LiftingLog: June 30, 2014

Today I got to take my son to the gym with me for the first time ever. It was a great experience and he was so excited to wear his "boom shirt". He was even more excited when he got to lift a few dumbbells and show off (they were 2 pounders). 

This is also the week I will be testing my maxes on the big three lifts. I am aiming to compete August 2, 2014 at the Ironworks IX at Smitty's Ironworks in Midland, MI. I'm looking to be in the 165 pound class. Based on my current progression I may be able to break a state record for the bench press. It is currently 319 and I'm estimating my new max will be 315 this Thursday. That will give me 4 weeks to add 5 pounds to my max and beat the current record. 

I've been foam rolling two times per week and focusing on doing the rolling workouts the evening before my leg days. I am trying to alleviate any knots that may hinder performance and mobility. I've been reading some articles on being too loose prior to training and doing so can hinder performance. Obviously with a powerlifting meet in my sites, performance is everything. 

My current eating for the week has been higher carbs on training days with lower carbs on off days. This ensures proper energy levels during training as well as limiting excess calories on days where I'm not expending as many calories (off days). Don't be fooled by the "clean eating" crowd. I did have some chicken wings this weekend. My weight and waist are still on par with my goals. I'm currently sitting at 165.4 pounds (as of Saturday morning 06-28-14) and re-checked today weighing the same. Chicken wings didn't effect anything. Have goals and stick to them. Be sure to follow the caloric recommendations that you've laid out or had laid out for you. 

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Good night LiftingFamily!

LiftingDad: LiftingLog Preface

People ask me all the time what I'm doing as far as dieting, training, etc. I figure the best way to let people know what I'm doing and how I do it is to write it all down. This blog will be dedicated to my daily life as a liftingdad. I will try to be detailed but brief. I want to make this informative and fun. This is not some self centered approach to saying "I'm awesome and everyone wants to know what I do". It's simply a way to log my day. 

I will be the first to admit that my eating habits are somewhat regular. By that I mean I tend to eat the same foods throughout the day. Some meals are random. That's part of the process and part of why I created LiftingDad.com. It is my way to balance my life and make sure I lead by example. It is also a way to show that sometimes life just happens. I need to be able to have ice cream and a few laughs with my family. I am a foodie at heart and would love to try a deep fried Twinkie if it were presented to me. I do my best to create balance. 

My goal with this LiftingLog is to provide insight into how I go about living my life. It will be open and honest. If you truly want to see what I eat in a day (if it's not in this log for some reason) then be sure to add me on myfitnesspal. 

Let the journey begin. Please send any and all questions to Brandon@liftingdad.com

I would love to hear stories from other liftingdads and liftingmoms, after all we are a LiftingFamily!

I'm foam rolling daddy

A foam roller sounds like some kids toy out of a cooking set. This piece of equipment is far from that and is an essential tool in any avid exercisers kit. Foam rollers are great at alleviating knots and releasing tension to help with mobility.

Let's Roll!

I started using a foam roller, not consistently, well over one year ago. I was having issues decompressing my spine and I did not want to see a chiropractor or go to a physical therapist. Like any stubborn man, I decided to search out things on my own. I found the foam roller. I was trying to find the best way to utilize it to decompress my spine. Hundreds of minutes of youtube viewing later, I found that this was a BEAST to say the least. If you ever buy a roller, or have used one, be ready to tolerate some pain. That face you make when you hit your "funny bone" is exactly the same face when you find a trigger point. At first it feelings like the extremity that you are rolling on is about to go numb. Then after a few minutes of staying on those trigger points, relief arrives.

I did not foam roll daily (and don't necessarily recommend that), but I do make sure to foam roll the night before a heavy training session. I will also roll the night after a heavy training session (depending on how I felt during the training session). There are going to be all schools of thought on when the right time to "roll out" should be, but it is all a learned practice for you and your body. I prefer to do dynamic stretching prior to a training session to loosen muscles. Trying to loosen up a tense muscle via a stretch with applied pressure can lead to injury.

How I roll:

• Lie on foam roller with head (protruding part slightly above neck) on roller and pelvic region (essentially the top portion of your glutes). Aim for 3-5 minutes to relax spine.
• Move on to areas of focus. Legs, lats, lower back, upper/outer pecs, glutes.
• Whichever extremity I am working on I generally make 4-5 passes through each angle. I may make 20 passes over my quadriceps alone because I will adjust the portion of the muscle I am rolling through as I go. During these passes, I pay attention to areas of tension (trigger points, think "funny bone face". 
• After my passes, I will move slowly into a trigger point and stay there for 1-2 minutes. Then move to a different area of the extremity. Do more passes. Then, work on a potential trigger point in that area.
• At first, you may be rolling just your legs for 10-15 (maybe more) minutes. The longer you wait, the longer you roll. 

I'm foam rolling daddy

As a liftingdad, my son tends to pay attention to what I do (See: Ormond Milk & The Boom Shirt). Over time I've added an additional mini roller (about 12 inches long, the other is 36 inches long). As I am doing my foam rolling, I make sure to have both rollers out since the smaller one is easier to use for legs (and other areas where you'll need to maneuver). I am using the small one and I look over only to see this happening (I had to crop the picture because my son does not like pants and is usually running around in underwear and a shirt). I asked what he was doing and he said "I'm foam rolling daddy". Like father, like son.

LiftingDad Youtube Channel

I've got the youtube channel all setup and will be adding videos (a "this is how I roll" video should be live soon). So, please remember to check it out here, and hit "subscribe".

The Boom Shirt

If you saw on the LiftingDad Facebook page yesterday, I posted a picture of my son with IFBB

Pro Fred Smalls (The pic on the right, Liams the little one). My wife told me Liam (my son) and Fred had a wonderful conversation about shoes and facebook (serious). Fred was very welcoming and I sincerely appreciate that, shoutout to Fred! They also snapped a few pictures, one shot is of my son doing a "boom". It all started with a shirt.

So, let's back up just slightly to explain how we got to the shirt. See instagram is changing people into selfie machines. I thought it was a bit over the top as I like to keep things under wraps. You will rarely, if ever, see me posing in front of a mirror (well, in public). I just don't do it. I don't take a lot of pictures of myself, however due to instagram, I have been taking a few selfies. Ok, now about the shirt.

I'm in the bathroom (aka instagram photography studio) and about to take a selfie. Liam bursts in, and the following conversation took place:

Liam: "daddy I have to pee"
Me: "Ok buddy, we knock before we bust into the bath..." <--did not get to finish my statement
Liam: "I like your shirt, you got muscles"
Me: "Thank you buddy, it's daddy's workout shirt with no sleeves"
Liam: "Can I have a shirt like you?"

After I cut the sleeves off of a shirt of his I told him to flex. Since he interprets what he sees me doing, it didn't quite look right. He kind of looked like he was about to block a punch. I showed him how to flex and for some reason I said, "You have to flex like this... Boom!"
He flexed and said "boom" everytime, and that's when the boom began. Now if I toss on a cutoff shirt, he asks if he can wear a "boom shirt" too. He is now letting people know he has strong muscles too. 

If you happen to see us out and about and you are wearing any clothing that is sleeveless, do not be surprised if he asks if you want to do a "boom".

I love you buddy.... BOOM!

Ormond Milk

The title of this blog is most likely making you search the word "Ormond". Before google decides to bring up 1 million things related to ormond, I will answer that for you. Ormond Milk is what my son calls Almond Milk. "Dad, I want ceero with ormond milk" is exactly how he says it. 

I decided to switch to Ormond Milk not because I hate all things dairy, but because I was able to drink it while on my contest diet (NPC Physique Competition). The unsweetened version does not have much of a taste and the consistency is almost like milk... almost. It tastes great when mixed with other items, however a tall glass of ormond milk is not delicious. 

I'm learning that what I eat, my son eats. I ate yogurt, he began wanting yogurt. I stopped eating yogurt and mid way through his yogurt he decided he no longer wanted yogurt. Even though we bought several extra containers just for him. It's ok though, he likes ice cream. So we usually freeze the yogurt then mix in a blender with some ormond milk (you didn't think that was going away did you?). 

If you are now headed to the store to grab some ormond milk, be sure it's pure. Some brands use soy milk as a blend with ormond milk. I prefer it pure and I've found the "unsweetened vanilla" flavor to be the best. 


LiftingDad Recipe:
8 oz. Ormond Milk
1 container Yogurt (Kroger Greek Lite is great, be sure to freeze for around 2 hours or overnight)

Great lower calorie snack. You could add some fruit, natural peanut butter, and a scoop of whey protein (I prefer MTS Nutrition - Peanut Butter Fluff flavor) to make it thicker and also more filling.