Last night I went through a complete chest routine, typical of my in-cycle sessions: gradual warm up (12 reps at 135 lbs, 12 reps at 155 lbs, 10 reps at 185 lbs), 2 sets of 12 at 195 lbs on the flat bench, 2 sets of 12 at 175 lbs close-grip, then 2 sets of 12 at 145 lbs incline bench. My idea was to lift in the 60% intensity range for sets of 12 and give my right shoulder a feel the next day. Feels good. However, both shoulders, particularly my left, felt unstable yesterday evening, like my chest and front deltoids were contracted and pulling my shoulders forward unnaturally. So, before bed I did my rotator cuff excercises with more weight than usual, 10 lbs, for sets of 10 – 15. Both shoulders felt better immediately. Things feel a little loose today, some extra popping, but no pain.
Another thing I would like to work on is the pace at which I lift. For sets of 12, like what I was doing yesterday, I usually try to go real slow. And usually I end up almost flailing on the last few reps. Lately I’ve found that if I pick up the pace a bit I can sometimes find a momentum. I feel unstoppable when this happens, like this set has just become a foregone conclusion. A couple slow reps in the beginning, with pauses at the bottom, then gradually increasing the pace could be good for high rep sets.