Dodgin’ Dadbods: Fortitude Training

Mine is probably different than yours. It’s a new machine at the Y. It’s called a hack squat but it’s different than the traditional one.

Here it is.

We have both - the traditional and that beast, which you can either have your back to the pad or face towards the pad on. I’ve used both, but the reason that the new machine was created is the reason why the original hack squat will always be a superior quad building machine. Everyone is scared of the knees crossing the toes, and fixed ROM’s. Both of those things force more quad involvement.
I believe you’re like me - ham and glute dominant vs quad dominant. The only problem is, we begin to tailor our workouts to our strengths, thus exacerbating our weaknesses. That’s why I began hammering my quads, and it’s actually helped my knees.

2 Likes

Leg extensions tend to hurt my knees but I’d like to do high reps on them like you do. For now, they’re prohibited because the movement will pull my femur forward and I’m trying to fix that. Someday…

Back day…oof. Long day at work, and find out I have to come in on Saturday AND sunday - for only two hours each day, but it’s my birthday weekend and I was angry. Took it out on the gym floor.

Weighted Wide Grip Pull-ups
BWx10
+25x8
+45x6
+70x4
+90x2
+90x2
5 min rest, then
BWx24, last 6 had leg movement but first 18 were strict as can possibly be

Underhand wide cable row
5 on the stack x15
6x15
7x15
8x15
9x15
10x15
5x30

SUPERSET
Smith machine rack pulls, super wide grip
225x10
225x10
275x10
275x10
135x36 holy shit
and
Behind the neck wide grip pull-ups
5x5

Dual handle cable row, pulling to rib cage for rhomboid involvement
6 on the stack, 5 sets of 10

Preacher curls
40x10
50x10
60x10
70x10
40x20

Hammer curls, 5 reps each arm alternating, and SLOW eccentrics
35s
40s
45s
50s
30s 15 reps each arm

Pullovers
90 lb DB 5x10

3 Likes

Are these straight through? If so that’s unreal! I thought I was good at china being able to do 20 on the first set when I’m fresh, but 24 after all that is crazy!

1 Like

It might actually be easier to do them after all that weight - strip 90 lbs off and the first couple reps feel like you’re flying

2 Likes

Chest day, I totally forgot but today should have been Hams. Oh well.

Incline Bench
95x10
135x10
185x5
205x5
225x4
135x10
135x10
135x10
135x10
135x10

SUPERSET
Cable chest press 5x10
and
Pec Deck 5x10

Cable crossovers
6x15

Smith bench, super slow
185 5x8

2 Likes

Hams

SUPERSET
RDLs
225x8
275x6
295x4
DB RDLs
60s 3x10

Lying ham curl
110x5
115x5
120x5
125x5
135x5
50 1x50

Wide stance new hack squat, facing towards pad
2 plates 3x10

Single Leg ham curl
50 3x10

Back extensions
3x20

3 Likes

That looks like a short session by your standards.

1 Like

I gotta remember these! When I do them my lower back doesn’t give me nearly as much trouble, but I forget about them. Thanks for the reminder

2 Likes

Back day

Weighted pull-ups
BWx10
+25x8
+45x6
+70x4
+90x2

SUPERSET
Behind the neck pull-ups 5x5
Straight arm lat push downs 5x10

SUPERSET
BB Row 135 5x10
Cable Row 5x10

SUPERSET
One arm low cable rows 4x15
One arm pulldowns 4x10

Lateral Raises
10s x20
15s x15
20s x10
25s x8
30s x6
35s x4
15s x30

Hammer Curls
35s 5x10 each arm

2 Likes

Shoulders, Tris, just a fluff day

DB OHP
35s, 40s, 50s x10

BB Seated BTN Press
95x10, 115x8, 135 5x3, 95x15

Dips
3x10

CGBP
135x10, 185x8, 225x5, 225x5, 135x20

That’s it. In and out in 40 minutes. Super stressed at work with my new supervisor position and was supposed to take today off but I had to let out some steam before heading in to work. I was cool with everyone before I got this position, and it’s like half of everyone turned on me. I can tell they’re talking all sorts of shit behind my back, and it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Whatever, it’ll all blow over eventually, I’m just angry about it right now.

6 Likes

New supervisory positions can be tough especially if you are now supervising employees who you were recently at the same level as you. I promise it will help tremendously to take the servant leadership approach. Think of it this way. Your main responsibility is to help make them more successful and to make their jobs easier for them.

Show them that you care and genuinely want to help and they’ll respond. Congrats on the promotion, that’s awesome man!

5 Likes

Definitely what @jackolee said. If they believe that YOU believe your job is to help them be successful, the respect will come. Some amount of shit-giving may still be there, but you need to learn to recognize good-natured ribbing vs. genuine disrespect. I’ve been there at my last place of employment, and I’ve always had some issues recognizing and correctly responding to social cues, so I ended up spending a couple days in the hospital and getting an angiogram. It all ended up being stress-induced heart arrhythmia, which went away when I learned to manage that stress and my work relationships better.

Edited for further context

4 Likes

I appreciate the advice, guys. I’m in a super obscure trade (rotogravure engraving) where 55/60 of the workers have been at the company 30+ years and are reaching retirement age. I’ve been in the trade 2.5 years and I’m 29 - I can understand their feelings at this point. Still, I went around the plant to every old timer whenever I had a spare moment and had them teach me everything I could handle, and I ended up knowing how to run all the machines in the plant. They were all psyched about my initiative, and they knew I was hired because I was a supervisor at our competitors plant, so it’s not like it was a surprise when I got the position. Ah, well. It’s Friday and I got called in early, so I can leave while it’s still light out this evening and put my kids to bed tonight! Good day so far.

5 Likes

Yesterday was an awesome day. I almost skipped writing about it, but I saw @jackolee ‘s entry about his day and realized if I have the time to moan about bad days, it should be equally important to write about the good days. I got called in early to work, absolutely smashed it, helped out in like 4 different departments, and everyone who had been giving me shit all week acknowledged my work. It just took staying consistent and not changing myself or my attitude due to my new position, and leaving everyone alone to come to the realization that I’m not the type of person to pull rank or bark orders anymore - in the Marines, that was all they taught, but it’s a miserable and ineffective way of getting people to work for you, so I scrapped that mindset the day I got out. I went home, had a good dinner, read a book to my son while my wife read to the older one downstairs, put them to bed, and watched a show with a couple drinks. Can’t beat that.

5 Likes

Today: the quadfather

Leg extension - upped the weights here for extra pre exhaust, ouchies
110x30
115x27
120x25
130x20
130x20
150x15
150x15
170x12
170x12
190x10

Hack Squat
2 plates and a 25 per side, 5 sets of 8
1 plate per side 1x25

250 bodyweight lunges (125 per leg), took about 10 minutes

5 minute quad finisher

1 Like

Now that sounds like a fantastic evening! Funny how staying in is oh so satisfying the older you get.

1 Like

Sounds like a full day!

Sounds terrible.

1 Like

Reason #1848573 to drink more water:

I go to take an afternoon nap for the first time in literally years, and am woken up by QUAD CRAMPS IN BOTH LEGS! Instinctively I go from lying to standing in a split second, like when you get a calf cramp and it goes away when you stand, but quad cramps get worse when you stand and you need to stretch them out, so I drop to the floor on both my knees, but there’s no room to lean back and stretch my quads between the wall and my bed, so I crawl out to the middle of the floor and finally get some relief.

1 Like