4-5 months ago I irritated my sternum doing dips. I felt a kind of upward pressure through the sternum on the last rep of a hard set and had some discomfort breathing right after. Since then, I’ve avoided dips entirely, but I kept training. The issue lingered for a while, especially after chest exercises, and finally I decided to take a complete break from the gym for about 10 days.
Right now, I’m nearly symptom-free. I only feel some extremely mild discomfort in very specific positions (like lying on one side and putting weight on one arm), but it’s subtle and doesn’t happen often. No pain during daily activity.
I want to start training again soon, but I’m unsure how to safely reintroduce lifting, especially exercises like bench press or squats, since I was planning to start with the Fierce5 novice program
How would you approach training from this point?
What should I be cautious with?
And would something like Fierce 5 be a smart way to return, or is it too much too soon?
If you need more info about my case, happy to answer questions. Just really want to do this right.
Thanks in advance.
Wouldn’t your surgeon/physio/gp be a better source of information?
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I appreciate the caution, totally get that this isn’t a place for medical diagnosis.
I’ve got a GP appointment booked to rule out anything serious, but in my experience, most GPs aren’t very experienced when it comes to guiding people back into strength training after an injury. He’ll probably just check if there are any red flags or obvious issues, tell me to avoid anything that causes pain, and suggest I come back if the pain returns.
I’m definitely open to seeing a physio if needed, but right now things have been improving steadily with rest: no pain during normal activity and only very mild, occasional discomfort in specific positions.
Also, I feel like I’ve been steadily improving with rest. At this point, it’s rare for me to feel any discomfort, even in more awkward or loaded positions. That said, I really don’t want to set myself back by rushing things or returning to training the wrong way.
So what I’m really looking for is guidance from people who either:
- have dealt with something similar themselves
- or have professional experience helping others recover from this kind of issue (physios, doctors, etc.)
Any advice is truly appreciated. I just want to return to training in the smartest, safest way possible.
Not to be a jerk, or belabor the point but maybe ask this question after you examination. Ask your doctor for restrictions/clearance for exercise. I’m not sure of the legalities but if we tell you it’s okay to do something, and you injure yourself, are there ramifications to that?
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Don’t go so low when you do dips.
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If you don’t go so low on dips that you smash your sternum to smithereens, then you are NOT hardcore! Go ahead and create an account on E-Nation at that point
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I don’t think there’s any solution other than to start trying things to your comfort. I skimmed, so maybe I missed it, but I don’t think we have a diagnosis? I’m personally a fan of exercise sequencing: try a machine press or something before your barbell/ dumbbell work; leave “stretch”
exercises (like dips) to the end. If you’re feeling it places that aren’t desired while you execute the movement, you’re either going too heavy or it’s not the day/ move for you. From there you can upload a video and we can analyze form or you can just find something that feels better. There’s not a movement you have to do (other than 12oz curls, of course).