Ryan Crowley reflects on his pec tear injury, his recovery, and how the incident was both physically and mentally traumatizing.
In March of 2021, Ryan Crowley went viral due to a video of him suffering a pec tear injury while training with Larry Wheels. Since then he has been on the long road to recovery and chronicling that journey on his social media accounts. This wasn’t your run of the mill injury – his tendon was completely pulled off his bone. It’s the kind of injury some don’t come back from. This is the mental battle he now faces as he pushes towards fully recovering and competing again. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Ryan Crowley reflects on the injury and details the traumatic physical pain – and mental pain – caused by the pec tear.
Thought it’s been many months since Ryan Crowley’s original pec injury – he still contends with that moment every day of his life. He’s had surgery to repair the pec tear but still has a long road to full recovery. He’s been to the hospital multiple times due to cysts and setbacks. But he still believes that he can return to normal strength and compete at top form in bodybuilding. This belief is constantly tested as he recovers – and he admits the mental battle has been one of the hardest in his life.
During our recent video conversation with Ryan Crowley, we asked him to reflect back on the initial injury, how it happened, and what the experience felt like in real time. He admitted that he’s been through many painful things in his life – but that the pec tear was the worst pain he’s ever felt. More damaging than that though has been the mental battle aftwards.
It’s a delicate balance during recovery. He wants to be able to train but he’s aware of how precarious his situation is. He doesn’t want to risk re-damaging the injury. Which has already happened to him once. At the same time, he doesn’t want the rest of his future to be playing it safe. That’s not how bodybuilding works. If he never feels that he can full train again – then he won’t be able to create the physique that wins competitions.
Ryan Crowley refers to the pec injury as a truly traumatic moment. This is due to the physical pain in once sense – but also due to the mental struggle he has during recovery. He needs to keep that confidence and not feel held back. There is still physical recovering to do – which might bring more confidence down the road. That’s what he’s hoping for but until he gets there it’s quite the struggle.
He claims the trauma of the injury changed his life for these reasons – but also there was an unexpected positive life change. His following skyrocketed and he has been pushed even further into the mainstream within the bodybuilding industry. If he can successfully recover – he will now have a bigger fan base rooting him on. This can lead to more opportunities not only as a competitor but as an entrepreneur. This is vital in modern bodybuilding as prize money alone can’t always pay the bills.
You can watch Ryan Crowley’s full reflection on his pec tear injury in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!