“Probably My Biggest Mistake”: Months After a Horrifying Pec Tear While Bench Pressing, Strongman Legend Makes a Candid Confession About His Injury

The bodybuilding and strongman community watched the horrific pec tear of Hafthor Bjornsson live when he attempted to bench press 556 lbs. But the Icelandic Strongman reveals his major mistake that resulted in the injury. The Strongman giants Hafthor Bjornsson and Brian Shaw sat for a candid conversation where they discussed the importance of recovery.

Thor’s illustrative Strongman career is credited to his relentless pursuits at the gym. However, his powerlifting career is even more impressive as he owns the record for the heaviest deadlift of all time, 1,105 lbs. It was his excitement to beat his personal best bench-pressing record that cost him a pec tear.

Hafthor Bjornsson’s shocking revelation about his pec tear

The Strongman community thrives on strength shows. The power and strength of competitors don’t come instantly and require a lot of training sessions. But the Mountain discloses to Shaw that his body quickly gained strength that helped him to become the Strongman champion. However, Thor didn’t take his body cues, causing a pec tear. 

Shaw was curious about what resulted in the pec tear of his fellow Strongman competitor and asked whether Bjornsson noticed any cues before the tragedy. And yes, he did. Thor reasoned his injury to improper recovery from the training sessions. “I wasn’t recovering fully between sessions. That was probably my biggest mistake. Not listening to my body which is silly,” the boxing icon lamented. However, it isn’t a one-time case for Bjornsson.

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The 35-year-old confessed he most often limited his body from recovery all his career and ended up paying the price this year. Thor underscores how he gained strength super-fast, but that was not the case for his bench-pressing sessions. “I wasn’t able to recover like going into bench press workout,” he confessed. Thor was feeling tight in the chest but didn’t listen to his body cues in the excitement to beat his previous record. However, the body gave up as he suffered a devastating pec tear. The Strongman admits if he would have rested for two more days, he would have escaped the injury. However, it isn’t the first time Thor injured himself.

An ankle injury that changed Thor’s career course

Hafthor Bjornsson was a basketball champion before he was introduced to the world of strength sports. He injured his ankle twice, which cut short his basketball dreams. The Game of Thrones actor had to undergo two ankle surgeries and gave up on his NBA dreams. But the bodybuilding glory of Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates captured his imagination, and he soon started lifting weights.

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Later, he ventured into strength sports and is now a Strongman and Powerlifting champion. Speaking to Brian Shaw, Thor admitted to a quad injury and nerve issue on his right arm. So, he had to undergo surgery to correct his nerve issue.

Injuries are common when heavy weightlifting is involved, but if Bjornsson’s revelations are to be believed, they can be prevented if one listens to their body’s needs. The pec tear is a major learning for The Mountain in his career.