I am 35 y/o and have been a serious lifter for 20 years.
Last year at 34 was the strongest I've ever been in my life. I was routinely benching 225 for 20+ reps and had never felt better. Anyways I had to take 3 weeks off last September and a few weeks back into it I started getting cramps on my outter pecs on chest day as I'd begin to warm up. Whether it was swinging my arms, benching the bar, warming up with 135- my outter pecs would cramp up. The first time it happened it scared the hell out of me and I called it a day. 10 days later they weren't so bad and I benched anyways and they disappeared as I got into my working weight.
Fast forward a year and it's still happening. It's been happening on and off for a year now. Some days they are bad enough to scare me out of lifting because I don't want to tear a pec but on days when they aren't bad I cautiously lift through them. They are NEVER an issue after I lift. It's always the day before or the day of my chest workout.
I've never touched gear, my hydration and electrolytes are always on point, I supplement magnesium, I stretch all the time, I get deep tissue and ART at least every 3 weeks- and absolutely nothing has resolved it. I got an MRI and structurally there is nothing there and my physical and message therapists can only give me a shoulder shrug.
Has anybody ever experienced anything like this? Thanks so much in advance!
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10-08-2020, 07:23 PM #1Registered User
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Strange issue with pecs spasming and cramping
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10-08-2020, 10:18 PM #2Registered User
- Join Date: Feb 2014
- Location: Iowa, United States
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What about potassium? I'm 33 and haven't really dealt much with this but I do have a tendency for my calves to seize up in a cramp but thats usually when I'm sleeping. Only thing else I can suggest is to maybe take a few more weeks off and let it heal. Maybe it damaged something and even though you did take a few week break, and started lifting lighter, its not allowing it to the heal all the way. If all those professionals can't find something, maybe its mental? Perhaps you had a bad lift that one day and now think its going to happen a lot and your mind is tricking your body? I don't know. I wish you luck and hope you get it figured out!
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10-09-2020, 01:02 AM #3Moderator
- Join Date: Jan 2007
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Sometimes a shortened range of motion can lead to cramping.
For example, I used to have a hamstring cramping problem when driving a car for long periods. As soon as I switched from doing conventional deadlift to RDL and doing some machine hamstring work, it went away and hasn't come back.
Perhaps you could try something similar using (for example a pec deck or cable crossover). Aim to start the movement from a full stretch in your pecs and finish by fully closing your arms. Keep movement smooth but with significant resistance (i.e. struggle to get 15 full reps)
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