T Nation

Sore Triceps and Bench Press Day

Powerlifting
#1

My triceps are still pretty damn sore from a shoulder/tricep workout two days ago (Wed.) but my pecs feel like they are recovered from last Sundays Bench workout. Had a day off training yesterday. I want to do a Bench press day today. Should I wait one more day or feel it out. I hit everything once a week directly but dont have an set program because of work/life. but I get everything in at least once. So should I feel it out and see if they loosen up/ I just dont want to end up missing a lot of lifts today though, bad for the head.
Thanks
Tom

PS. Shoulders feel fine though and I use a medium grip with a fair amount of tricep involvement.
Thanks
Maybe this is a dumb question and I will just do it and grit it out today

#2

If you are unsure of how hard or how much to bench then I would recommend finding a program to suit your need of lifting once per week. You won’t have to guess what set/rep scheme you need to do and you can make adjustments as needed after completing a cycle. When you have an extra day to train, you can just do accessory work that you’ll still be able to recover from. I think it’s important that you have some consistency in your program. For example, dedicating every Monday for your bench program and not random days throughout the week. If you have any other days free, do accessory but not so much that you don’t feel good by Monday.

#3

[quote]smblkolds wrote:
I hit everything once a week directly but dont have an set program because of work/life.

Maybe this is a dumb question and I will just do it and grit it out today[/quote]

You should be fine if it’s just DOMS. If it is a niggle, not so much.

On a different note, I’d consider having some kind of goal. Ideally a long term goal with medium term goals along the way. There’s nothing wrong with not having a rigidly set program as such but knowing where you want to go is a pretty big part of getting there.

The follow on from that is knowing what will get you there best. So, you don’t need a program, although IMO 99.9% or people do better with one, even if it is super flexible.

Just for example, if your goal is a 700 lbs squat and you know your squat goes up when you squat twice a week adding weight every two weeks and do a bunch of GHR then squatting three times a week adding weight every week and doing a bunch of lunges won’t necessarily do you that much good.

So, especially if you’re busy, I’d highly recommend following a good program that fits your goals (I can virtually guarantee there’s one that’ll suit you on this site) otherwise you’re at a fairly high risk of spinning your weeks and wasting valuable time.

#4

I work odd shifts , days off change all the time. So I rotate max effort day and dynamic effort day depending on which days I feel rested, I don’t have to be 100% for my dynamic effort day. Maybe this the wrong attitude but it works out quite well for now.

#5

[quote]decimation wrote:
I work odd shifts , days off change all the time. So I rotate max effort day and dynamic effort day depending on which days I feel rested, I don’t have to be 100% for my dynamic effort day. Maybe this the wrong attitude but it works out quite well for now.[/quote]

No, that seems like a good approach. You’ve got a loose program, but you know exactly what you’re going to be doing on the day and I dare say you know where you’re going to go from day to day too.