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 Today I went to see Dr. Julie Brown for some Active Release Therapy. She gave me a thorough examination and explained that I had, indeed, torn my calf muscle yet again. She did say that the continuous tearing of that muscle is a symptom of other problems. Her examination included her looking at my range of motion at various parts of my body including my hips, shoulders, legs, arms and ankles. She explained that I have some residual issues from my back surgery that are causing me to have a restricted range of motion. It was a very interesting discussion because I'm very into stuff like this. Dr. Brown proceeded to give me some Active Release Therapy. Her stated objective is to get my range of motion back. She does this through a series of soft tissue movement based massage techniques. It was a very odd thing. For instance, she explained that my glutes are keeping me from maxing out on my squats. Basically, I am doing the form correctly (she checked) but because my glutes are way too tight they are not allowing my hamstrings to engage during the exercise. She had me lay on my side and found a very tender spot on my glutes. She had me do a very specific movement with my leg while pressing and manipulating the tender spot on my glutes. She slowly changed the location where she pressed and manipulated, having me repeat the leg motion over and over again. She had me do this on both sides. She then worked on my hamstrings, having me lay on my back and drape my leg over her arm and relax it. She then began pressing very hard into the hamstrings. They were so tight that it hurt alot, but as she continued the therapy I could feel my hammies loosening up. When the entire session was over I actually felt physically strange. I definitely noticed that my hips felt less stress in them. It was pretty amazing overall. I am going back for a few more sessions to restore my range of motion. She wants me to do some squats tomorrow to see if I am stronger, weaker or even more loose and relaxed. I will report back on that when the time comes. Bad News: Final Thought: |
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 Wow was today a big deadlift day or what? As I went into the gym I knew I was facing a brutal superset. On the way to the gym my mental attitude was not great but then I thought “Hell, you want to put on mass and deadlifts are awesome for that so just dig in and do the job man!” I walked into the gym and did my warm ups. After finishing warm ups I examined my training log. It always has my current day's goals on it. It stated “Deadlifts 320 lbs x 10 x 4” so I proceeded to load the bar with 375 lbs and thought “Go for it!” and go for it I did! I cranked out a set of 10 at 375 lbs and my lower back was simply on fire. I felt like someone had put a match to it. I went and did my lying hamstring curls and returned for another set of deads. I managed another 2 sets of 375 lbs x 10 reps. My final set was 375 lbs x 9 reps, but I really could not get the last rep off the ground. I can still feel my lower back as I write this. Go big or go home! Some affirmations for me: I have packed on pounds of muscle and feel great about myself. I have become a lean fat burning machine and continue to build muscle daily. My advice to you today is get into the gym and look at what your goals are (you do have goals when you hit the gym right?) and then push yourself to go beyond those goals even if only slightly. |
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 Goals are rules that are meant to be broken so get in there, set some goals and then do your thing to break every single goal you've set for yourself. |
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 How do you log your workout progress? Comment this post to answer the question. |
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Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING! |
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