Back Day

So here's a sample of what BACK Days look like for me. Again - not a doctor / physiologist / personal trainer. If you choose to follow and try my workouts, do so at your own risk.

Lat activation Warm Up, 4 sets 8-12

Bent Over Row (standard grip, slightly wider hands today)

1 warm up

225 x 8

245 x 8

265 x 8

225 x 14 (fail)

Dumbbell Row

100lb x 12 x 12

Meadows Row

90lb x 10 x 10

High angle Hammer Mach pulldown

"90" x 12

"100" x 12

Lat Pulldowns

"200" 10 x 10 x 10

Face Pulls / DB Curls to finish

3 supersets to failure

Back Hyperextensions

3 x 15

30 minutes incline walk 

Not that long ago I'd try to grind out 4 big sets per exercise but honestly now that I'm better at activating my lats during the warm-up phase I find that I'm almost cooked just finishing the Bent Over Barbells. As such, 2 good sets at different angles / motions really seems to get the blood rushing proving the "quality of set" is definitely better than the "quantity of set" for me.

Plus, rear delts need to happen every upper body day now. Good for posture and balancing my spine.

AK

Workout Plan Spring 2022

So for the next couple of weeks I'm training a bit differently than I usually have in the past in a process sense even if the muscle groupings stay pretty similar. The focus for me (and like everyone I figure) is working towards increasing my lean muscle mass, improving my cardiovascular endurance, trimming a few pounds from the midsection while not putting any extra strain on my knees and other joints.

As such over the past few months I've been incorporating more machine exercises than ever before to let me really focus on the muscle groups, make that mental connection and getting a true feel for the fibres as I work with them towards my goals.

RIP John Meadows

While I'm not sure I'm not sure I'm totally there yet with every group it's time to move forward and push the effort.

Now traditionally I've always been a big believer in the "Bro Philosophy" of hitting my big compound lifts first while you're freshest to get the most out of them weight wise after watching a lot of videos from experts of a certain age I'm no longer sure just how true that theory is. And speaking from past experience while
benching over 315lb is cool I'm not sure it's any more impressive than doing 10 sets of 10 at 225lb (which I've done and boy... that's a killer.)

So the idea going forward is to focus on more extensive warm up sets. The late John Meadows talked a lot in his videos about the importance of a "Hard 8 Rep Range while leaving stuff in the tank." Now obviously he also spoke a bunch about the importance of going to failure and really pushing yourself, but that was always at the end, when you've hit those muscles from all the angles and you've gotten a good feel for where you're at. At least this is what I've been taking away from his work.

Going forward my workout days are compound splits where I will work the areas in question in a light but progressive manner, making sure the muscles and the joints are ready to fire properly before going to my compound lifts and really pushing things. As such I might not be able to get as much weight on those lifts for as many reps as I'd like, but the focus is to have more QUALITY REPS from this approach than just sheer volume.

Oh and a minimum of 20 Minutes cardio every day depending on energy levels and scheduling. Anything from a low incline treadmill walk to the Ellipticals so long as I get my heart up and have the sweat flow.

Lets see how it goes.

BREAKDOWN

Back (w/Biceps)

Chest and Shoulders

Legs

Biceps (w/ Back)

Triceps (w/chest and shoulders)

Legs

So yeah. That's a 6 day a week plan. Either a rest day in the middle or at the end. I'm a big believer in consistency and can't stand missing days. The more effort I put out the happier I am mentally and physically. 

After each day I'll make a post on the IG (warondadblog) and will try to break down the workout here for posterirties' sake.

Thanks.

AK

Introduction to the War on Dad Blog

Hey.

So basically this is me writing down my ideas for health and fitness since writing is really all I do when we cut right to the chase. While I may do many different kinds of things at my core I'm a writer first. Whether anyone reads this or not... well, here it is.

Notes and Disclaimers: I am NOT a nutritionist, doctor, kinesiologist, personal trainer or anyone you should come to looking for expert advice. 

What I am is a man who was born in the late 1970's that still wants to be physical and healthy for as long as possible. I have a little girl who loves her daddy very much and I intend to be vital and active for her until she doesn't need me anymore. 

And if along the way I get back into "pro wrestler shape" and can get a few likes on the 'gram, fine. That's honestly secondary.

If you are looking for some expert advice on all things fitness, here are a few vloggers / experts that I follow and recommend:

• Jeff Cavaliere owner and operator of ATHLEAN-X.com
• The late John Meadows (his team and family maintain his socials and regularly re-edit old videos and content since his untimely passing last fall)
• Yoga With Adriene - yes I know, I don't look like a Yoga Enthusiast. And while I don't practice as much as I should when I do I go to Adriene's channel on YouTube. Please check her videos out. They range in length depending on how much or how little time you have to focus on your breathing and flexibility

As for me, I'm working on getting back down into the 260lb range. I'm still about 6'5" depending on my spinal flexion that day and am genetically prone to being chunky. Being lean has never really been easy for me. Also I'm a bit of a food addict and have a difficult time with things like "moderation" or "putting too much pasta on my plate" or "yes, I would like another Costco sized bag of Doritos."

Sighs.

Summer 2010

    I've tried just about everything as far as weight loss meal plans and had the most success with keto but the rebound and shakiness I got from staying carb free for months at a time was ridiculous. Now my biggest focus with Nutrition is simply getting 10 servings of vegetables a day into me, whatever form that comes in. Lots of food processing and smoothies if nothing else. Now more than ever I need those nutrients. I do my best to stay low carb-ish, limiting the amount of refined sugars and straight breads / pastas I jam in my pie hole. Low calorie salted popcorn has become my go-to when I have the evening munchies but even that I probably don't need more than 2 cups of before bed.

March 12, 2022

Resistance training is my jam. I like to get about 45-60 minutes of moderate-heavy weight training in between 4 and 6 days a week depending on my schedule. But, I have a daughter. So... shit happens and we gotta roll with the punches. But yeah, weights followed by a medium pace cardio session to cool down while keeping the heart rate in a fat burning zone is the goal. I also have a PreCor XTrainer at home and about 120lbs of weights that I try to use a few times a week to get an extra sweat as needed or if I'm snowed in and can't make it to the gym proper. 

Hopefully I haven't bored the crap out of you but I wanted to start this blog off on the right foot. Next post I'll write out the current weight training "plan" I'm following for anyone who cares to see it. And after that we'll see. I'll update this page when I've got something to add, though odds are if you have me on IG (@warondadblog) you'll see when I'm sweating and how much progress I am or am not making.

Thanks for the time. Now get after it.

AK