Bench and Shoulder Press

Ok, so I've been making some progress on bench... not so much on shoulder press.  I think there's something off in my right shoulder.  If I pull my arm back too far while it's over my head, I get some serious sharp pain in there.  It doesn't really impact my workouts too much, but if the weight gets too far behind my head during the shoulder press, I instantly have to stop, pack up, and go home.  The next day it won't hurt, but it'll be tight when I move the arm too far back again.  It's part of the reason why I've been doing dumbell press more often lately, I can keep the weight just above my head much more easily, and it allows me to do the exercise easier.

Because I've been hitting the gym less frequently, last night I combined bench press and shoulder press into one session.  I also tried doing less sets and reps with higher weight.  Here's what I did.

11/22/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x9 (warmup)
135x6 (warmup)
185x3 - nailed this very easy
195x2 - worked very hard at that 2nd rep
185x3

Standing Shoulder Press - 3 shitty sets
45x8 (warmup)
115x3 - easy
125x2 - very very difficult
115x2

Reverse Curls (Triceps) - 2 sets
60x6
60x6
55x7

25 bodyweight dips


Overall, I'm happy with the bench.  Doing less volume allows me to increase the weight more.  Increasing the weight increases my muscle growth.  Shoulders, I felt some pain in there which really screwed me up.  I wanted to go heavier with less reps, but it just wasn't working.

Strangely enough, after the 25 dips I felt a huge tightness in my chest, like my breastplate needed to be cracked.  You know, the way you would crack your knee, or to a much lesser extent, your knuckles.  I've had that feeling before, but never as a result of anything at the gym.  And this time, it was much more hardcore.  The tightness was intense, and I was unable to crack it.  I felt it still when I woke up this morning, and today, while stretching, it finally cracked.  It definitely relieved most of the pressure, but I still feel it a little.  Weird.  I'm sure it'll go away though.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and that means football in the morning with friends and family.  I'm pumped.