Ain't As Good As I Once Was

But in the words of the late Toby Keith, "I'm as Good ONCE as I Ever Was."

At least, that's the goal every time I step into the ring to work with the Blaze Pro Wrestling trainees, to try and offer some wisdom, have a few laughs and to challenge them to be better than they were the day before.

It's a struggle. It's a damned struggle every day.

Not to make this a "woe is me" but I'm tired. I'm sore. And life is a busy one atm. 

But there are still things I want to pursue, in the ring and out. So committing time every week to work with these kids is both good for them (hopefully) as they get to pick my brain and maybe learn a thing or three; and good for ME to realize that I can still do a lot of the things I used to do even if I have to make some modifications along the way.

Plus. It's incentivizing. Makes me want to do more.

The next few BPW events are going to be interesting (fingers crossed) and I want to be as close to at my best as I can be. The crowds deserve that. And frankly, my ego has a hard time being less than I can be. Nothing wrong with a bit of ego driven incentive - so long as one can acknowledge it properly and not let it dominate the thoughts and actions.

After that. Who knows? My outside of the ring schedule is a bit of a shit show, but I'm always open to more opportunities in other markets. It's clear that the local scene is flooded with talent (?) so I'm beyond grateful for the place I have working with BPW. 

But ain't nobody ever gonna tell me that the Outlaw ain't able to deliver for crowds all across the Commonwealth.

But since "Mr Manitoba" Brenden Collins reminded me of it, I'd like to provide this link to a much younger Adam Knight, back when "you really could move, man!" I'll never be this kid again, but I guarantee I can still bring it.

Until 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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War on Dad Blog update

Short and Sweet, today.

Chest / Back w/Shoulders
Mar 15/2025

SuperSet #1
Flat Barbell Press - 205lb x 10, 8, 8 (after 4 warm ups. S/S w/Rows)
T-Bar Row - 3.5 plates x 10, 10, 10 (2 Warm Ups, 5 total sets at this weight, big stretch)
SuperSet #2
Meadows Row - 2 Plates x 8, 8, 8 (could've done more reps, but focus on stretch/squeeze, S/S w/next)
Side Lat Raise - 30lb x 12, 12, 12 (left Shoulder ow, worked through, heart racing by end)
SuperSet #3
Incline Smith Press - 1.5 Plates x 12, 12, 12 (nice pump by the end)
Side Lat Raise - 30lb x 12, 12, 12 (Yes, 6 sets total side lats, keeping this simple)
SuperSet #4
Lat Pulldown - 160 x 12, 12, 12 (just to finish and wear out the lats)
Incline SitUps - 15, 15, 15 (been awhile, felt good)

A fella forgets how much work it is to SuperSet everything. Going during an off hour is basically mandatory given how much switching from exercises can be a Pain in the Ass if theres a crowd. Thankfully, the "shoot job gym" is usually empty by 1030pm. Nice pump all over. And good to push myself in this way. Been a while. Looking forward to a cardio only day tomorrow (he says anticipating that he'll still train legs).

A busy few days without training as I dealt with some family obligations and other stuff. Lots of dog walking which is both good and bad. The damned side walks are icy as the dickens and my silly dog likes to yank un expectedly, which makes it hard to balance on all that ice. Aching knees et all.

Yeah yeah… old man problems.

But a nice change to the workouts. While I don't think I'll ever go back to the perpetual drop set training I used to do back in my early 30s, this is a nice compromise - letting me push myself, keep my HR up at a good clip and still move a moderate amount of iron.

Cool.

I'll have more insightful stuff to say / plug soon.

AK

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Time to Change Up the Workouts - Trying to Make the Old, New Again

After about 2 months of the routines that I've been doing  I realized that I've been getting pretty bored which isn't super uncommon for me. I've been making some small progression thankfully, but at the same time I think I want to focus on something more simplified.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good bro split as much as the next Gym-Bro. I'm just feeling stagnant. And heavy.

Being a Superheavyweight is cool and all, but making sure I can wrestle for longer then 10 minutes without getting thoroughly winded has to be my priority. And like - longevity and overall health, naturally. My nutrition hasn't been terrible and I am clearly losing some "lb's" from around the ole' midsection, but I would like to see if I can ramp things up a bit.

Now, this isn't just change for changes' sake. In fact, most recent studies show the benefit of consistency. Of staying the course. How else can one make strength gains if you aren't keeping with the staples and sticking to them with progressive overload?

And of course, those studies are completely right.

However, I'm not interested in making any more strength gains. At the risk of ego - I'm plenty strong. Ain't nobody looking at me and thinking "This guys some pencil necked geek." 

But even if they do think that - If you think that  -  Get fucked. I don't care what you think.

One thing I've always prided myself on as wrestler was being able to keep step with anybody in the ring. ANYbody. Never mind being 6'4"-plus and north of 260 pounds (ah, the skinny me days) my greatest ability was that I could step nose to nose with anyone and match them in that ring.

These days after putting the Blaze Pro rookies through some "Johnny Devine inspired" blow-up drills, I am well aware just how much of a step I have lost in that regard.

So. Time to make the change. 

All workouts going forward will be simplified to an Upper Body / Lower Body day, separated by a cardio / mobility exclusive day in between. This might change from session to session depending on equipment availability, gym location and my overall recovery.

In theory I see the split looking like this:

1) Chest / Back w/Shoulders 
2) Cardio / Mobility / Stretching Day
3) Legs and Core
4) Cardio / Mobility / Stretching Day
5) Triceps / Biceps w/Shoulders
6) Cardio / Mobility / Stretching Day
7) Legs and Core

And repeat.

Yeah, writing it out like that looks like a lot. And obviously I don't think I'll actually be training 7 Times a Week anymore. But breaking it up like this will ideally give my muscle groups a real chance to recover.  Leg Days won't look too much different than they do now. Still primarily a machine focus since that's where I've noticed the most consistent growth and stability. On the upper body days, the Push/Pull portions will be done as SuperSets - just to save time and keep the body moving>

So, if you've made it this far in the blog without rolling your eyes, clearly you're a dear friend, follower or one of the current trainees ;)

Either way; Thanks - or you're Welcome.

More writing soon. I've been revisiting all of my OverDrive writings and am getting back into that headspace to tell more of Joe's adventures. I've put reminders onto my digital calendar to act as deadlines for the 4th book. Which is both way overdue and hopefully as fun to write as I think it will be to read.

Back in the ring Monday evening. Wasn't able to work with the Blaze Pro Trainees on Wednesday night, but if any of them are reading this here's your homework for the weekend: Log onto NETFLIX and watch the NXT Main Event. Vacquer and Guilia had an excellent bout and made practical use of many of the drills we've been working on lately in their match. Give it a go.

SHIRTS and BOOKS and MORE always available. Just hit the links and we'll get you what you need. 

Later,

AK