New Father, Need Some Help

[Scottfalcon]

Hey guys- I've been around here a while, more reading than posting though. Anyway, some info about me, I'm 30 years old, 6'1 and sitting around 220, probably somewhere around 20% bf. My wife recently had our first baby and now I haven't been in the gym since the week before Christmas. I also have been trying to recover from a really bad case of piriformis syndrome. I've been seeing a chiropractor/physical therapist doing some active release technique and it's very slowly improving.

I've been training on and off since college and put on some good size between 20 and 23. Then I jumped on the crossfit bandwagon and dropped down to 195. It was a big mistake, I lost lots of size and strength, but the one plus is that the coach was very well trained in teaching the big lifts, so my deadlift and squat form improved exponentially. After a few years of crossfit, I went back to the regular gym and gained most of my size back. Now, I'm soft and weak and my body hurts. I don't know if it's just because I'm not 20 years old anymore, or that I'm a carpenter and have a very physical job, but I need to change something.

My goal now is no longer moving the heaviest weight possible, but focusing on getting some better conditioning, adding lean mass, and overall feeling better. I will admit I haven't done **** for cardio since crossfit, and I never train my abs, so those are 2 things I want to improve on.

What I need from you guys is motivation and accountability! I know there are a lot of father's on this site who look better than most 20 year Olds, and I need your help to help me stay on track! I have to workout at 530am weekdays and then sometime in the morning on weekends and I really only have an hour to be in the gym. I'd really like some suggestions for a good plan to get me where I want to be. Nutrition wise is the one thing that my wife and I are good with. We cook most of our meals, we eat all organic/non gmo and usually very clean.

Sorry for the long post, but I've been trying to motivate myself and it's just not working. I plan on updating this log daily and I will add some current pictures of myself also.

 

[Br1ck_Sh1thouse]

In to follow this ride!
FYI it took me 4 months after each kid to be able to get back into the gym, enjoy your time with them while you can!

 

[Scottfalcon]

Glad you're here.. I'm trying to be realistic about, I know I can't be in the gym 6 days a week for 2 hrs a day. I'm shooting for 3 weekdays and 1 weekend day, and my wife wants to get back to running so I'm going to try to get into that with her and the baby. I like the idea of morning workouts too because then when I get home I have the whole evening with Junior.

 

[Scottfalcon]

I always liked an upper/lower split but thinking of possibly easing back in with a full body. I saw something interesting that I was wondering if anyone had any experience with.. basically the workout is 4 tri-sets, with a push/pull/lower exercise making up each tri-set. 3 rounds of each tri-set with minimal rest between each exercise and 2 mins rest between each round. Any thoughts?

 

[Br1ck_Sh1thouse]

Definitely sounds like a good way to ease into and still allow yourself some flexibility for nights when sleep is minimal

 

[Scottfalcon]

I'm lucky right now my wife isn't working so she let's me sleep through the night.. still getting less than optimal sleep but we're new parents.. just getting the hang of this whole thing.. sometimes I feel like I'm still a kid and can't believe I actually have a kid now lol

 

[Juicedeez utz]

Hey I'm in the same boat as you! I've just had a little one, 4 months old now! Everything training wise has changed! I workout before work during the week now and only have an hour also! The main thing I've changed in my routine is more compound lifts and I time my rest periods, I'll do 2-3 exercises for each body part and it keeps me to around 40 mins in the gym! I've actually been making more gains that ever being so strict on time! Upper/lower is a good split but upper body can take forever trying to fit it all in! I do chest/back shoulders/arms and legs, it's a nice split for me but you could always add in a full body workout on the weekend let's say! I'm only 23 and feel the same way sometimes but life's never better! As for diet, I prep most of the weeks food on a Sunday, then I spend minimal time getting things ready during the week, makes morning smoother and evenings more relaxing keep at it bro, you got this!

 

[Scottfalcon]

thanks man congrats on the baby! I'm planning on getting back to the gym Monday and same as you I'm going to prep my meals on Sunday. My wife was just talking about needing to clean up her diet also, so it definitely makes it easier if we are working at it together.

 

[BRUstrong]

Congrats bro! Honestly, why not at least incorporate CF if you want to focus more on conditioning and lean mass? I have 11 month old twins and CF has been a staple. I'm 33, work 55-60 hours/week at a desk job (corporate litigator), and have been able to maintain my frame (5'7", 165 lbs, ranging 8-12% bf depending on time of the year) and strength (recently hit a 425 lb raw DL). I am following 5/3/1 and I mix in CF metcons on off days.

Even if you don't want to fully commit to CF, don't discount the power of the metcon for cardio. It sounds like you had a great coach, so I bet you are capable of programming yourself so that it won't interfere with your lifting. That's what I do.

Regardless of what path you choose, I wish you luck and will follow along to help when/where I can!

 

[Scottfalcon]

hey thanks bro! I actually have a tractor tire and some other stuff at my house. Personally that's my favorite way to do cardio is some sort of metcon or hiit, I can't for the life of me get my ass on a treadmill for hours of steady state cardio lol!

 

[BRUstrong]

hey thanks bro! I actually have a tractor tire and some other stuff at my house. Personally that's my favorite way to do cardio is some sort of metcon or hiit, I can't for the life of me get my ass on a treadmill for hours of steady state cardio lol!

Good man! I've got a kettlebell and speed rope - so much you can do! One of my go-to's in a time crunch is 5 rounds of 20 kettlebell swings (60#) / 30 sit ups / 40 double unders.

Sometimes I'll do straight hiit too. Like you, I can't stand long, stead state cardio. If you have access to a rower and/or air bike (assault bike or air dyne), you are golden! Feel free to hit me up for other sample workouts if you want!

 

[Scottfalcon]

Thanks man appreciate it.. planning on getting moving Monday morning. I'll be posting workouts, and as far as nutrition I won't post my regular diet because that **** is boring, I'll just post when I eat crappy food so you guys can bust my balls about it.

 

[kisaj]

Congrats on fatherhood, it is cliche, but as a father of 2 girls growing up much too fast, don't let any moments be taken for granted. It seems like the days are forever in the beginning but very soon you'll be trying to slow them down.

My only advice is to continue to move and stay active. Lack of sleep and other priorities obviously take over often, but make a point of setting aside time to do something. I was only able to hit the gym 1-2 times a week for the first few months and then you start to figure out a pattern and the little one starts falling into theirs. This is the new normal, so adjustment is always going to be a factor now with kids getting sick, schedule conflicts, wife/girlfriend's responsibilities and own well being, etc.. Then once they are in sports/activities, that makes everything even more difficult. There are days I may have to get up at 5 to hit the gym or may not get there until 9 at night. It's all about being fluid.

 

[Scottfalcon]

thanks kisaj appreciate the encouragement. Fatherhood is definitely an adjustment, but a great one. I'll get it all figured out, I just like the support from other guys who have already been through it while having similar goals as myself.

 

[BRUstrong]

Thanks man appreciate it.. planning on getting moving Monday morning. I'll be posting workouts, and as far as nutrition I won't post my regular diet because that **** is boring, I'll just post when I eat crappy food so you guys can bust my balls about it.

Bust your balls?? ...we love food porn!

 

[Scottfalcon]

yeah my gut will show exactly how much I love food porn

 

[kisaj]

Hey, I gained 16lbs of sympathy )) weight with our first. Admittedly my thoughts went like this for both:

1) woohoo! I get to add another beautiful person to our family. Thanks wifey!
2) oh ****, so much is going to change, where do we begin and how much is it going to cost??
3) hell yeah, I get to eat as much as I want whenever I want and not feel any guilt

 

[Scottfalcon]

haha same exact thought process here!

 

[Br1ck_Sh1thouse]

Hey, I gained 16lbs of sympathy )) weight with our first. Admittedly my thoughts went like this for both:

1) woohoo! I get to add another beautiful person to our family. Thanks wifey!
2) oh ****, so much is going to change, where do we begin and how much is it going to cost??
3) hell yeah, I get to eat as much as I want whenever I want and not feel any guilt

Only 16lbs,I think I was closer to double that!

 

[Scottfalcon]

my weight hasn't actually changed too much, it's just relocated itself lol

 

[Scottfalcon]

Ok so a little behind schedule but I finally got back to the gym this morning! It's been a solid 2 weeks now of having my diet in check at least, I was 229lbs as of 2/13, last night weighed in around 225, so not bad for only switching my diet and not even getting back to the gym. Also ordered a sick cut stack to help with some motivation. When it gets here I'll be running the following:

OL Assass1nate
OL Ignit3
OL Sup3r 7

My staples that I always run are Tr1umph and I use PES Select Protein exclusively because it tastes good and doesn't screw up my stomach. Anyway, here is a recap of today:

2/13- 229lbs
2/28-225lbs

3/1 Workout (Each group of 3 done as a tri-set/circuit)

Deadlift- 185x8/8/8
Bench- 135x8/8/8
Wide Pulldown- 120x8/8/8

Rear Foot Elevated DB Squat- 25x10/10/10
DB Military Press- 35x10/10/10
Bent over T-bar Rows- 45x10/10/10

DB Curl- 25x10/10
Skullcrusher- 55x10/10
DB Lateral Raise- 15x10/10

Workout was about an hour. Kept everything very light since I haven't been in the gym in 2 months, and I'm trying to not reaggravate my piriformis syndrome. Honestly despite being light weights I came the closest to puking I ever have at the end of the workout. Need to get that work capacity back up! This full body is more upper body heavy, which I will alternate with a more lower body heavy workout on Friday. As I get my work capacity back and need less rest I plan on either adding 1 more tri-set or adding more sets to the workout as it is.

 

[Br1ck_Sh1thouse]

Ok so a little behind schedule but I finally got back to the gym this morning! It's been a solid 2 weeks now of having my diet in check at least, I was 229lbs as of 2/13, last night weighed in around 225, so not bad for only switching my diet and not even getting back to the gym. Also ordered a sick cut stack to help with some motivation. When it gets here I'll be running the following:

OL Assass1nate
OL Ignit3
OL Sup3r 7

My staples that I always run are Tr1umph and I use PES Select Protein exclusively because it tastes good and doesn't screw up my stomach. Anyway, here is a recap of today:

2/13- 229lbs
2/28-225lbs

3/1 Workout (Each group of 3 done as a tri-set/circuit)

Deadlift- 185x8/8/8
Bench- 135x8/8/8
Wide Pulldown- 120x8/8/8

Rear Foot Elevated DB Squat- 25x10/10/10
DB Military Press- 35x10/10/10
Bent over T-bar Rows- 45x10/10/10

DB Curl- 25x10/10
Skullcrusher- 55x10/10
DB Lateral Raise- 15x10/10

Workout was about an hour. Kept everything very light since I haven't been in the gym in 2 months, and I'm trying to not reaggravate my piriformis syndrome. Honestly despite being light weights I came the closest to puking I ever have at the end of the workout. Need to get that work capacity back up! This full body is more upper body heavy, which I will alternate with a more lower body heavy workout on Friday. As I get my work capacity back and need less rest I plan on either adding 1 more tri-set or adding more sets to the workout as it is.

Throw in shr3d and it'll be a sup3r sick stack that I'll be running shortly only exception is that I use both BS raw and Ignit3. Just waiting for assass1nate to arrive.

Good luck, ready to watch this ride!

 

[Scottfalcon]

Thanks man appreciate it.. good luck with the stack! What's your reason for running BS and ignit3? I thought they were the same ingredients just different forms, but i may have misunderstood. Honestly thought about super shred but have been following the thread in olympus' forum and I feel like a lot of people weren't seeing much, so I was waiting for some more feedback.

 

[Scottfalcon]

Healthy food porn, 8oz grass fed ground beef, organic sweet potato, spinach and red peppers seasoned with Sazon!

 

[Scottfalcon]

And one more for ****s and giggles, went to this place in Brooklyn last week that serves a deep fried burger.. most amazing burger and fries I've had and has completely ruined any burgers I'll eat for the rest of my life

 

[Scottfalcon]

Happy to report I made it to the gym again this morning, just finished a 5am session. Brutally sore from the full body on Wednesday, plus the full body was really pushing it on time, so I'm going to go back to upper/lower split. Today I did upper.

Standing BB Press- 85x8/8/8
Band Assist Pullups- 8/8/8

DB Incline Bench- 55x10/10/10
Wide Cable Rows- 110x10/10/10

BB Curl- 65x8/8/8
Triceps Rope Push- 75x12/12/12
Face Pull- 70x/15/15/15

Machine Chest Fly- 75x15/15
Machine Rear Delt Fly- 75x15/15

Felt great today but still keeping the weights lighter for another week or so until I can get my body past this DOMS. Also been doing 10-20mins every night of some foam rolling/lacrosse ball/stretching mainly focusing on my lower back, hips, glutes, hams, quads and ankles. My lower body tends to be my problem area and I really think it's just a lack of mobility.

Also started my OL stack last night. Took a sup3r 7 around 7pm, had a great sleep last night. Those morning I took 2 ignit3 pre workout, and just followed my workout with another sup3r 7, and 2 Assass1nate before my carb heavy post workout meal. I'll try to update again tonight with weight and possibly pics.

Side note, baby is 8 weeks today, my wife is back to work evenings which leaves me home with him when I get home from work. Makes it really hard to cook/get to sleep early enough, especially when he has been exceptionally cranky this past week! Have still been spot on with diet all week this week.

 

[Br1ck_Sh1thouse]

Thanks man appreciate it.. good luck with the stack! What's your reason for running BS and ignit3? I thought they were the same ingredients just different forms, but i may have misunderstood. Honestly thought about super shred but have been following the thread in olympus' forum and I feel like a lot of people weren't seeing much, so I was waiting for some more feedback.

BS does a little bit of better job for an appetite suppressor. I'm keto and doing IF, I workout at 445am and don't eat anything until 11am, so I use BS as a pwo, then I use ignit3 the rest of the day.
There is some difference in the ingredients.

As far as shr3d I use a ketonix breathalyzer to monitor my state of ketosis, when I take shred prior to going to the gym my levels of ketones are crushed so it's definitely doing something!

 

[Scottfalcon]

gotcha good to know.. I'll probably give my current stack a month or so and then add in sup3r shred. Also thinking of possibly running formestane after I drop 10-15lbs for the summer to help me dry out. I've always wanted to use it.

 

[Scottfalcon]

Little update on the OL cut stack-

Yesterday was my first full day of assassinate, ignite and super7. Ignite is strong! Took 2 pre workout with triumph and sweated my ass off! Assassinate also raises my body temp big time, I can start to feel it about an hour or so after taking it.. I was a sweaty mess all day yesterday and I'm in New York where it's 30 degrees.

Only 2 downsides I've seen after 1 day is already increased frequency of peeing, and after the morning and afternoon doses of ignite I have to hit the bathroom right away! Anabeta and alphamax have done this to me in the past, and usually everything goes back to normal after a week or so.