Dodgin’ Dadbods: Fortitude Training

Training Logs
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UPDATE: Log contains: Upper Lower split, some 5/3/1, some random stuff, the 10,000 swing challenge, some DC-ish stuff (very briefly), triathlon training, a successful run of Building The Monolith with strict adherence to the diet recommendation, two back-to-back runs of Deep Water beginner program, stopped in the middle of a second run through the 10K KB swing workout after tweaking my hip, and now some WS4SB.

EDIT: Goals have changed drastically since I got back into lifting, started on an upper/lower split with assloads of volume and changed to 5/3/1 BBB midway through to regain strength. I’ll probably switch up my program after all my lifts plateau.

I started to diet 6 months ago, and lost 20 pounds. 24 hour fast one day a week, and the rest of the week is spinach/avocado/eggs/cottage cheese for breakfast, chicken/turkey/steak and veggies for lunch/dinner, nuts/fruits for snacks, and loaded protein shakes.

Today: conditioning

Tabata 20 sec work/10 sec rest and 2 exercises (exercise 1, rest, exercise 2, rest = one round)

8 rounds of alternating battle ropes and box jumps

8 rounds of alternating ab wheel rollouts and planks

8 rounds of alternating knees to elbows and prison push-ups

8 rounds of alternating crunches holding 2 25lb kettlebells above me and clean/press same kettlebells

1-2 min rest between each tabata workout

Finish with
100 slow crunches
10 min stair master, fast pace

Legs were sore from yesterday’s lower workout, definitely felt a little sluggish today, but powered through and left just pouring sweat from everywhere. Tomorrow’s upper day, and it’s kind of brutal. Early to bed tonight.

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Nutrition is big for me, and I do all the cooking for my family, so I’m a firm believer in healthy AND tasty - a lifestyle you can maintain. Figured I’d share some recipes for the adventurous eaters here. Tonight was Thai Chicken Soup, amaaaaazing.

2 chicken breasts
3 carrots
1 red pepper
1 red onion
Fresh ginger
Garlic
Shallot
Red curry paste
2 32oz cartons of chicken broth
Coconut Oil
Rice noodles (brown or white)
Sriracha
(Optional: avocado, green onions)

Cook chicken in a cup or two of broth on high in the crock pot til tender, shred with fork.

Use peeler in whole carrots - peel the outer layer off into the garbage, then keep peeling over the chopping board til there’s no more carrot and you have long thin slices
Very thinly slice a red pepper
Half red onion, sliced

Heat a pot of water for the rice noodles

Cook 2 tbsp coconut oil over med heat
Put peppers/carrots/onion in, soften but try not to brown too much

Add:
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp minced shallot
2 tbsp minced garlic

Sauté for a minute

Add 3 oz red curry paste and mix around

Add 6 cups chicken broth, cook for 10 mins and reduce heat to med-low

Boil rice noodles. As soon as they’re tender, drain in a collapsed and pour cold water over them to stop the cooking, let sit for a minute to dry.

Take a cup of the broth out and blend with one can of coconut milk, Return to soup.

Add chicken, noodles, and plenty of sriracha.

(Optional): avocado and sliced green onions on top

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I’m glad you rediscovered the gym… I’ll tag along for the journey.

Chicken soup looks and sounds great!

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That soup looks banging

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In for your log :facepunch:t2:

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Appreciate the follows, fellas.

Upper Day

Cable Crossovers
Warmup 40lbs (each handle) x20
4x12 70, 80, 90, 90
Max reps x40lbs

Incline DB Presses
Warmup 40x10, 60x10
4x8 75, 75, 80, 65
Max reps x40lbs, max reps underhand push-ups on knuckles

Weighted Pull-ups, slightly pronated wide neutral grip
Warmup BWx12
BW+25x5
BW+45x5
BW+70 x 2, 2, 2
Max BW - 15
Rest 2 min
Max BW with 2 second pause at top and bottom - 6

Decline DB Press

50lbs 3 sets max reps, super slow, rotate hands 180 degrees from bottom to top - 18, 14, 11

Hoist Mid-Row
Warmup 1 plate x 20
2 plates - 1 rest-pause set of 50 - 15, 12, 8, 5, 4, 3, 3

Cable lateral raises
Warmup lowest weight x 20 each arm
Next weight up (don’t remember poundage) 4x15
Finish with max seated lateral raises with 15s - 22

PJR Pullovers - BEST FUCKING TRICEP EXERCISE
70s - 4x15

Hammer Curls
4x8 each arm alternating 40, 45, 50, 35

21s with 50lb ez BB superset with max close grip knuckle pushups x3

3-way shoulder finishers on TRX

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Did legs yesterday.

Lower Day

Leg extension
4x20 170lbs

Hack Squat
1 plate x 20
2 plates x 20
3 plates x 15, 10 drop set to 2 plates x 12, drop to 1 plate x 30

DB RDLs superset with back ext
4x15 with 50s, 4x15 BW

One legged calf raises
4x15 each leg, 3 second eccentric with 2 second pause at bottom stretch position

Calf raise machine
120lbs max reps x 3

100 super narrow stance BW squats with no lockout (quad burn)

8 minutes of lunges (working way up to 10 mins)

The lunges suck.

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You might want to read the Dave Tate: Iron Evolution series installment where he talks about adopting bodybuilding style training after a long while powerlifting. It sounds like it may be useful after reading your intro post.

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Thank you, doing that now. Big DT fan.

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How many lunges is this?

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I honestly couldn’t even begin to estimate it. You have to go to a different place mentally and counting is not on my agenda. I just attempt to go full effort with as little rest as possible.

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Happy Easter all. Gym’s only open for 4 hours so I’m heading there soon. Up late last night hiding eggs all over the house for my kids (2 and 1 year old, so pretty much just for the 2 year old), plus was drinking 8.5 percent Belgian beers with my wife and I’m certainly feeling a bit cloudy but whatcha gonna do.

Here’s a delicious recipe for flank steak that I made last night.

Take 2 lbs flank steak, cut in half (usually 2 lbs of flank is too long to fit in a Tupperware for marinades), and make very shallow cuts perpendicular to the grain of the meat. For those who know flank steak, the fibers run horizontally across the meat, so I’m saying cut vertically, just to help the cooking process and let the marinade sink in.

Take 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup honey, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 1/2 tsp pepper and mix it all together, marinade the flank steak in this.

Sear the flank steak over medium high heat for 1.5-2 mins each side and then broil at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Take the rest of the marinade and strain it (pieces of fat and meat will be in there), and microwave it til the honey bubbles. Spoon over the steak while eating. I eat this dish with couscous (the near east brand), but white/brown/yellow rice all work. Also asparagus in that same marinade is awesome.

Alright, my post-pre-workout evacuation is finished, heading to the gym.

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Gym was packed. Took a full hour and a half to do my workout just from waiting for machines, and ended up just doing push-ups to keep my energy up during the long waits.

Cable Crossovers
Warmup with 40, 60x20
100x8x3
60x20x3
5 second static chest flexes in between every set

Incline DB Press
Warmup 40, 60x10
80x8
75x8x3
40x22, underhand knuckle pushups x28

Weighted Pull-ups
Warmup BWx12
+25x5
+45x5
+70x3, 2, 2
+45x6
BWx10x3

Decline DB Press superset with wide knuckle pushups
50x15x3, push-ups were 20, 12, 8

Mid Row
2 plates max reps x 3 (15, 12, 11)

Inverted Row max reps x 3

Land mine Lateral Raises just the bar x15x3

PJR Pullovers 75x3x12, 65x15

Hammer Curls
4x8 each arm 50, 50, 45, 35

Close Grip Push-ups superset with 21s

Thoughts: Landmine lateral raises are awesome. PJR pullovers continue to rip my triceps apart and the DOMS is always real. Also, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has ever hit my chest like cable crossovers. My chest feels everything I do, but nothing ever made it feel like it was going to explode like heavy crossovers. It’s funny, I’ve read so many articles about pre-exhausting muscles, but it took reading @eyedentist ‘s post about how he trains for me to implement it with the muscles I really want to grow. It’s humbling, since I want to throw up my 100s on DB incline but after six plus sets of crossovers the 75s feel like 120s, but the enormous swelling I get in my chest and the growth I’ve seen is unparalleled. Cheers for the inspiration eyedentist, it probably just took hearing it from a real person with real impressive results to make me drop the ego lifts, plus my move towards aesthetics over strength probably helped.

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Found ya. A marine, a dad who loves his kids, and an iron mind who eats great. I’m in buddy!

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Glad to have you man.

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I’m lurking as well. It seems I’m interacting more and more with the fellow dads and 35+ crowd. I’m still a year and a half away from 35 but I seem to relate more to the mature folks.

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Easter dinner appetizer: spicy fried pickles
Easy as pie, just get some Dave’s Spicy Pickle Chips (I prefer the Devils Spit kind, extra spicy) or whatever equivalent you can find, toss in flour, dip in egg, toss in bread crumbs,fry in EVOO until crispy, flipping once, and enjoy. Fuckin amazing, and I ate nothing but a Chicken breast with broccoli all day so I could enjoy lots of fatness tonight.

Main course is Cornish Hens stuffed with lemon and garlic in a white wine and garlic sauce with roasted gold potatoes and cream spinach. Will post pics of how it turns out, and it’s a bit of a process but I can post all the recipes if anyone’s interested.

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Leg Day

Leg Ext
Warmup 70x30
4x20 190, 170, 170, 130

Hack Squat
1 plate x20
2x20
3x18
1x20, 20

RDL
Warmup Bar x20, 95x15, 135x10
4x10 185, 205, 205, 135

Calves max reps with 120 superset with BW calf raises with 3 second hold in bottom stretch position, 4 sets

8 minutes of lunges

Was hurting but kind of pumped up, so did circuits of clapping pushups, burpees, and 25 yard bear crawls. Left pouring with sweat. I also tried counting the lunges and lost count around 120 or so, it’s definitely 160-180 range.

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Should be a fun log to follow. I too am trying to dodge the dadbod!

That’s some serious volume you are getting in!

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You remind me of another military guy that works out. @Alpha. He is a beast mode guy. Check his log or YouTube channel out…