Everyone knows Hafthor Bjornsson as the freakishly strong Game of Thrones character The Mountain, but even strongmen have their weak moments.
The 34-year-old Icelander - who held the impressive title of Iceland's Strongest Man from 2010 to 2020, and the World's Strongest Man in 2018 - recently announced his return to strength sports, revealing that he will be participating in the Strongman competition again in 2024 following a hiatus to focus on boxing.
Before returning to the Strongman, however, Bjornsson attempted to break the all-time powerlifting record in the bench press - aiming to shift 252kg on Saturday (April 15).
However, it didn't go as planned as Bjornsson - who is the only person on Earth to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, Europe's Strongest Man, AND the World's Strongest Man - didn't even make it through the bottom-end range of the first rep before he was left in agonizing pain when his left pectoral muscle tore... The sound is enough to make anyone squirm!
Taking to his 4.2 million Instagram followers on Monday (April 17), Bjornsson uploaded a photo of himself looking rather glum with a purple, blotchy bruise on the left side of his chest where he tore the muscle. "Thank you all for the support, kind messages and love during these challenging times ahead. It really means the world to me. This is just a challenge and a small setback. I'll come back stronger," he wrote in part of the caption.
He also uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he updated his fans on the injury. "I believe that I completely tore my upper chest off the bone, and I will have to have surgery if that's the case. I have an MRI booked tomorrow [Tuesday, April 18], so I will be able to update you guys more on what's happening," Bjornsson said.
He added: "I am doing okay considering everything," and that he'd done a half hour of cardio earlier in the day to keep himself sane after the injury. Though, he is looking on the humorous side of it all, telling viewers that "wiping my a** is difficult" and so is putting on his underwear because, as it turns out, he's left handed. Yikes.
A torn pectoral muscle is no laughing matter, however. In fact, the road to recovery can be time consuming and slow - with orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Katherine Coyner saying that, following the initial treatment of applying ice to the area, surgery is often required for complete tears.
"The torn tendon is repaired in the early period following the injury to minimize muscle atrophy and scarring. Patients who undergo surgical repair have a good chance of returning to high-level sports and activities. During the repair, large sutures are placed in the torn tendon and then these sutures are secured to the arm bone with either holes in the bone or anchors inserted in the bone," she said.
Dr. Coyner also added that the bench press exercise is notorious for pectoral muscle tears so, gym bros be warned: Heavier isn't always better!
