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. W...

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Getting Back on Tracks

In every life there are setbacks.

Some are forced upon us. More commonly they are self created. At least, more commonly for me I find.

Trying to distill the arguments and excuses away, trying to forgive myself for the things I've done or left undone ... It's a process. 

Part of that process for me has been re-evaluating how I look at my time in the gym. How i work on my personal fitness.

Over the past few years I realized just how heavily I relied upon "the gym" for my therapy. For my way of denying the truths about my hurts and anxieties. For just ignoring the things that were upsetting me and turning all of that discomfort into punishment once I walked through the gym doors at 5am, to flog myself until the endorphin rush and sweat quelled the worst of my feelings.

Lately though, I've come to realize that I've needed more than just the gym. I've needed Family. Love. Companionship. I've also needed self-respect, forgiveness and understanding.

Nothing is ever settled. And I'm still a work in progress. 

But part of the process has been in changing the way i look at my workouts. Listening to my body sure - but also listening to my brain and heart, to try and find out if I am Training for the Right Reasons.

Sure. I wanna be big and strong. Sure I wanna be lifting and clear headed into my 70s. Sure I wanna be healthy for my daughter as she grows up. And Sure, I wanna be fitter and leaner not just because it's good for my health but because I admit to wanting to feel less self-conscious about my body

But that last one really IS the last reason now. 

So... going forward I'm want to try and make this Blog more of a self accountability space. A place where I post about my workouts, maybe a picture here or there (for the almighty algorithm of course) but also focus on my REASON for lifting. 

Wish me luck. Feel free to like, comment or tell me to kick rocks.

AK




Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Everything Fat Loss by Ben Carpenter

 If you're not following Ben Carpenter online for fitness advice and thoughts then I promise you, you're missing out.

He promotes a "No Bullshit Approach" focusing on positivity and science based facts and figures in his methodology. And not only is this super refreshing in todays "Please buy my guaranteed 60lb weight loss or your money back program" industry, his content is also entertaining as hell to follow on IG and TikTok - if that's something you're into.

I just bought his new book "Everything Fat Loss" on Amazon and I can't wait to read this cover to cover. While I've been meaning to write more about my own journey and struggles in my War on Dad Bod I wanted to take a moment to share Mr. Carpenter's great work with you all.

Please check the link if you're interested. Follow the Man online. Share, RT. All the good stuff.


And yes, I've still been training hard and more. It's been a roller-coaster year for me but I'm finally at the point in my life where I am positive for my own future, setting my own goals and working towards them.

Watch this space :)


AK



Thursday, June 23, 2022

Summer 2022 Training Plan

Okay. Well now that summer is officially here I might as well go over how I've figured out my workout plan over the past few weeks  to get me through the sweltering Manitoba months so that I can be "Beach Body Ready" sometime in 2037.

Sighs.

In actuality I have made some adjustments as my body has responded to this last few months worth of hard training. After dabbling with the idea of going keto for a week and immediately feeling exhausted, weak and frankly unmotivated I believe that I've finally gotten over the belief that Keto is the only way my body responds to generate Fat Loss. As such I'm not doing anything super original here. I train hard, I try to stay in an average deficit of 300-500 calories a day with protein and fats being my main sources of intake. I limit my sugars. Lots of water and eat whole foods as much as possible (but I'm a sucker for popcorn in the evening with my daughter so ... just like 2 cups of that.)

And so far I seem to be making some quality Lean Gains. I feel my "Old Man Strength" kicking in. My arms, chest and back seem to be filling out nicely as my belly recedes. Most of my tee shirts and jeans fit a bit better again, and hopefully I won't look awful the next time I throw on the wrestling tights and step into the ring. Plus, my knee specialist took new x-rays of my osteo-arthritic knee and was effusive with his praise, saying that it looked markedly better than it did 3 years ago. "Whatever you're doing is working, so don't stop!"

Encouragement to say the least.

With that said, here's how I'm breaking down my workouts. I don't do a lot of variations in my exercises because I'd rather be boring and consistent than trying to constantly remember what I'm supposed to be doing on what day. The only changes I make come when it's the "heavy weights day" for Chest and Back or when the gym is just packed with Jobbers and I have to make do.

Regardless; here's the current breakdown.


June 22, 2022
DAY 1:BACK w BiCEPS

Close Grip Modified Press-down 4 x 10-12 warm up

Bent Over Barbell Row 8 + 8 + 6-8 + failure (increase weight each set, drop to starting weight for final set)

T-Bar Row 4 x 10

Meadows Row 3 x 10

Hammer grip Pull-down 3 x 10-12

Lat Press-down (superset w/ Barbell Curl) 3 x 20-25 for both

Rope Face Pull (superset w/ Rev Grip EZ Bar Curl) 3 x 20-25 for both


DAY 2: CHEST and SHOULDERS

Rotator Cuff DB Warm up, high rep / super light

Smith Machine Low Incline Bench  4 x 8-12

Smith Machine Low Decline Bench 4 x 10-12

Smith Machine Shrugs 4 x 15-20

Heavy Partial Side Lat Raise 4 x 15

Full Side Lat Raise 4 x 10-15

Peck Deck 4 x 15-20

Rear Delt Peck Deck 4 x 20-25


DAY 3: LEGS and CORE

Hamstring Curls  3 - 4 warm up sets to 8, 4 x 8-10 working sets

Stiff Leg Deadlifts 4 x 8-12 

Low Plate, Quad Focus Leg Press 3 x 15

High Plate, Wide Stance Leg Press 5 x 10

Low Back Hyper Extensions 3 x 15-20

Leg Raises 3 x 15-20

Decline Crunches 3 x 15-20


DAY 4:ARMS

Medium Handle Tricep Extension 4 x 15

Double Rope Tricep Extension 4 x 15

Barbell Curl (Increase weight on each set until I can't reach 10 reps)

BTH Incline Bench EZ Bar Extensions 4 x 12

Hammer Curls 4 x 12

Single Rope Tricep Extension 4 x 15

Dumbbell Curl Dropset to Failure



DAY 5: REPEAT LEGS AND CORE


Yes, that's right. Legs twice a week. I find that the more I train them the better they feel. And since I'm no longer trying to fit heavy squats into my regime (due to never quite getting the form to a safe for me place) and now that I'm making my hamstrings more of a priority that my legs as a whole are becoming thicker and stronger, even if I'm keeping the poundage to a moderate level. The only difference on a Lighter Back day would be switching the Bent over rows to a Smith Machine and keeping the weight consistent while upping the reps to 12 minimum, really feeling that pump.  And the Heavy Chest day is much more basic where I'd cut to a plain Flat Bench and work my way up to 315lb for 2 (1 rep isn't enough to count) just to keep my whole system used to being strong in that way too.

Obviously I also try to get 30 minutes of cardio in 4x a week depending on how my day looks. Either a slight incline treadmill walk or an elliptical. Nothing extreme, just enough to keep my heart pumping and to process everything. And while I do a core focus with Leg Days I also try to pick one core exercise to hit at the end of each workout, just so that it's always engaged and activated.

So yeah. Very exciting stuff. If you're into this kind of thing. Which, if you're reading it, I have to presume that you are.

Thanks for popping by. And remember, this workout is for ME. if you decide to try anything here, please consult a professional and don't come crying to me if you get hurt. 

AK