From research I've read from H.I.T advocates Bryzki and Ken Mannie you may (just like you said) be doing far too many sets of triceps that it could in fact be counter productive. Maybe take a look at the concept of H.I.T training. This type of training really focuses on taking a muscle to true...
I also herniated a disc while playing collegiate football. I had surgery on it in February and wasn't able to do any lifting what so ever until the beginning of May. This was difficult for me because you can probably relate, it's hard to go from being very active then held up by injury. Since...