Who Needs Leg Day? Uh ... Well ...

I do. Me. I need Leg Day.

We all do.

However more than that I need to protect my pins and joints for a little bit here. 25 years of bumps, bruises, heavy lifting, questionable form and throwing around grown men for sport ... well ... I wanna give my legs a break for a bit.

Not that i'm not training them. Just that I'm switching it up. Focusing on more of a cardio x-trainer and stretching focus for a few weeks. Ideally I wanna do this 2x a week, but given life and schedule hitting this up even once a week is often a victory in itself.

So, how does the week sort itself out then?

In theory this is the way i want my split to roll over the next 4-6 weeks.

Back w/Biceps

Chest and Shoulders w/ Triceps

High Resistance X-Trainer for 45-60 minutes (with Core and focused stretching)

Biceps w/Back

Triceps w/Chest and Shoulders

High Resistance X-Trainer for 45-60 minutes (with Core and focused stretching) ((only if able))

 

So we'll see how this plays out. I'm enjoying getting to hit my whole body 2x a week, with different focus on the major muscle groups. I feel pretty confident that by the time I get to the end of November I'll be wanting to slide the sleeves back over my knees and get the quads, hammies and glutes all fired up again.

But for now ... a Happy Little Break.

Hah. Break.

Changing My Focus

This is different for everyone. So it should be. And in most cases, no reason is a BAD reason to get in shape. Even the dreaded "ego and vanity."

I mean, we all wanna look ourselves in the mirror and go "Yeah, I'm good with that."

For years (and still today, I am honest about it) I trained hard because I didn't wanna be a fat ass anymore. My words, and words said to me repeated over the course of my life. Low self esteem. Bullying. Bad eating habits, the whole shebang.

My story isn't new and I'm hardly a unique snowflake when it comes to this kind of a childhood and upbringing in school. But the truth is the truth.

No matter how hard I train, no matter how strictly I diet: when I look in the mirror all I ever see is the short, stumpy, pimply faced teenager who was regularly bullied and more by kids at school.

No scale, BF% or actual evidence of different stages of my life where I was CLEARLY fit and in shape will ever change that perception I have of myself.

And for decades that has been the driving force behind my workouts. Gotta look better. Gotta be fitter. Can't look like crap in my wrestling gear. Gotta keep up with these kids who're supreme athletes.

Y'know what? 

That shit is exhausting. And beyond detrimental to my physical and mental well being.

So... I gotta change my focus.

My focus just turned 10 years old.

She's a few years away from high school. Puberty isn't far off either. She's inherited the size and strength of her parents as well as some of her father's insecurities.

So ... This is where everything changes.

For the rest of her life my goal is to be as fit as I can be without berating or belittling myself in front of her. Because the best example I can set for her as a parent isn't just "Lets eat reasonably healthy, stay active and have fun!" My example has to be, "I am happy with who I am, even while I'm trying to be better."

Because life is hard enough. Teenagers suck at the best of times. But I will do my damnedest to arm that little girl with the mental strength and sense of self worth to hold the bullies and insecure ass-hats at bay.

And if all that fails, her Big Daddy is gonna be there to hold her and scare the bejesus out of any one who does her wrong.

AK

Adjusting My Method- Fall 2023 Training Plan

So as I head into my late 40s and am re-evaluating how I've spent the last few years training (Pandemic Times included) I've started to realize how real "over training" really is. And how ineffective (for ME) going in and attempting a "Bro Split - different Body Part each day" program really is. Not only do I find that it eats up a truck load of my time, I just don't find it to be as rewarding or provide any true strength gains.

Which makes sense. I'm a grown assed man with grown assed responsibilities - aka , a Day Job and a daughter. So trying to squeeze in that much volume in 45-60 minutes 5x a week is not only problematic scheduling wise, it can be hard to properly recover from without going too long between body parts over the course of a week.

As such, I've really started taking a true Less is More philosophy since the beginning of August and have found that it's been much more rewarding for me. Note - I don't train with any less intensity or effort, I just try to focus my efforts to be more in line with maximizing my time and recovery. By splitting my workouts from 5-6 days a week to a 2 Day lifting / 1 Day cardio and core I am now able to hit my whole body twice a week if I choose to, leaving me with enough recovery time to be feeling and making strength / endurance gains.

As such, here's how things currently look:

DAY 1 - Back with Biceps

DAY 2 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

DAY 3 - High Resistance X-Trainer Cardio

Yeah, Yeah - "Don't Skip Leg day, Bruh." I get it. And bring it on. In truth this is just my plan for the next 6 weeks at which point i will re-evaluate. However I have been finding that my legs (and more importantly me KNEES) have been responding well to the up tick in cardiovascular training on the X-Trainers. Having some time to save them from taking a pounding is good for not only for the pins, but my heart and lungs well. Because no matter how much I say "I need to do more cardio" having a day where that's the only thing on the agenda really helps.

The lifting philosophy is pretty simple on the Resistance Training Days. After warm ups I move onto my biggest exercise and work my way up to where I top out between 6-8 reps. If it takes 5 sets, it takes 5 sets. If it takes more then even better. I usually follow it up with a secondary lift, something a bit more isolated and then finish with a superset of some kind, just to burn out and feel solid. I don't stress so much about the specific exercise. Sometimes the gyms are packed and I have to adjust, and that's fine. The goal is to be consistent with the effort and plan, not necessarily to do the exact same thing every time. This also helps things feel fresh for me, so I don't feel as stagnant when I walk into the weight pit.

A Sample Back / Biceps day looks something like this:

Cable Pressdowns / Rear Delt rows to warm up

Bent Over Barbell Row 5-6 Working sets

Meadows Row 4-5 working sets

Lat Pulldowns 3-4 sets, superset with DB Curls

Spider Curls 3-4 sets, superset with Lat Pressdown 

Overall, I wanna be in and out of the gym feeling pumped and pooped in about 45 minutes. Any longer then that I start to feel fatigued and like the reps aren't as effective.

Give this method a try if you're looking to change things up. I've noticed some good size and strength gains in just the few weeks I've been doing this. Hopefully you enjoy.

AK