want us a pec tear.

 

[BULK_CITY]

I have the same problem but usually after stretching a little in between sets and slowing down the motion of any given exercise it goes away. Usually happens to me right after heavy incline with drop sets...

hmmm... when I hit chest I do it at the end of my workouts. Maybe stretching them more would help?

I also go fairly slow (3 second negatives)

Bro I have severly strained both sides of my chest multiple times but thank God did not tear. I had the same warning signs as you describe but disregarded them and continued to push myself. If I were you, I wd back off or take a break. The last thing you want us a pec tear.

That's what I'm worried about - that it is a warning sign that the pec is on the verge of tearing.

I don't even hit them often or hard. Just about 1x per week and do 3-5 sets.

 

[Rob S.]

Have the same feeling since 2 weeks. Decided to ditch the heavy chest training for the first weeks. Just do some more reps with a lighter weight and you'll be fine. Last thing you want is a pec tear, listen to your body.

 

[mitochondria]

surprise you already minor ripped it, now it just gets worse, happended here

 

[jm425]

I have strained my left pec twice now. Never got cramps though. I think you should back off for a week and rest it. When you hit them again, go light for a few weeks and see how you feel. If it's still cramping, then you need to give it more time off.

 

[MaineGuy]

surprise you already minor ripped it, now it just gets worse, happended here

I have been hitting it hard the last 2 months. I have the same exact issues, especially when I am in the shower and have to wash shoulders with opposite hand, etc. I don't think it is anything but cramps, I don't think this means it is leading to a tear. It does hurt quite bad sometimes.

 

[MrF884]

I tore my pec and had to have surgery to reattach. The warning signs that I ignored was 3 weeks of consistent distinct sharp pain about 1.5 inches above the top of my arm pit.
From now on, when my body speaks, I listen!

 

[invain]

There is no correlation between cramping and having a tear. I get random cramps sometimes, not much you can do about it besides stretching and foam rolling/massaging. If it's really bothering you take a week off from chest and do lots of rehab.

Most of the time if I get some cramping during warmups I just work though it and it eventually goes away as I get to my heavier sets.

You say diet and minerals are fine. Are you 100% sure? How about potassium? It's more important than sodium IMO. Magnesium? Calcium? Taurine? All of these can help alleviate cramping.

I also cannot stress how important proper hydration is. Even the slightest bit of dehydration can lead to cramping.

 

[invain]

I tore my pec and had to have surgery to reattach. The warning signs that I ignored was 3 weeks of consistent distinct sharp pain about 1.5 inches above the top of my arm pit.
From now on, when my body speaks, I listen!

I've torn my pec twice, the second time I had symptoms exactly like you described. Like I said, cramping and muscle tears are not the same thing. If there is any throbbing, aching, or sharp pains, it is not merely a cramp.

 

[ManoftheWorld]

There is no correlation between cramping and having a tear. I get random cramps sometimes, not much you can do about it besides stretching and foam rolling/massaging. If it's really bothering you take a week off from chest and do lots of rehab.

Most of the time if I get some cramping during warmups I just work though it and it eventually goes away as I get to my heavier sets.

You say diet and minerals are fine. Are you 100% sure? How about potassium? It's more important than sodium IMO. Magnesium? Calcium? Taurine? All of these can help alleviate cramping.

I also cannot stress how important proper hydration is. Even the slightest bit of dehydration can lead to cramping.

I get the same cramp issue from going heavy as shit on incline then doing either flat bench/dips then finish with pec deck... everything after incline is high volume with still a decent amount of weight but let me tell you a cpl hours after training holy fuck... taurine and calcium and water is what I force down trying to combat it... usually 5g of taur right off bat with another 3-5g later down the road.. calcium is usually 2-3 ultra tums and water is just chug... no specific amount lol

You would figure I would modify my intensity to some extent to not let it happen often but this is almost a weekly deal for me so havent been able to let up yet... maybe if I wasnt so reliant of lifting being my outlet for anger and frustrations and switched over to more of a leisure lifter that would solve it LOL

 

[ajdos]

Cramping is one sign the muscle has been overworked, problem with cramping as an indicator are there are several reasons for them.

 

[Powerbuilder]

Might be stating the obvious, but are you just dehydrated?

 

[saps]

This is a false assupmtion invain and ManoftheWorld addresses this above. Its more likely to be some combo of either dehydration and/or the minerals like magnesium or potassium