CSD StrongDad Program | Furious Fathering

CSD StrongDad Program: Holiday Season Mad Crush Journal – Dec 2, 2013 – “Pop On More Weight, I Wanna BEat Em!”

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Food does the body good!

The holiday calories (actually more the quality than the quantity) continued to be atrocious through Sunday. Looking at my schedule for the next week, I knew I’d have to hit the gym for a rare Monday appearance. Personally, I think anyone who is serious about training should look a week or more out in advance to determine when they can train. Many fail right off the rip taking the one-day-at-a-time approach. Then as soon as something gets thrown into the schedule, “Oh, I couldn’t workout today because I was too busy…”. Then one day missed becomes, “I’m going to start getting back into it next Monday.” Then it’s, “next month”, then it’s “Jan. 1st!”

But I digress…

I wasn’t able to secure the power rack during primetime, so that meant I had to settle for the 45-degree leg press instead of Zercher Squats. While I’m not a fan of the LP, it’s the best I can do at the commercial gym if I need to go for maximum poundage. Today is actually my last week through this particular routine, so I really wanted to test my strength this week. My goal is to set new PR’s each day. Did it happen? Read on…the PR’s are in bold:

12/2/2013	Set	Reps	Weight
Leg Press	1	5	90
	2	5	180
	3	5	270
	4	5	360
	5	5	450
	6	3	540
	7	3	630
	8	3	720
	9	2	800
	10	2	800
	11	2	850

Military Press	1	5	85
	2	5	135
	3	1	155
	4	1	165
	5	1	170

I held back a bit on the LP as I was being cautious with my lower back, but overall, everything felt great! As you can see, I still got 2 reps even after the 50lb. jump on the last set. It was definitely a day when a partner to challenge me a bit more would have been useful, but perhaps stopping one-rep-short has allowed me to remain injury free over the last 10 weeks. But no matter how many plates you stack on the LP, it’s still the LP. You get no respect from serious lifters unless you are squatting/pulling a weight that’s bending the bar.

The Black Prince still getting it in!
Source: robbyrobinson.net

No matter what, squatting with a bent bar is far more impressive than a stacked leg press machine…and I know…not everyone can squat.

Last up was the military press. The power rack got clear for a brief moment so I ran to it like a bro in leopard spandex at the Arnold Classic when he finds out they’re passing out free supplements. Not that I’ve done that mind you…well, at least not in spandex leopard print pants.

I thought 165 lbs. was my target weight for the day, so I gave it a go. As soon as I tried to press, the weight just felt heavy and I barely got it up. I even then tried a push-press rep and could only get it half way. I was quite disappointed, made a note of it, and consoled myself by pointing out that my weight usually stalls pretty early on this exercise so I’m just glad I made so many weeks of progression with it, plus my elbows are still a tad sore, etc.. I took the 10’s off each side, rested, unracked and BAM, the weight felt really light. Then I realized that I had miscalculated the weight on the previous set. I was actually trying 175 lbs.! So when I realized I just easily killed 155, I went back to 165 (my previous 1RM) and crushed that, then I found some 2.5 lb plates that people feel are useless, slapped those on the end and crushed 170lbs.! A few short months ago, I was struggling to hit 145lbs. for 1RM, and now I’ve added 25lbs. to this all important lift.

If I had been in my homegym, I would’ve had to blast this all-time classic from Pumping Iron:

I can watch this scene with Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk for you late Gen-Y youngsters) over and over again and get hyped every time!

I came home and then tried to overhead press Big Reg. I think he’s in the 150’s, but pressing a human from the floor in the living room is a lot different from a bar in the rack. Besides, I didn’t think about how I was going to put him down. I did get him up into pressing position, but I must work more on the technique and him being absolutely still instead of laughing hysterically which didn’t make things any easier.

Next up, pressing My Lex. However, the outcome was the same with her as well, but there’s no doubt that I could get her up as well.

So maybe that’ll be a test for:

a.) Me: I should always be able to military press more than my children weigh (I don’t think my progression can keep up with Big Reg’s scale progression, but we’ll see)

b.) Future Son-In-Law: If you can’t press my daughter’s bodyweight, NO, you can’t marry her! A guy who isn’t strong enough to do that could never keep her away from the zombies when I’m dead and gone…

CSD

CSD StrongDad Program: Holiday Season Mad Crush Journal – Last Workout of Nov. 2013

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Cool Pappa

It really felt good to lift after having another night of decent sleep. Once again, it was manifested in the numbers, as I set new PRs in every lift for the day. I added in Tri. Dip Machine as someone was using the dips bars. However, she was done just as I was stretching out, so I ran over and knocked out a few sets just to stay on track.

I love performing dips and chins with weight around my waist as I remember the days when I was using the bar to HELP me do the exercise, not a belt with plates to make the exercise harder to perform! So strapping on 2-45’s for chin’s and 3-45’s for dips was a tremendous victory for me.

11/30/2013 – 7.5 hrsl of sleep, Weight: 218.5 lbs	Set	Reps	Weight
Chest Dips	1	1	90
	2	1	135
	3	1	135

Chin-Ups	1	5	x
	2	3	x
	3	3	25
	4	2	45
	5	1	70
	6	1	90
	7	1	90
	8	1	90
Triceps Dips (Machine)	1	5	110
	2	5	210
	3	5	270
	4	5	285
	5	5	285
	6	5	285

CSD StrongDad Program: Holiday Season Mad Crush Journal

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Cool Pappa

My Rack Pull weight, but getting this off the floor as a true Deadlift may be a bit more difficult!

According to Psychology Today, we do not gain nearly as much weight as we think we do during the holiday season:

“What they found is that people thought they were gaining four times as much as they actually had gained! Fewer than 10% of their sample actually gained over five pounds. Most had gained less than a pound. But those who were overweight or obese initially were the ones most likely to gain those five or more pounds, so their conclusion was that the holiday season “may present special risks” for those who do already have a weight problem. Furthermore, the researchers found that even though the average weight gain was fairly minimal, people tended to gain the most weight for the year around this time and not lose this holiday weight once the holidays were over. The result is a “cumulative” gain, or what we might call a kind of “holiday creep.” In other words, even though for many, the actual weight gain this time of year is trivial, it may not be trivial over time.”

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-gravity-weight/201011/the-holiday-creep-seasonal-weight-gain

So regardless of what camp you fall in, my philosophy has always been to amp up your workout just as much as you amp up your eating habits during the holiday season. I’ve found that people not only eat more on purpose, but they also intentionally workout less and say, “I’ll start or resume working out when the holidays are over.” This of course leads to the old New Year’s lose weight resolution and we all know how that goes.

So to help myself out, I’m going to post what I’m doing in the gym this holiday season. This will certainly assist me in keeping my own diet in check, but I hope it will also assist you in some way as well. Over the last few months, I’ve really been a bit of a Brooks Kubik fan, and his writings have persuaded me to do what I’ve never really done since the old Muscle Media 2000 Shawn Phillips Bench Press program days and that’s minimize everything to maximize getting stronger. Longer story short (for this post, but I’ll go into more later), I’ve made the best gains in the last 2-3 months than I have in years!

But more on that later…

So what did I do today?

Weight: (Gym scale – 215 lbs)

Diet: Thanksgiving with all the trimmings and desert, so I probably took in about 4,000 kcals today!

But I hope I earned the food:

11/28/2013 – 8 Hrs. of Sleep! Weight: 215	Set	Reps	Weight
Rack Deadlifts	1	10	135
	2	5	225
	3	5	275
	4	3	315
	5	2	365
	6	1	405
	7	1	495
	8	1	520
	9	1	545
	10	1	565
	11	1	565
	12	3	565

Barbell Curls	1	4	85
	2	3	115
	3	4	115
	4	3	120
Triceps DB Seated Extensions	1	5	85
	2	5	85

Set 12 in the most important exercise was a new PR!

Rack DLs – Lower back felt great and I felt extremely strong this morning.

Barbell Curls – I think I’m beginning to stall as in the past I was doing 5 reps for a few sets. It’ll get pulled next phase.

Tri Ext – Elbows still sore and are not recovering fast enough with heavy dips. Again, I’ll substitute this exercise next phase.

CSD

430 At 43 Progress: Mission Accomplished On The Stretch Goal Of 500!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Smashed that stretch goal of 500 miles! Actually, I passed the mark earlier this week, but I’ve been too busy to post an update.

Since my hip-flexor injury, I gave up riding a bit to speed recovery. But since there’s only one more week of games left, I’m going to try to get as much riding as possible in while the weather allows because there might not be any warm days left for 2013 either!

Set goals, stretch yourself and be determined not to give up!

CSD StrongDad Injury Rehab Day 2: Hey, If You Want Give Effort Like AP, You Get Injured Like AP

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Cool Pappa

I was feeling pretty old last night and bummed-out after being injured yesterday. But the more I thought, I remembered a post by Dante Trudel (inventor of the Doggcrapp training program) about getting injured. To paraphrase, he pointed out that if you are really training hard and you get after it in the weight room, you will likely get injured at one time or another. To not get hurt likely means that you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough. Fitness-folk will always treat injuries as if it’s due to irresponsibility of “being macho”, yet in no other sport is being injured considered this way. Groin pulls, hamstring pulls, ankle sprains are all a part of giving your all and part of the job.

Unfortunately when you get older, you don’t have that Adrian Peterson recovery any longer.

Just ask Derek Jeter:

“Jeter, 39, played in just 17 games this season as he recovered from two ankle surgeries. Jeter fractured his left ankle in Game 1 of the 2012 American League Championship Series, came back to play in spring-training games, but underwent a second procedure in April. He made his season debut on July 11, but immediately suffered a quadriceps injury, and has been dogged by leg ailments since. Jeter hasn’t played since Saturday, complaining of more pain in his left ankle.

“It’s very disappointing not to be able to play,” Jeter said at a press conference at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, before the Yankees played the Orioles, “especially this time of year. This is when I want to play the most.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/yankees/2013/09/11/derek-jeter-yankees-injury-season-over/2801329/

Pre-bed treatment: BioFreeze

A.M. Treatment – Ice bag – 30 minutes / 2x200mg ibuprofen

Noon Treatment – BioFreeze

Some believe, some don’t, but at least it’s the most convenient way to “ice” in the office that I can think of!

Moderate stretching as I get up from my desk frequently just to kneel on one knee.

Afternoon Treatment – Ice bag – 30 minutes

Tonight – Ice bag – 30 minutes

Good part:

My hips actually feel better than they did this time last week. Shifting the Stang last week was brutal! I could barely flex my legs and had to depend a lot on dorsiflexion to move my feet to handle the pedals.

Bad part:

I’m walking with more of a noticeable limp than last week. Walking and standing without my butt sticking out is very difficult (and I’m not a flat-booty brotha either), but it is actually quite painful to push my hips forward as it stretches the hip flexor muscles. My glutes are also sore as well, because yesterday I had to continuously use them to extend my stride when my feet hit the ground since I could not get my leg high in the air to propel my body. Times like now, you’re definitely remind of what a marvelously integrated-system God designed.

Of course the atheists out there would say evolution did it. But they would never go out and not have their car start one day and just not take it to a mechanic. But perhaps it has evolved to another state for no reason? Oh, just leave it there for 100,000 years and then it’ll turn into a perfectly running Boeing 757.

But I digress…

Take a look at the diagram below and you’ll get an idea of all of the muscles involved just for us to walk and run (e.g. hip extension and hip flexion are only two motions!)

In my next post, I’ll introduce you to the best drug/therapy you can use for most injuries, and it’s probably not what you think!

CSD

Comment Highlight From Big Kev – You Know You’re Getting Older When…

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Big Kev left this in the comment section of yesterday’s post (see here) and I felt it deserved to be front and center. I’m sorry, but the Urgent Care transition gets the LOL for real!

I’ve been here before as well, as I distinctly remember the day Kory beat me running for the first time. I would have beat him if it would’ve been a 25- yard race, but it was 40-yards and he ended up smoking me!

Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics – CSD Strength is being able and ready to carry our kid’s home, no matter what their age.

“Well sir, I hope you reach your 90% / one week goal, as I too am in the process of recuperating. Out taking a leisurely walk with the family Saturday evening and was feeling rather good after returning home. My teenage sons had taken off on a foot race….had I allowed my brain to complete its factoring of variables as to why I would have been the perfect spectator…I would not have taken pursuit. Now, I must say that I surprised them both at the rate I was able to “catch” them but catching them wasn’t good enough, heyday memories began to cloud my judgement and I lined my oldest up for a “I’ll show you” sprint!!
We were given the ready, set, go….I shot out of the blocks seeing victory ahead…I lost? After leaving Urgent Care, I was told its only a sprained knee and I only have to wear the knee brace for about a week.
I’ll get him next time.”

Thanks Big Kev!

I wish you a speedy recovery as well my man and I’m glad it was only a sprain.

If I have to mention Big Kev, I gotta throw up a pic of a Comet GT! The times we had in that ride...

If we have something from Big Kev, I gotta throw up a pic of a Comet GT! The times we had in that ride…

CSD

CSD StrongDad Program: Injury Treatment Journal

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Well folks, now you see why 430 at 43 was so important. It’s absolutely vital that I try to maintain my physical fitness level as I get older. Not that I’m the best or strongest because I’m surely not, but I need to be the best and strongest that I can be to live the kind of life I would like and do the things I want to do in the future.

I’m truly learning that 43 is no joke either. I decided to play fall softball with the church and the first week is always the worse. Unless you’ve been practicing the movement of that particular sport, the amount of soreness after those first two games is extreme (if you’re playing hard at least). Overall, I was a bit winded, but my legs felt really good, tired, but good. Then on one bang-bang play at first, I over-stretched trying to leg out and get an infield hit.

Yea, all I saw was my man Ichiro out running a ball thrown by the infield, but the final stretch to the bag came with a cost. I felt immediate pain in my right hip flexor upon landing (i.e. the eccentric portion of the stride where the landing force is at an extreme amount).

After the seven minute drive home from the field, both hip flexors were so sore, I could barely get out the car. Over the next 24-hours, I could barely pick my legs up.

However, this didn’t stop me from continuing my weight lifting and cycling! Yet, maybe it should have as today, seven days later, I found out that this was beyond just muscle soreness.

During warm-up, I felt “okay”. It was a hot 90-degree (yes, in September, love it!) so it didn’t take much to get my muscles up to a good warm temperature. The first ball I ran after in the outfield didn’t feel exactly right, but okay, I’m just loosening up. But I wasn’t prepared for what I would feel next.

I came up for my first at-bat, tried to swing and it was like my mind was moving, but my body was going nowhere! I hit a lazy-dribbler to SS and when I tried to run, my legs didn’t move!

No joke, I looked like Fred Sanford and was SO embarrassed.

Well, I wasn’t about to quit, especially since we only had nine guys, plus my sons were there to support me so dear old dad was just going to have to play the two games through pain and that I did. After all, what, I won’t be able to sit on my butt in the office tomorrow if it gets worse? That’s the main reason they are likely tight and weak in the first place despite all of the “stretch breaks” that I take throughout the day.

My abs look just like that as well, I just have too much fat over it for verification.

I have not hurt myself this badly in quite a while and I get asked about injury treatment on almost a monthly basis. Therefore, I’m going to chronicle my treatment and rehab to help others in the future. The goal is to be back to at least 90% IN ONE WEEK. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I know I do not want to go out like this because of an injury suffered in my first week of playing.

Therefore, if you always wonder, ice or heat? Stretch or rest? Massage or, well, is there ever a bad time for a massage…keep reading. My plan may not be the exact prescription you need (disclaimer: I’m not a doctor), but it may provide some general guidelines when you suffer acute injuries as well.

So I’m pulling out my old Athletic Training skills (I was a Sports Med major before I became a sociology major…after “My Lexi” was born, I had to choose between internship or making loot and I had to go the loot route) and I’m going to try some self-rehab to be ready for next week.

Self-diagnosis: Hip flexor strain

Pain level as of today (1 being none and 10 being excruciating): 7 – There’s pain when trying to walk or perform any activity that flexes my hips.

Mobility: 1 being none and 10 being “my normal”: 2 – Right now, I cannot actively lift my legs.

After showering, applied gel-ice pack to each hip (would have preferred real ice, but going the convenient route first so I can wrap my quad as well) – took off after 30 minutes.

Elevated legs for 20 minutes (following the tried-and-true RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation).

Ibuprofen: 2 x 200 mg

Almost 2 hours later, my legs feel a little better than they did this time last week when I did nothing and thought, “It’s just soreness and a few days from now I’ll feel fine.”

We’ll see what tomorrow will bring, so stay tuned.

What Did Boney Say?

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Exercising with the kids is what’s up, you just never know what nuggets of wisdom are going to come out.

Today, Boney (7) and Big Homie (8) joined me on a walk/run.

I’ll give those two serious credit, their little legs have to work pretty hard to keep up with me, no matter how slow I’m going.

I heard classic phrases such as:

Boney: “Exercise hurts.”

CSD: “Yea, but it hurts less than a heart attack, brittle bones, …”

Boney: “and it’s better than being old and not being able to pull yourself up!”

But just when I think she’s got it and after another jog interval…

Boney says to Homie: “He’s trying to kill us.”

Big Homie: “No, this will help us live longer.”

CSD: “Like Lee Haney said, if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger!”

http://www.leehaney.com/
Gotta add this to my life-goal list, to train with Lee Haney!

While they’ve watched some Lee on YouTube, I’m sure neither one of them had a clue as to who I was talking about.

CSD 2013 Summer Mission UPDATE – 430 at 43…One Down!

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Cool Pappa

First let me say, Bill Kazmaier is not running from me saying, “That brotha gets much respect from me…”. In other words, there are plenty of regular cats out there far stronger than I am that’s for sure.

But I love setting a goal and hitting it, especially physical goals at my age.

So just because I’ve been quiet about my 430 at 43 goal (check it out here), doesn’t mean that I haven’t been putting in work and getting it done.

But as a friend of mine would loudly exclaim, “Don’t talk about it, BE about it!”, so I figured I’d give a report when I was closer to that point.

So…

Yesterday I trained at home for the first time in a long time. I’ve been following a version of Charles Staley’s EDT routine with a low-rep, heavy weight exercise added at the beginning. The results? Well, after 4 weeks, I loaded up with the previous 1 rep max of 360 (I’m guessing my actual 1RM would have been about 380, but stopped short of going all out for the program).

365 lbs. felt really good, so I thought, “Why not try 405?”

405 lbs., BAM, no problem.

Whoa, “What’s going on today. I didn’t sleep that good” I thought.

415 lbs., BAM, whatcha got?

Then I figured I might as well go for it, and I added more weight to the bar.

Now just before pulling, I started counting plates and thought, “I think I added too much weight…” But instead of counting, I just went to pulling and I knew I had added too much.

But I still had more in me and wanted to try again.

So I walked back up, dipped and ripped, BAM. Got it!

440 lbs is my new Deadlift record!

A day later, I feel great and now I’m setting my sight on 500 lbs.!

Oh, and that bike mileage?

342 miles so far, with at least 2 months of riding left, so I should get this one done as well.

If you are only as old as you feel, I’m feeling about 25 right now.

Day 20 of 30 Days On Dads – A Physique Transformation Is Possible, But How Bad Do You Want It?

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Cool Pappa

Let me say right off the rip that this is no “If you believe it, you can achieve it” post.

I’ve talked to numerous people who want a physique transformation. Sometimes, they are so overweight or underweight and far from their desired physique, that they begin to get stressed out just looking at how far they have to go.

It’s similar to having the desire to go to California from New York. You really want to go more than anything. But when you look at the distance that needs to be traveled, the gasoline and time that it is going to cost, you start saying things like, “Do I really want to go to California anyway? My car will be worn out when I get there and then I’ll have to buy a new one right? California’s no place I want to be anyway, I like it here…”. So you go back in the house and just live your days talking about the “lucky” people who make the trip.

This is exactly the thought pattern of many who desire to change their physique and health. It’s easier to stay the same, because they really do not want to change as bad as they say they want to change.

Take this lesson from me. I’ve weighed 250+lbs. with high blood pressure and joint problems beginning to impact my activity level in my early 20’s. In a couple of years when I hit 25, I was 200 lbs. and I remember weighing myself on a scale on my honeymoon and I was elated. I never thought I could be under 200 lbs. again. A little over a year after that, I hit my low of 175 lbs. (note: this is why those “recommended weight charts” are garbage because everyone said I looked like a crackhead at that time!)

But I changed not only myself, but my family tree as well (to use Dave Ramsey’s phrase) as my kids now grow up with a totally different view of exercise, diet and overall health. Trust me, they would’ve grown up thinking that having “sugar” was normal, high blood pressure means you’re eating stuff that tastes good, and having heart problems is okay because we are genetically predisposed in that direction anyway.

If I had focused on that fact that I wanted to weigh 175 back when I was 250, I never would have spent what little money I had on that 310 lbs. Olympic set and bench.

Don’t focus on how far you need to go, but focus on what you need to do TODAY.

Don’t focus on how you might feel when you get to “x”, but focus on how you feel TODAY and what are you doing TODAY to feel better?

Don’t focus on whether your clothes will not fit tomorrow, but focus on how you feel TODAY when something does not fit.

Don’t focus on whether your back/knees/hips will still hurt tomorrow, but whether they hurt TODAY and what are you doing to change it besides popping pills?

I could go on and on, but do you get the message?

Just pack the car with necessities for the trip, gas it up, and drive in the right direction TODAY. Trust me, your normal gravitational pull will always be back to where you are today, so if you don’t like CA, it will be very easy to return back to NY.

Hopefully you’ll view NY as a nice place to visit in the future, but you wouldn’t want to stay there any more.

This post was inspired by the video below. Special shout-out to our bodybuilding historian Breeze. Any nuggets of knowledge you can give us on Bruce Randall? You can read more about Bruce’s transformation here…and this is before the steroid-era of bodybuilding!

Wise Words From Jack LaLanne

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Cool Pappa

The kids and I are performing variants of a 5×5 routine (yes, that includes Boney at 6 years of age) and for motivation while training, I like to pull up old Jack LaLanne videos.

Now Jack was before my time, although I certainly do remember watching him on TV growing up. Of course now that I’m getting “old”, I respect the work and knowledge of Jack even more as he just seemed like a hyper-guy making infomercials back-in-the-day.

So on one of the videos, I heard him say this recently:

Your age is:

Your Physical condition

Condition of your mind

How you feel

I like that formula!

Therefore, at 42, perhaps I’m…

Age = Physical condition (strength about same as when I was 30) + Condition of your mind (25? I’m learning something everyday but have learned enough to finally be an adult!)+ How you feel (28 – I feel that best I’ve felt in many years…just can’t stay up as late and function the next day like when I was street racing at 18).

So, if I divide the total by 3, am I around 27 or 28?

I feel and think that’s about right!

LaLanne has inspired me to do something on my 43rd birthday that I’ve never done before. I’ll let you all know what I decide to do.

How about you? Anything you might be willing to try to achieve for your next birthday?

Also, does the formula fit you as well?

Let us know in the comments below.

CSD

CSD Rewind Post: Is This The Year You Build That “Ole Dude Strength”?

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Cool Pappa

I thought this would be a good time to re-post for those of us who make New Year’s Resolutions.

Are you up for the challenge this year?

Let us know in the comments below and remember: Do Not Quit!

Are You Strong Enough To Handle The Dude That’s Trying To Date Your Daughter? Do You Have That “Ole Dude Strength”?

When I was a young man growing up, I got into a few fights. I can say that I only lost one, and that was to Charlie Brown when I was about 7 or 8 years old. It’s hard to imagine my 8-year old Big Homie getting into a fight, but I guess we had to really grow up fast in my ‘hood.

But what’s really funny, is that over the years, my dad probably got into just as many fights with the neighborhood kids as I did. He didn’t allow foolishness, swearing or bullying around his house or his children. After a while, cats in the neighborhood appreciated the fact that my Ole Dude didn’t play. He once even chased the thug that stole the bike he “made” (I wish I had pics, that bad-boy had a steering wheel!) for blocks, hurdling fences like an Olympic hurdler, before the dude just gave up and dropped the bike to flee for his life.

Smart decision.

That’s Ole Dude strength and determination right there.

But what about today? First, IF dad even has a presence in the home, would he even be able to physically protect his children or wife? Could you be like James Evans in your house? For my fellow Good Time aficionados you know nobody was coming into that house and whipping James. Where are the men like that on TV? Now-a-days, it is the woman of the home doing the protecting and dad is sitting there looking like Homer Simpson.

Good example

Bad Example

So, that’s why I thought the goals below by strength coach Dan John were a great idea for CSDs to set for themselves. To give us “Ole Dudes” a good bar to shoot towards in the gym. Most of us aren’t doing manual labor jobs like our parents, but we sit on our tails all day and the research is mounting that office jobs are taking years off of our lives. Plus, when we were younger, we might have exercised to look a certain way, impress a young lady or something, but now that we are older, it’s also about being healthy and having so-called “functional strength”.

…and yes, you still need to look good for your wife as well. If you want her looking as good as she did when you got married, how close are you to that wedding picture?

But I digress…here’s what Dan John recommends:

Push
Expected: Body weight bench press
Game Changer: Body weight bench press for 15 reps

Pull
Expected: 8-10 pull-ups
Game Changer: 15 pull-ups

Squat
Expected: Body weight squat
Game Changer: Body weight squat for 15 reps

Hinge
Expected: Body weight to 150% bodyweight deadlift
Game Changer: Double body weight deadlift

Loaded Carry (Farmer Walk)
Expected: Farmer Walk with total body weight (half per hand)
Game Changer: Body weight per hand

Personally, I think these are great CSD goals to set. Perhaps you can get an early start on your ’13 New Year’s resolution?

In a few years, some young man is going to likely try to ask to date my daughter (may I recommend Voddie Baucham’s book, What He Must Be: If He Wants To Marry My Daughter http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/store/product/what-he-must-be-book/to hear how we’ll likely deal with this in my house) and I want him to understand that not only do I have a mental and spiritual presence in my house, but a physical one as well.

Now some of you reading this may think I’m being shallow and that’s fine. But I remember meeting fathers when I was a young man who were scared of their daughter’s date and their little-girl knew it. She knew dad would not come looking for her if she was in trouble and that he could not protect her from that abusive boyfriend or predator.

However, my dad proved to many fools that “Old Man Strength”, was not a myth.

Now it’s my turn.

So, how close are you to the goals above? Let me know!

Thankfully, I think today (at the seasoned age of 42, 5’11 and 210 lbs.), I can go in the gym and hit the Game Changer on the Pull-Up, Squat and Deadlift. But getting the Bench Press and Farmers Walk are going to take some work for me as I’m only at the Expected level.

If we get a good response, perhaps we can turn this into a CSD-team goal for 2013! We could post workout recommendations, monitor progress, etc. What do you think? I’d love to hear your story!

Just because we’re getting older and we can’t do all of the things we did at 22, we have more motivation to push now than we ever did back then, those precious God-given gifts that He has made us protectors over.

CSD

Original Post