Jerome Dinh's Pec Tear Journal

[pryme]

When you are hitting it hard again, muscle memory will kick in and you will be well on your way. let me know when you want to hit legs at the press!

[samson5002]

I was just checking out your post because I have a recent pec strain Im babying, but I just wanted to say your outlook on life is inspirational. Its great to see someone who is always being positive. Good Luck

[jeromedinh]

When you are hitting it hard again, muscle memory will kick in and you will be well on your way. let me know when you want to hit legs at the press!

no doubt...i bounced back after an appendectomy, hernia, broken arm, thyroid disease to name a few lol

cool, i'll shoot you a PM when i'm in the area bro

I was just checking out your post because I have a recent pec strain Im babying, but I just wanted to say your outlook on life is inspirational. Its great to see someone who is always being positive. Good Luck

i had a pec strain in my left pec...i didnt do any chest exercises for 4 weeks. afterwards i did nothing but isolation movements for another couple or several weeks. after all was said and done...it was stronger then ever. just listen to your body..if you feel the slightest uncomfortable pain STOP

thanks, positive is the only way to go. i learned that you can not control life or the direction you think your heading, so i always make the best of any situation.

be careful and take time off your chest you'll be thankful you did and good luck!

[JimmyJD]

Great job at keeping a log for others in the same boat is you... I tore my pec last Nov benching just as I was starting my diet for Nova Scotia Provincial Bodybuilding show... In Canada the health care is a little different so im still on a waiting list to get an MRI done and its almost a year to the day later and still no MRI... I still trained thru and did the show, the partial tear with very little body fat looked very wierd tho...

[gmenfan40]

im unsure if i have a torn pec, i was benching and i felt like a ripping feeling in my chest (upper chest near my armpit)theres no bruise or miscoloring like you had, and i have regular motion with my arm, it just hurts when i touch the spot and its swollen.

[str8flexed]

mine was the same way... get an MRI done PRONTO!

[alecto42c]

ur an inspiration... i havent been able to lift for over a year due to several injuries in the neck/shoulder area.. keep up the hard work

[jeromedinh]

Great job at keeping a log for others in the same boat is you... I tore my pec last Nov benching just as I was starting my diet for Nova Scotia Provincial Bodybuilding show... In Canada the health care is a little different so im still on a waiting list to get an MRI done and its almost a year to the day later and still no MRI... I still trained thru and did the show, the partial tear with very little body fat looked very wierd tho...

wow man sorry to hear that! thats totally bogus, i just dont understand why you'd have to wait so long. its a serious matter, sure you can live through it BUT i'd be mobility is a bit different.

i looked at your pics and really i dont see much of a difference? the good thing is, you can still get it repaired from what i've gathered. you look great man!

im unsure if i have a torn pec, i was benching and i felt like a ripping feeling in my chest (upper chest near my armpit)theres no bruise or miscoloring like you had, and i have regular motion with my arm, it just hurts when i touch the spot and its swollen.

if you felt a rip, its probably torn by the sounds of it but to be certain as layne suggested, def get mri to know what you're dealing with.

ur an inspiration... i havent been able to lift for over a year due to several injuries in the neck/shoulder area.. keep up the hard work

thanks bro...it hasnt been easy as you know. the key is just to always stay positive because bro there is always a brighter side.

[jeromedinh]

Since I had my sling removed the bleeding stopped (after the doc squeezed out a ton of blood from the hematoma). I've been trying to gain more mobilty daily, always keeping my arm stretched out to my side..i even sleep with my arm stretch. Plus I've been utilizing my right arm more. Daily I'm gaining more and more mobility though its still very limited. Using a striaght arm, i can almost raise my arm to shoulder height but if i do it laterally i can only get it 1/2 way (45degrees) to shoulder height. It just really depends on how stretched back my shoulder is. The further back my shoulder/elbow goes, the less mobility i have.

Yesterday my right arm was put to the test! Several of my good friends competed in the NPC North Star and it was one of the best shows i've seen in a while. The competitors where plenty and all were in great condition. I got to prejudging early so i could take pics for my friends. I was seated in the front row with the test judges so i got the perfect spot for pics. Holding my right arm up taking pics for several hours put my right arm to the test! All and all, i just had tightness...no pain though the sutures we're driving me crazy..they are like little thorns poking out of my shirt, ichy as hell..its a nasty sight!

As far as my hematoma...its still there, its just hard and a little sore in some areas surrounding the sutures. I think at this rate, I should be starting my physically therapy this week...but my doc is out so it will not be till the following week

I can tell you, having your arm out of the sling...does WONDERS mentally and you start feeling like a normal person again. In fact on Friday I trained legs and got to use the leg press and hack squat machines..and my hams and glutes are so sore!

[jeromedinh]

Day by day I'm gaining mobility and strength in my right arm. It still looks terribly small BUT i think my outter chest is gaining some roundness? There is still a lot of work to do but I'm very surprised at my progression.

So today, I did Quads and had an AWESOME workout!! My strength went up TONS. In leg extensions, i did 50lbs more and squats i did 50lbs more weight as well! Not so shabby, I couldnt believe my strength..everything felt so much lighter. I can honestly say, into my 2nd set of squats..my legs were DEAD after that (another 6 sets of compound movement) it was nothing but heart because i had nothing left in my legs. I was getting very light headed but man i had a great workout. Plus I got some new music (compliments of my best bro Shawny B) in my ipod and thats always a motivator! In addition with my added mobility in my right arm I can stabilize my body better. By the time i got to calves, you can just forget about it..they too were beat after my first two warmup sets.

I'm excited and motivated for the future and cant wait to post future updates!

[jeromedinh]

Well my plan post surgery was to start my dieting once physically therapy was done but i cant wait that long. I'm about 4lbs off pre-pec tear but i've lost upper body muscle and gained body fat. Some people in this situation might be depressed, unmotivated, disheartened but not me...forget that. This experience has motivated me to become my best. I'm not willing or accepting this after math so I'm making some serious changes.

I'm going to take before pics BUT i will not post them until i have my 4 week progression pics...its too embarrassing! My legs do look much improved but my upper body....the sight is hard to stomach. I'm very critical of myself, really I've only gained 1 belt notch on my stomach.

Here is the plan, as of today I've officially started my diet and cardio. Its going to be easy now that i'm on a schedule. I'm going to train 2 days on, 1 day off. I'm not doing cardio on my leg day no matter what, so what i plan to do is gradually increase my volume and intensity over the next 12 weeks.

Today in the gym was abs and cardio. I did a total of 4 set of cruchers with 10sec rest between set and HOLY SH!T my abs were cramping big time so i immediately stopped abs. I did total of 30mins of cardio beginning with 5min walking at 4.0mph, 5min stair master at level 9(this exercise uses WAY too much leg muscle to be efficent fat burning exercise!), 5min jog(which was surprisingly incrediably HARD) at 6.0 mph, 10min bike at level 4, 2.5min jog at 6.0mph and finally 2.5min walk at 4.0mph. For the life of me, i cant figure out WHY anyone would want to do the stair master...it takes WAY too much leg muscle to do, which in turn will definately make you go catabolic! It was the first time I did the stair master and it will be the last time. Its like doing lunges over and over.

My right arm still is a bit tight so it made jogging a bit harder because i could use my arms for momentum so it was nothing but legs. The stitches are digging into my skin..poking at them if i move my arm a certain way, its very distracting and annoying. All and all, I'm still making great improvements!

[pryme]

hey Jerome, why mix up the cardio so much in one session? why not do a block of 30 on one thing? I prefer the elliptical. depending on the stairs, you can take the hard stepping out of it easily, then prepare to sweat your ass off lol. good luck in the transformation.

[jeromedinh]

hey Jerome, why mix up the cardio so much in one session? why not do a block of 30 on one thing? I prefer the elliptical. depending on the stairs, you can take the hard stepping out of it easily, then prepare to sweat your ass off lol. good luck in the transformation.

i get bored quick of the same thing, mixing it up keeps it interesting PLUS man i'm WAY, WAY out of shape. on the onseason i run 12 miles a day, bro i could only run 1/2 a mile now at the same pace! my typical cardio session is a 5min walk then into a 10-40min run then cool down 5min walk and to finish it off with 10min bike ride...but that is more into my onseason training. taking it slow is key as to no lose muscle while cutting. stairs..man that is the most ridiculous piece of cardio equipment..you're going to lose TONS and TONS of muscle doing that.

thanks for the encouragement bro...i'll proabably be down 10lbs by end of the month and have some shape back!

[jeromedinh]

Well today is my 3rd day into dieting & cardio, officially i'm losing about 1/2lbs per day. I know my body well enough to say that but I will not know for certain until 2 weeks into training/dieting. I plan to cut 8-12lbs by end of the month in other words 2-3lbs per week. I have a long ways to go but i know in 4 weeks i'll look more like my former self with better legs!

As far as my arm, continually i'm gaining more mobility and using my arm more frequently but cautiously. I'm even seeing my delt start to separate(definition wise) from my bic/triceps. I still have my tricep but looks weird because i have zero bicep, delt and my chest is considerably smaller.

Today i hit HAMS(yesterday i ended up doing cardio too) and killed them! It was the first day i got to use the hack squat machine(not the hammer strength) thanks to my improved mobility in my arm. NOTE: when i do squat or do any compound movements, i cross my arms in front of my chest so all the weight is focus on my traps and back. I've noticed this helps stabilize my back. My hard work is being noticed in the gym, today one of my friends said my legs look considerably bigger since last time he seen me at the NPC Flex Wheeler Classic. He gave me props for hitting legs everyday LOL He said he loves legs but couldnt train them as frequently as me. When legs is the only bodypart you can train and its your weakest bodypart...i think everyone would be hitting legs as much as me! After training i did some low volume cardio i.e. 20min on the treadmill at 4.0mph and stretched for 10mins.

[IVBARK]

Good luck with the come back. I ripped mine in May 05. About 3-4 mths later I got my ROM back and started to play around with super light weights. Kinda look goofy benching with 10-20lbs dumbells but it worked for me. The pic that is in my profile pic was 10mths after surgery. At that point I felt pretty normal but even still to this day I don't go heavy. I ripped mine on my 3rd rep with 245lbs. Weird that it didn't happen on the first rep (if it was the weight). I noticed yours didn't either. In high school I benched 330 weighing 151lbs. Never thought I would rip anything. Anyway good luck with everything.

[jeromedinh]

Good luck with the come back. I ripped mine in May 05. About 3-4 mths later I got my ROM back and started to play around with super light weights. Kinda look goofy benching with 10-20lbs dumbells but it worked for me. The pic that is in my profile pic was 10mths after surgery. At that point I felt pretty normal but even still to this day I don't go heavy. I ripped mine on my 3rd rep with 245lbs. Weird that it didn't happen on the first rep (if it was the weight). I noticed yours didn't either. In high school I benched 330 weighing 151lbs. Never thought I would rip anything. Anyway good luck with everything.

Thanks bro! It's the dumps man, you'd never imagine or think for a second that this could happen to you. You look great after 10months man. I wonder when in the hell my right side will look normal...i have NO outter chest, front delt and bicep. You would think it would happen immediately(the tear) but go figure. The come back is going to be long but sh!t i have my sling off and training is going well.

[jeromedinh]

It's been almost a week into my diet and cardio and i've been making incredible progress! I'm down 9.5lbs since last Monday. I'm hitting up cardio every day besides leg day (5days a week) and it seems every day I add a bit more volume. For example, today for cardio i did 5min walking @ 4.0mph then jogged for 10mins @ 5.8mph(calves were def feelin it!), 40mins on the eliptical machine(all legs no upper body...lots of upper body twisting to work the abs) at level 4, 10mins biking @ level 4 and to finish it off with 5mins of walking @ 4mph. I was BEAT, the muscle/strength was there but i had NO ENERGY for the 1st time. My arm is YES still getting better by the day and its much easier to move it around, especially during cardio. Nothing seriously new to update on my recovery...but i'll tell you its NICE AS HELL to have the ability to wear shirts without bandage and a sling!

Here is a recent pic of me today after cardio accompanied by a pic taken about 1 month ago (10-02-08 pic of me in the sling) to show you my progress.




Quads tomorrow morning and i cant wait!

[adamnflorida]

man,im glad everything is going well for you..i just hope the same goes for me.I tore my left pec muscle from the tendon right at a month ago,and my doctor told me i can not go to the gym.i went 5-6 days a week to him telling me i can't go..so i have just been running and doing lower body for the past month,and i can feel that my upper body has gotten alot weaker.i am hoping my next appointment he tells me i can go back..fingers crossed.

[jeromedinh]

man,im glad everything is going well for you..i just hope the same goes for me.I tore my left pec muscle from the tendon right at a month ago,and my doctor told me i can not go to the gym.i went 5-6 days a week to him telling me i can't go..so i have just been running and doing lower body for the past month,and i can feel that my upper body has gotten alot weaker.i am hoping my next appointment he tells me i can go back..fingers crossed.

bro...i wish everything did LOL the repaired my tendon to my bone but the d@mn muscle tore afterwards because of the tension from the sutures but YES man now i'm doing and feeling so much better!!

man you're running? did you run with the sling off? even now for me, its still awkward for me to run because i still have tension.

no worries man, sounds like you'd doing great and you'll be good in no time. from what i've read and what i've been told, upper body training after a rupture is 6months after repair. so all i'm hitting up is legs and cardio.

keep me posted man, i'll be curious to see how your progress is going.

[adamnflorida]

bro...i wish everything did LOL the repaired my tendon to my bone but the d@mn muscle tore afterwards because of the tension from the sutures but YES man now i'm doing and feeling so much better!!

man you're running? did you run with the sling off? even now for me, its still awkward for me to run because i still have tension.

no worries man, sounds like you'd doing great and you'll be good in no time. from what i've read and what i've been told, upper body training after a rupture is 6months after repair. so all i'm hitting up is legs and cardio.

keep me posted man, i'll be curious to see how your progress is going.

yeah,i put on 2 under armor shirts before i run to help things from jumping around..and i am also on an elliptical to,so that helps with it moving around to much.the bruising just now went away a few days ago and this happened right at a month ago.here are a few pics of it..



and my chest

[jeromedinh]

yeah,i put on 2 under armor shirts before i run to help things from jumping around..and i am also on an elliptical to,so that helps with it moving around to much.the bruising just now went away a few days ago and this happened right at a month ago.here are a few pics of it..



and my chest

lol i have to take more time to read. so have you gotten an MRI yet, you planning on having surgery? i was working out before surgery..just legs though.

those are some nasty pics..ahhhh brings back memories, good times lol

[adamnflorida]

i got an mri,and 4 different doctors all said that surgery wouldn't help with healing..an yes,going into a deep hole and me being 3 feet wide,strapped down AND claustrophobic,it was definetly the worst experience ever..and with no headphones.

[jeromedinh]

i got an mri,and 4 different doctors all said that surgery wouldn't help with healing..an yes,going into a deep hole and me being 3 feet wide,strapped down AND claustrophobic,it was definetly the worst experience ever..and with no headphones.

****ty man, i might as well not had the surgery with all the complications i had. but at least 1/3 of my tendon and muscle is still connected to the bone. when my muscle tore, my doc said it was unrepairable too...

LOL dude i got a good laugh out of that because i know what you're sayin. i stayed up extra late and didnt get any sleep so i could just sleep through the MRI. i barely fit into that damn clicking, hot machine...i cant imagine what it was like for you, especially without headphones!

[adamnflorida]

man,i should have thought about that..not sleeping the night before..they are going to have to knock me out if there is a next time.haha..but,i should find out soon enough from the doctor if i am able to go back to the gym or not..i really hate not being able to do upper body anymore..lol

[ROSEVILLECA]

I am glad you are doing so well, seems like you had it pretty bad bro, but you are on the right track!! On a positive note, the doc just let me out of my sling as well!! He said I could do light isolated bi's and tri's, and very moderate isometric chest work, just to get the muscles lightly flexing. I did my 1st arm workout in 9 weeks, it has been 5 1/2 weeks since surgery... I did concentration curls with 8lbsx30 reps, 8lbsx35, 10lbsx30, 10lbsx50, 12lbsx30, and really light tri work, and damn my muscles are weak and sore, but it is the greatest feeling... Thanks again for tracking your ups and downs, it has been really nice to see someone else staying positive throughout!!!

[jeromedinh]

I am glad you are doing so well, seems like you had it pretty bad bro, but you are on the right track!! On a positive note, the doc just let me out of my sling as well!! He said I could do light isolated bi's and tri's, and very moderate isometric chest work, just to get the muscles lightly flexing. I did my 1st arm workout in 9 weeks, it has been 5 1/2 weeks since surgery... I did concentration curls with 8lbsx30 reps, 8lbsx35, 10lbsx30, 10lbsx50, 12lbsx30, and really light tri work, and damn my muscles are weak and sore, but it is the greatest feeling... Thanks again for tracking your ups and downs, it has been really nice to see someone else staying positive throughout!!!

Congrats bro...feels so much better huh?!

So that doc has ok'd you to train arms and chest? I've never heard of anyone training upper body so soon after surgery? Are you in PT yet? It must feel great being able to train upper body...i figure i still have another 3-4 months??? Good to hear your doing well.

My pleasure putting up this thread, its like my public diary LOL. One thing i did forget to mention is my diet (which started last week and i'm down 5lbs since last Tues). So i should just add a tid bit of information for people on that subject to when i get some more time today.

[ROSEVILLECA]

Congrats bro...feels so much better huh?!

So that doc has ok'd you to train arms and chest? I've never heard of anyone training upper body so soon after surgery? Are you in PT yet? It must feel great being able to train upper body...i figure i still have another 3-4 months??? Good to hear your doing well.

My pleasure putting up this thread, its like my public diary LOL. One thing i did forget to mention is my diet (which started last week and i'm down 5lbs since last Tues). So i should just add a tid bit of information for people on that subject to when i get some more time today.

The chest part is not really training, it is just getting it moving around a little, still cant even raise my arm past 90 degrees, it is just VERY VERY lightly pressing my hands together... And arms will have to be quite light for another 6 weeks (15lb dumbells MAX), then after about 12 total weeks from surgery I can start getting closer toward being 50% of normal on everything but chest, that will take about 4 months as you stated...
As far as PT goes, he told me to save my co pays and he showed me all the exercises he wants me to do, and we are meeting up again in 3 weeks...

[jeromedinh]

The chest part is not really training, it is just getting it moving around a little, still cant even raise my arm past 90 degrees, it is just VERY VERY lightly pressing my hands together... And arms will have to be quite light for another 6 weeks (15lb dumbells MAX), then after about 12 total weeks from surgery I can start getting closer toward being 50% of normal on everything but chest, that will take about 4 months as you stated...
As far as PT goes, he told me to save my co pays and he showed me all the exercises he wants me to do, and we are meeting up again in 3 weeks...

NICE BRO! I've had my arm out of the sling for 2 weeks and i can raise my arm up over my head! Something i didnt think was possible ever again after i got out of that sling. I think being as active as i am now with cardio, its really helping me gain movement back.

I might have to take your docs advise and save money on co-pays but..i've reached my out-of-pocket limit so everything until end of the year is paid at 100%! I'd rather not do PT but i'm going to...its going to be a pain finding somewhere i like, then finding time at lunch or after work UGH!

You taking progression pics?

[jeromedinh]

ROM is getting better, i know i sound like a broken record but it is getting beter and better and i'm estatic! I even pushed the button above my head to open the sunroof yesterday and opened the cover in my car. My bicep and my outer chest and under my arm is SOOO ichy, it drives me nuts at times. Plus i have the constant pricking of the sutures poking me when i move my arm a certain way, THANK GOD i'm getting them removed tomorrow. I still have some soreness around the wound, its hard as a rock, almost numb feeling but i'm getting use to it. I think whats really help contribute to my ROM is my cardio sessions (constantly moving my arms while jogging or doing handless eliptical machine sessions).

As far as my diet and training is concerned, its going very well. I've lost 5lbs since last Tues(my offical start weight) and on track to lose more like 3lbs, even with one cheat meal a week. I told myself i wouldnt have a cheat meal until after my 4 week of dieting but gave in on Saturday and had pizza. We had company over, purchased the Wii(which is kick ass), the girls drank and we bowled and golfed for the most part. I only ended up gaining 3lbs the following day..which is about the norm. Leg traing was TOUGH being i'm doing cardio every day. My legs arent use to the volume so when i did quads, i was only a rep stronger. I didnt do squats because i dont think i needed to do much to break my legs down as they already were sore. GOOD NEWS, remember my 1st day running, i could only manage 5mins(last Tues.) at once...well as of yesterday i ran for 20mins @ 5.8mph, then 20mins on the eliptical machine and finished off with running for 10mins @ 5.8mph and of course 5min walk cool down at 4.0mph. It felt GREAT being able to run again. When i start my diet it usually takes 1 week for me to get use to the volume so here on out, my leg training should be better.

Today, legs arent sore but my abs are SORE AS HELL. I've been doing abs every 3 days and can only manage to do 4 sets of cruchers(10sec rest between sets and i use that time to stretch out my abs) because they begin to CRAMP! I have to stretch for an additional 5mins ...its the most painful thing. I'm able to stop the cramp before it get full-blown. I dont know what the deal is but for years its been happening to me? I'm hoping in time, they will get use to training and the cramping will stop??

11 more weeks until i'm 6% bodyfat and until i can do upper body training!!!

[ROSEVILLECA]

NICE BRO! I've had my arm out of the sling for 2 weeks and i can raise my arm up over my head! Something i didnt think was possible ever again after i got out of that sling. I think being as active as i am now with cardio, its really helping me gain movement back.

I might have to take your docs advise and save money on co-pays but..i've reached my out-of-pocket limit so everything until end of the year is paid at 100%! I'd rather not do PT but i'm going to...its going to be a pain finding somewhere i like, then finding time at lunch or after work UGH!

You taking progression pics?

I probably should, I think I might start tomorrow, taking progress pics... Funny thing through all of this... 5 years ago before I had my angel (my daughter) I weighed 235lbs at 9% bodyfat, max bench ~ 450lbs, around 19" arms... (it was pretty good for me And now I was excited to curl 10lbs!!! I get discouraged at times like you, but I know that in some odd way this was a good thing for me... I appreciate everything so much more, like you said raising your arm over your head!! I think this whole thing has made me realize how I took things for granted, not just physically, but everything. It has opened my eyes and I know that I will be in the best shape of my life when I come out of this, and I will appreciate everything, and everyone so much more... I already do!! No need to respond to this, don't mean to sound like a broken record, but thank you for your blog, it has helped me, and I GUARANTEE, you will destroy your previous "bests!" Keep up the great attitude bro!!!