Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Oh my aching back!

Okay, so it has been a long time since I posted anything. Right now I'm laid up with a bad back. Luckily it is not too serious, only over-training on my legs.

About 6 weeks ago, my wife and I joined a gym, Firehouse Fitness. It has been great. We've made lots of new friends, and the trainer "prods some serious buttocks". So far I've lost about 20 pounds. I've taken about 2 inches off the circumference of my chest, and slightly less off of my waist. The real difference has been, for lack of a better word, the density of my muscles. According to this body fat analyzer, my body fat has decreased by about 10%. Not too bad.

This brings us to my current predicament. One of the main focuses of our training is squats, lunges, burpees, hop touches, etc. When I went to the gym on Monday we had a cardio day, which included a lot of functional exercises focusing on squats, and kicks. To end the workout we did a squat burnout. During our second 90 second squat my legs cramped. I stretched out, and left not thinking much about it. By the time I got home my back was killing me. I've found that I can relieve the pressure on my back by massaging my hip joints. The doctor this morning basically told me to pull back a little on the lower body (he doesn't want me to stop going to the gym), and he has me going to the physical therapist to get some exercises to help tighten my core up, and make my body work better together. He thinks in the next few weeks I should see this pain go away.

Anyone who wants a great workout, come to Firehouse Fitness on any Saturday morning. Our trainer offers free workouts on Saturdays. (I know that sounds like an ad, but I just really like the gym. I have not been given any reimbursement for this plug, but am open to that idea!)

I'll keep you posted on my progress.