Thoughts on "Early Fatherhood" and This Week's Training

Nothing really prepares you for being a dad. We're all (hopefully) taught through life that success is about good preparation. I feel especially strong about preparation due to my time in the fitness industry. To achieve optimal results, one should really have some type of plan/program to follow.  "Fail to plan and plan to fail". Otherwise you can expect mediocre results at best. You think Peyton Manning and Cam Newton are just going to "wing it" next Sunday?

Prepartaion, at least in early fatherhood, pretty much goes out the window. Babies are some of the most unpredictable beings that exist. I thought my wife was unpredictable. Then my son came along. "How are you hungry again?". "Are you ever going to sleep though the night?"

Fatherhood is an incredible, amazing experience. It's also pretty daunting.

Prior to Peyton's arrival, many told me parenthood was a "game changer" or "show stopper". Even those terms don't quite cut it. Your life truly isn't your own anymore. Simply leaving the house for a couple hours seems like a tall order. Don't even get me started on sleep. How did everything change so quickly? It's still early, but I'm learning you just roll with it and develop new routines and systems that work.

I find myself reflecting on my time as a trainer. Many of my clients were busy parents needing my sage advice.

I asked them to do what? "You really need to get 6 hours of exercise per week". "Track all your macros". Piece of cake right? Sure Matt.

I'm not saying its impossible, just a lot harder than I knew then. Now here I am in their shoes. Sleep deprived and irritable. Its even worse for Jodie. All the pumping and feedings have her pretty pooped. She is amazing.

Speaking of irritable I'm definitely not myself at times. Patience is at an all time low. My co-workers probably think I'm an asshole. Oh well. I think I get a pass on this one. Any  parent has gone through some degree of all this.

All this said, fatherhood is awesome. All the sacrifice and change is totally worth it. There is nothing like coming home to that little bundle of joy every day and seeing him smile.

I can't wait for what the future has in store.

Training Log

As previously mentioned, I take a very minimal approach to training as far as exercise selection in concerned. I have 1 hour max to train at the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays and train 1-2 days at home in my garage. I know what is going to yield maximum results for my time investment so I stick to that. If I spend 40 minutes in the squat rack I know that is time well spent rather than wasting time moving equipment around and changing stations. This is whats known as "training economically". I'm also get shit for sleep so my energy levels aren't exactly stellar.

Training in the garage has been fun because the minimal equipment has inspired me to try some new stuff like front levers, L-sits, handstand push ups and other gymnastic movements.

Sunday - Full Body

1A. Handstand holds - 3x60sec + 1 push up (I've found I really suck at handstand push ups. I can only do 2.)
1B. Front Levers - 3x10sec of shitty looking front levers. Definitely need some practice here.

2A. KB Swing - 60# x3x20
2B. Suspension Push Ups - 3x15

3A. Suspension Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (RFESS) - 3x15-20
3B. Chin Ups - 15, 10, 5

4A. Suspension Tricep Ext. - 3x10-15
4B. Toes to Bar - 3x10

5, 1-1-2 Hammer Curls - 1x however many I could do.

Tuesday - Lower Body

1. High Bar Squat (beltless)
2x10 @ 45
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x5
275x5
315x2x5
205x4x10

2. Prone Ham Hurl - 4x10
3. Abs & Calves

Thursday - Upper Body

1. Close Grip Bench
45x10
135x5
185x5
205x5
230x3x5
185x2x10

2A. Seated DB OH Press
50x2x10
50x12
2B. Neutral Chins - 3x10

3. 1 Arm DB Row - 100x2x10

4. Triceps & Abs

Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Its a...Post?

Yes, its a post. I'm still alive and well. I wasn't abducted by aliens....or was I?

It may come as no surprise that I've been extremely busy and focused on other matters over the last year or so. I've become a father, which is awesome, and the new career has been progressing well. With all the life changes I felt it best that I take a break from writing altogether.

Lately I've been doing some reflection and realized that I missed writing. I'm very introspective (aka I think a lot), so I find it therapeutic to put my thoughts to paper. The difference moving forward is this time, I want to focus more on writing about what I'm passionate about and less on being so informative. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy dropping the occasional knowledge bomb or two, but letting things flow more organically will be a good thing.

Obviously fitness is a huge part of who I am, but what else "floats my boat"? I'm a pretty simple guy, so the list is limited to family, good food, beer, sports and binge watching TV. So that's what I'll write about. More of a weekly journal/topic on my thoughts as a lifter, father, husband, and nerd included with my training journal. Then I'll go from there. Super simple.

Training

With all the new responsibilities and changes, my training has become very minimalist. Not that this was a huge change anyway. I've always found less is more. I'm currently perform 2 heavy training sessions/week in the gym and do GPP style workouts at home in the garage. I think most busy folks can and should train this way. You have plenty of time to recover so you don't feel beat up. There is also no time for bullshit exercises. As long as you show up and work hard, progress will still be made.

Tuesday - Lower Body

1. Deficit Deadlift (3") - 3x3 @ 375
2. Conventional Deadlift (touch & go) - 375x10
3. Front Squat - 4x10 @ 165

4A. Back Raise - 3x20
4B. Stir The Pot - 3x10 each way
5. Misc Calves

Thursday - Upper Body Focus

1. Slingshot Bench - 280x9, 280x(5, 3, cluster set)
2. DB Bench - 75x4x10

3A. Incline Chest Fly - 2x15
3B. Chins (various grips) - 3x10
4. Wide T-bar row - 2x12

5A. Hanging Straight Leg Raise - 3x15
5B. Reverse Curl - 2x15