Interesting Opportunities, Trainees Progressing, War on Dad Blog Continues

Here's where I'm not sure what to say that doesn't sound like a "look at me, I have news and can't tell

#VaguePosting

you yet" kind of thing. But , well... Fingers crossed that the email exchange I've been having the last week or so with an event coordinator will be giving me more opportunity to plug the "Reading" aspect of this blog's title. I've always tried to be the kind of person to under promise and over deliver and keep potential opportunities close to the vest to avoid disappointments, however: I feel pretty good about this one.

Regardless, when it becomes official, I'll be sure to hashtag-humble-brag all about it. And in the event that it falls through, I'll talk about it anyways and why I was excited.

Still, could be very cool. Plus, it's even more incentive to get more diligent with my book-writing stuff (not that this blog isn't cool et all.)

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Get Up Drills

Last night at the Blaze Pro Wrestling Centre we had a very good session. I've not been able to attend as many recently as I've been able to in the recent past, which sucks because I very much like getting in the ring, sharing knowledge and pushing myself - as I may have stated a time or 12 in previous blog posts. 

This session was interesting for a number of reasons. A good number of our trainees are really coming into their own which is honestly, super gratifying to see. While we had a group last night of members at varying levels of proficiency - every one of them has shown marked improvement in the past few weeks alone. 

It really is amazing to see the light bulb beginning to go off behind their eyes as what once seemed a completely foreign idea is now just becoming another tool in the toolbox.

Sure. More work to do. For me too - this old man ain't exactly in fighting shape these days. However, for any one of the BPW crew reading this - I meant every word last night. You're doing great, and you're only going to get better if you keep working as hard as you are.

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And speaking of hard work. No gym last night since I was in ring coaching the "kids" instead. And while I didn't get as physical as I normally do, that's probably a good thing. The change up I've made to my resistance training has been very effective and I've been feeling the difference in my muscles - even if it looks no different from the outside. As such, making sure I've got adequate rest between lifts really is a good thing. these old joints ain't getting any more flexible sadly.

April 8, 2025
Shoulders w/Chest and Triceps

Mach OHP - 60 x 10, 80 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 10, 130 x 10, 140 x 10, 150(rack) x 7,6 (a big achievement for me - I've been avoiding OHP for years due to joint pain)
Smith Low Incline Press - 205 x 6, 8, 7, 5, 5 (prev exercise wore me out, next time start lower)
DB Upright Row - 40lb x 15, 15, 15
DB Side Lat Raise - 30lb x 15, 15, 15
Rev Grip Tricep Ext - 50 x 15, 60 x 15, 70 x 15
Tricep Extension - 70 x 15, 15, 15
Peck Fly - 160 x 15, 15, 15

Terrific pump after this. A bit lower volume on the chest on purpose. I really want to try and bring my shoulders back into focus as I feel like they've been neglected a lot recently. So, this so far feels like it's working pretty great.

While I didn't do any focused cardio after that session I justified it with all of the personal item sorting, box moving and home prepping I've been doing lately. Yay real Estate game. Worth it, but still... 

If anyone cares I have a few other items for sale up on Marketplace. I'll understand if said items are too geeky for you and you want to shame me for even having these items. But they've given me so much enjoyment over the years and I'm happy to pass them along to new folks should they desire.

More to come when I have more to say.

AK

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War on Dad Blog: Tweaked for Preference

Just because I haven't logged it for a few days, here's a very exciting redux of my last 3 workouts and some reasoning behind the tweaks I've made to the "program" I posted about 2 weeks ago.

Don't get me wrong, SuperSets are fun and challenging. But the way I had my program listed previous I found wasn't letting me hit everything as consistently or as effectively as I'd like. And while the old fashion Chest / Back Day idea that Schwarzenegger made famous is challenging as hell, I was finding that all I was really doing was wearing myself down and getting a barely half assed pump on all fronts. Plus, my Delts have been feeling neglected.

And yes, that reads back and sounds silly. But the fact is, how I'm Feeling about my workouts is important. If I don't feel like they're working for me, then I don't wanna do 'em. We as people have more than enough things that we do in life that we gotta do whether we want to or not. The Gym HAS to be something I wanna do, otherwise it just becomes one more chore in my day.

I got enough chores. Working on bettering myself mentally and physically is not allowed to be one of them. Not anymore.

As such, I've switched Back and Biceps, re-pairing them together on one day. I will switch which muscle group takes the priority when I get to this day, but that's fine. These groups pair together much more naturally, working in tandem. That let me put Shoulders and Chest together again, but this time with a real focus on the Delts.  My shoulders have always been lagging for my liking and I want to bring them up. Plus I no longer have any interest in getting back in the "315lb Club" on the bench, so focusing on more moderate weights and complementing the shoulders is how it's gonna be for a time.

While it's too early to tell if this is better/worse for me progress wise, there's no doubt that I've enjoyed them much more than the previous lifts. Which means I'll keep putting in the work.

March 28, 2025

Back w/Biceps
Hammer Grip Pulldowns - 160 x 8, 180 x 8, 200 x 8, 220 x 8, 240 x7, 260 x 4, 3 (was feeling good, wanted to Learn My Limit)
Close Grip Pulldown - 160 x 10, 180 x 10, 10, 10 (last reps of 3rd set were brutal hard)
Bentover Row - 225lb x 8, 285lb x 6, 305lb x 3x 225lb x 10, 10
Meadows Row - 90lb x 8, 8, 8
SuperSets:
Lat Press Down - 50 x 10, 10, 10, 20, 20 (I was being a wuss and pushed final 2 sets)
DB Curls - 25x 10, 35 x 10, 45 x 10, 50 x 6, 6, 6, 40 x 13
Cardio - Shoveled out 2 Households from late MB winter fun - took about an hour or so all told, and a 45 minute dog walk


March 30, 2025
Shoulders w/Chest

SuperSet 1:  
Cable FacePull - 50 x15, 60 x 15, 70 x 15, 80 x 15, 90 x 13, 11
Cable Peck Fly - 50 x 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

SuperSet 2 :
Incline Smith Press - 205 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Upright Row - 40lb x 10, 45lb x 10, 50lb x 9, 40lb x13

SuperSet 3:
Smith Shrugs- 205 x 12, 12, 12, 12
DB Side Lat Raise - 30lb x 15, 15, 12, 12

Cable Side Lat raise - 20 x 10, 10, 10
Tricep Rope Extension - 50 x 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

No cardio specific today save for hauling parts around at work both by hand and otherwise. After I wake up I'm planning on either ring training or  specific gym session. We'll see how things play out tonight.

But yeah. That's my exciting last few days. Good ones to be sure. More actual thoughts and updates and more coming soon. Ish.

AK

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