Weight Loss Journal: October 22nd and 23rd

Time got away from me over the past couple of days and I never got around to doing a Weight Loss Journal entry for October 22nd. I’ll just go ahead and bundle it in with October 23rd so that I don’t have to double-post today.

Thursday – October 22nd:
Thursday was the first day that I woke up pain free. There was the slightest touch of stiffness in my back but I felt wonderful. The day was just like any other Thursday – I put in a work-day from home then prepped for exercise that evening.

I was tempted to go over to the gym to get in a little cardio before personal training but I was busy and just wound up not having enough time. When I arrived to meet the personal trainer he had some changes in mind for this weeks session. Knowing that I was having trouble with my back (I had to cancel the session last week) he set up the session to be cardio based without including anything that would be high-impact with side to side to movements.

Even without the high impact hopping and jumping, I wound up burning upwards of 500 calories (I forgot to switch my Fitbit over to Activity Mode until about 15 minutes into the session). I left feeling like I got a great workout and rounded out the evening with a protein shake (which my wife had ready for me as I walked in the door. How awesome is that?!).

Friday – October 23rd:
When I woke up on Friday I felt pretty good. Not as good as I did on Thursday but there was no pain. Just a little stiffness. Before leaving for work I cooked my usual breakfast. 8oz of Egg-Whites topped with black pepper and Cheddar Jack Cheese with a side of Turkey Bacon (2.5 slices). The whole thing comes in at 331 Calories with 39 grams of Protein.

After work I made my way to the gym and very carefully began my back routine. I started off with the Standing Press, which I think is where my back pain may have come from. Instead of trying to press the weight I normally use, I dropped the weight and increased the number of reps (Instead of 135 for 5 I went with 95 for 12)

I also dropped the weight on the Deadlift. Instead of working up to 365 for 5, I stopped at 225 and did 3 sets of 8. Still being slightly sore from my leg workout, it was eye opening when I felt the burn in my glutes and hamstrings, as well as my lower back.

I’ve been watching a lot of Kai Greene videos as of late (some older Train with Kai features) and dropped the weight on several of my other exercises to focus on form and squeezing the target muscle. It made a world of difference on the pull-down exercises I performed and I think I’ll be focusing on more of that type of training in other areas of my routine.

I really can’t stress how good it feels to be exercising after a week off. Next week is going to be brutal thought. My last personal training session is supposed to be intense and I have to run a 10k (which I haven’t been training for – first because of Achilles Tendonitis and then the issue with my back).