TLDR: Happy Holidays

Too Long Dad Recap

Here is wishing you a happy, healthy end of the year. If you have read a post here this year, subscribed to my YouTube channel, bought merch (that one person who did), liked a post on Instagram, or interacted in some way, then I thank you.

Putting my fitness and nutrition life on the Internet has been really fun for me this year. Sure, it’s different for a middle aged dude to want to share so much and presume that anyone will care about it. But I’m having so much fun with it. And it turns out, some of you do give a shit, which is amazing.

Starting this DadLifting thing has expanded my personal network and community of supportive training and nutrition friends in ways I never considered possible. I didn’t know what to expect, but the community and network building that’s gone on has blown me away.

So, I recommend sharing your passion with the world, because if the world doesn’t know what you care about, you’ll miss out on connecting with others out there that share similar passions.

Anyway, enjoy the holidays, hug your kids and try not to get too annoyed at all the little battery compartments you need to open and shit you need to put together this week!

Also, check out my holiday special video where I did a full day of eating and training like Santa Claus. That meant only cookies and milk all day. It also meant a big workout with a weighted vest on. And it has an amazing introduction clip from A Christmas Story.

Things I Watched This Week: Not Much

I was too much fun this week making my own videos, training (myself and kids) and making food, so I didn’t consume much fitness content.

My older kids and wife started the Lord of The Rings films this weekend, and were surprised at how much content has been copied from that story by others like J.K. Rowling, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, etc.

It’s hard not to be influenced by other content you enjoy when you set about trying to create your own thing. There are very few original ideas left in the world, but there is plenty of room to create.

Things I Ate This Week: Experimenting

This whole week I’ve been really good on nutrition. That is because I’ve been working on a video where I try to keep calories stable and activity levels stable to dial-in my new maintenance calorie level as I try to come out of my very long cutting phase.

The video is going to feature a shout out each day to an anabolic recipe and the YouTuber behind each recipe. I’m trying to give some love to some small channels like mine and a couple of bigger ones. It’s been awesome to shake things up a bit and try a few new tricks. Some examples shown below.

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Admittedly, my wife has gotten pretty tired of me baking and blending things all over the kitchen. She may have anabolic kitchen fatigue, but I don’t. In fact, I’m coming out with my first video review of a recipe made by another YouTube creator this week. So, stay tuned.

With my new refrigerator, I have moved the ice cream making station out to the garage gym, so that gets some of the giant protein buckets and Splenda out of the pantry…

Things I Lifted This Week: Singled Out

As discussed last week, I was feeling a bit bored with sets of 10 and 8, so I added in a few heavy singles this week. It felt great to try some moderately heavy singles after a few months of lower intensity hypertrophy work. I want to be careful not to ramp up intensity or anything silly like that, but the singles I did this week inspired confidence that I’m holding my strength.

• Another 5 good weight training days
  • 315lbs squat single that was off center from the start, but still moved fine (vs. all time max of 355lbs)
  • 375lbs deadlift single moved well, the lockout appears to be the sticking point
• Another 7 days of 400 walking lunges (171 day streak intact)
• Another 7 days of 15,000 steps, made much easier by two days of snow shoveling
• Another couple of bonus pushup and pullup sessions on Zoom with some of my high school friends. We’ve been doing that since the Spring.
  • It’s just the right amount of group training for me (1-2 times per week for 25 min each)

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This upcoming week is the peak of the current block, where I shoot for 8 rep maxes of the movements I’ve been training. Today was wide grip bench press, tomorrow is Pendlay rows, then SSB good mornings and then RDLs.

I will be training on Christmas Day, just like I trained on Thanksgiving Day. I’ve definitely be accused a time or two by the wife of “making sure I do what I want to do” while she feels like she never gets a chance. But that never stopped me before!

Dad Report: Gingerbread House Fails

We were scammed by gingerbread house kits again this year…

We bought three gingerbread house kits from a local bakery. Choosing a local bakery was our downfall. If you really want to build a house with walls and a roof, you need that mass produced cardboard gingerbread and the industrial strength adhesive frosting.

We’ve in the past ordered the more artificial kits and built actual houses. But that required extensive involvement from me. This year, we let the kids just try it themselves. They all said the materials made it impossible to make an actual house. But that didn’t stop me from reminding them that if I had tried to make it, I would have made an actual house.

In addition, got the kids out to the garage for strength training 3 times this week. Training them is a ton of work, because (like a real trainer) I have to set things up and watch them each workout. The time investment now will eventually pay dividends. Someday they will be able to train without constant supervision or we can train together!

Keep it on the DL, squad. Appreciate all of you.