Leg day, and the big question of how hard I should push it? Gentle and give my back more rest? A moderate push and risk re-injury with no gain? An all out smashfest and stop wasting time now that my back feels 100%?

Day: 41 of 77
Date: 21/06/2013
Workout Day: 28
Weight (lb): 160.2 (11.6 lb loss)
Body Fat %: 13.5 (3.1% loss)
Health: Fine 10/10

With my back now 100% I was confident I could go all out and get my leg workouts back on track. I know that rest is important for any injury but how much is enough? At what point is resting just wasting time and accomplishing nothing? I was determined to give the session a good go, but the potential damage of another injury was just too great for me to be blasé. So I spent a LOOOOONG time warming up. I performed 6×6 squats at 60% of 1RM, instead of the 80% I would ordinarily go for. To get to that point I performed 4 reps of 20kg, then upped it by 10kg increments, repeating 4 reps each time until I reached the working set weight. Hamstring curls were no problem, the same with leg extensions that I put in. The deadlifts were the dangerous one and for those I again took it very slowly, building up to the working set weight. Again this was about 50% of what I’d expect to ordinarily perform. I only performed 2 sets of 6 reps. They went absolutely fine, with no pain. I stopped at two sets as I thought any more would be pushing my luck.

By the end of the session I’d worked hard and suffered no pain, so with a few more gentle sessions I should be fully recovered. I’ll then be able to restart some of the other back and abdominal exercises.

Fat loss is going well, but the clock is ticking, and with 36 days left I need everything to go well, so I am super pleased that I’m back on form.