January 28, 2010

I had a great training session today! I actually decided at the last minute to train chest/tri and calves today. I normally don't do chest right after a shoulder day since I am using the same muscle groups, but even with all that heavy lifting yesterday, I felt like I could still make good use of them again today. I was right!

I did flat bench with 235lbs for 7 reps which I believe is another record for me! The highest I did before was 6 reps. It's great seeing progress! I also did some dips with 90lbs for 18 reps and heavy calves up to 205lbs on the seated calf machine.

I also spent 1 hour stretching this evening. I think I am starting to see some progress with my flexibility. It's getting easier and easier every time I use the new stretching machines. I was able to get the hamstring stretcher to 90° on the 3rd try with my knee only slightly bent. I was also able to get the hip flexor stretch machine up to 56°.

While I was stretching my glutes (by hugging my knee into my chest), I noticed the tightness in my lower back the most. I think my glutes are pulling on my lower back. This of course makes a lot of sense considering how many lunges I normally do. I suppose I need to really stretch my glutes out a lot more to help relieve that lower back tension. It's great to finally see why I have been in such pain for so long. With a bit more consistency, I think I might the chronic tightness will hopefully be less chronic.

Here is my log for today, you will notice I ate a lot! My weight this morning was 215lbs. So, it actually went down 1.5lbs today. I suppose that's why my appetite was really up today. Hopefully tomorrow, I see some more weight.