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: Relocating to Here

After a week-ish of trying to keep both blogs updated I soon realized what a complete pain in the ass that is. And frankly an unnecessary one. Even though the goal was to keep this page for Creative and Wrestling related endeavors, there's no good reason to dismiss my Workout Reviews / Accountability recordings from this site.

Besides. It's good content for the algorithm. Buy my books and merch you filthy animals. Or sponsor me online to do more fitness challenges for a "man of a certain age" … being uh, Middle Aged.

So yeah, here's where I'll recap / show my workout log for recent efforts. Is it exciting? Probably only to me and a few people who wonder how I keep my body moving after 30 years of heavy impacts in and out of a 18x18 steel and plywood structure. If anyone has any questions about these, please leave'em in the comments or post'em to my socials. I'll answer anyone who's serious and tell the haters to bugger off (but like, less British-ly).

In short, I'm focusing on some higher reps, shorter rest breaks and really trying to concentrate on negative reps and stretches over the contraction. Obviously I've got a few LBs to trim from the midsection so I'm tracking the majority of my calories over a week to maintain a slight deficit and adding more lower impact cardio to my regular routine. I've been focusing on this pretty consistently for the past 3 weeks and have been pleased with early results. As always, the toughest thing is to not let my ego get in the way and insist on More Weight and fewer reps. I've had that kinda fun, but it's generally not productive for my body and goals at this point.

My regular split is modified after a Push / Pul l/ Legs ideology. A few years back this would've meant a 6 day turn around for me with only a pittance of a rest day. These days I am not as worried about that. If I end up only lifting 3x a week or every other day? Perfect. I'm hitting my muscles often enough to feel growth and progress while making sure I have enough time to recover - especially in a slight deficit. These days I feel that weakness and low energy in a big way so, I try my best to listen to my body and push it up to it's limits for that day, not what they used to be when I was 30 years old.

Anyways, here's my Push Day from Feb 18th at around 930PM - Shout out to Goodlife Fitness on Regent for their excellent staff and facility as usual.

Chest and Shoulders w/ Triceps
Peck Deck - "175" x 12, 12, 12, 12 (Trying for wide sweeping reps, lots of stretch)
Inc Smith Press - 205lb x 8, 8, 8, 5 (always humbling doing this 2nd, much better pump though)
DB Side Lat Raise - 30lb x 12, 12, 12, 12 (maybe add some more reps next week)
OHP Machine - "80" x 12, 90 x 12, 12 (still tough on my left shoulder joint, but glad to be doing these again)
Cable Side Lat Raise - "15" x 12, 12, 12 (terrific burnout, so humbling)
Rev Grip Tricep Extension - "50" x 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 (just pure stretch and pump)
30 Min Treadmill 3% incline, 2.6mph

Once upon a time I'd have disdained using so many machines. But these days, I find them so much more effective for my recovery and muscle development. Occasionally I may change it up and switch to a DB Press or a regular Barbell Press, but nothing feels quite the same as the ability to just push until I can't on the Smith Machine. That 4th set was a true fail, without the pins I'd have been in trouble.

Anyways, that was the lift. I don't know how regularly I'll post these but I do intend to bring them all under one blog, just for simplicity's sake. Maybe no one cares but me, but that's enough.

Reminder, Blaze Pro Wrestling's: No Regrets on Feb 28th in Winnipeg. Follow the link to get your advance tickets now. Our last show before X-Mas was completely sold out, so don't be stuck out in the cold. 

Visit my PWTees Shop for specific designs you can only find there. Also, if you want one of the special "30th ANNIVERSARY TEES" I have on order, hit the Comments or my DMs (easy now) to reserve your size. 

Don't forget about my BOOKS. I know that billionaires are ruining international relations right now, but the Amazon Author Groups do a fine job with my products. So please, order a copy. I'll be happy to sign it for you.

Okay, I'm out of words. Later.

AK