This is the week! The week our baby turns 1 year old! On Saturday, the 15th, we’re having a small birthday party at our home and then we’re leaving her with G-Ma as we head to a friend’s wedding. Is that wrong of us? Nahhhh.

Last week’s workouts were a repeat of the previous week, just adding weight to most exercises in classic progressive overload fashion. I would normally continue in this pattern for the week ahead, but might need to improvise as we prepare for the big day.

Here’s what I have for last week….

Note: All workouts are in a fasted state. I have a homemade pre-workout mix of beta-alanine, bcaa’s, creatine, and pure caffeine powder and then I’m ready to go within 20 – 30 minutes!

Monday – 11/03

– Back Squat: 4 x 8 x 220lbs

– Straight Leg Dead Lift: 4 x 8 x 210lbs

– Dumbbell Lunges: 3 x 11/side x 45lb/side

Superset w/ Glute-Ham Raise: 3 x 12

– Double Kettlebell Swings: 3 x 31 x 25lb/arm

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Tuesday – 11/04

– Bench Press: 4 x 8 x 165lbs

Superset w/ Strict Chin-ups: 4 x 7

– Dumbbell Hang Clean & Press: 4 x 11 x 30lb/arm

– 1-arm Dumbbell Rows: 3 x 13 x 45lb

Superset w/ Bodyweight Dips: 3 x 13

– Man-maker Push-ups w/ 30lb Dumbbells: 3 x 11

– Dumbbell Twisting Bicep Curls: 3 x 12 x 20lb

Superset w/ Standing Triceps Dumbbell Kickback: 3 x 10 x 20lb

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Wednesday – 11/05

– 4 Tabata Rounds: 1. Bike, 2. Burpees, 3. 15lb Ball Slam, 4. Bike

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups + run/walk 2.3 miles

Thursday – 11/06

– Front Squat: 4 x 8 x 175lbs

– Dead Lift: 3 x 8 x 235lbs

– Clean: 5 x 5 x 125lbs

– 31 Bulgarian Split Squats w/ 20lb Dumbbells/arm and 31 Push-ups

– Walk/Run with Avery and Abby (our Golden

Friday – 11/06

– Overhead Press: 4 x 8 x 110lbs

– Barbell Bent Row: 4 x 8 x 135lbs

Superset w/ Dumbbell Incline Press: 4 x 11 x 45lb/arm

– Dumbbell Hang Clean & Press: 5 x 6 x 45lb/arm

– 4 Rounds: Close-grip Bench – 10 x 135lbs, Wide-grip Pull ups x 6, Kettlebell Windmill w/ 25lb/side x 10/side, Bike ~30 seconds

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Saturday – 11/08

– Walk 3+ miles with Kelley while wearing Avery on my back. She had a good nap….

– Quick conditioning workout of countdown/up:

->31, 25, 20….10, 5: Double 25lb Kettlebell Swings

->5, 10, 15…..25, 31: Push-ups

– 31 1-leg squats, burpees, and bodyweight squats

Sunday – 11/09

– Work on rearranging garage to make room for Avery’s play pen gate setup.

– 30 minute cardio/strength routine of 30s on and 30s off with different exercises

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

I need to get Avery’s gate setup since she’s close to walking and I don’t expect she’ll have patience to sit in her jumper once this milestone is achieved.

Hmm, or maybe she’s already lost her patience. What do you think?

When she starts making these faces, it’s either nap time, a poopy diaper, or just plain bored. For the last one, when not finished working out or never having a chance to star, I have a solution…..combine playtime with your workout!

To me, barbell work is king when it comes to strength training, but as parents and really all time-strapped people know, we don’t always have time for or access to a barbell. And if you did, just what, with maybe 10 minutes of time to yourself, would you do anyway?

The answer is a complex where you complete multiple exercise back to back without stopping to rest. A classic example of this is called “The Bear” Complex where you perform a power clean, front squat, push press, back squat, and push press without setting the bar down to make 1 rep. It’s an awesome workout that, when done for 5 rounds of 7 reps at a challenging weight, is a quick, effective routine.

But when there’s no barbell or time to use one, grab the nearest baby/kid/toddler/teenager (preferably your own), and make them the barbell. Here’s a video I put together to show you how.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb9EU4eyKlg&w=420&h=315]

Avery enjoys the moves and hopefully your kids will too. You get to bond with your child through “playtime” while fitting in a full body exercise to boot. Not bad! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Now it’s time to prepare for a fast approaching birthday; Going Mom has off Thursday and Friday to make sure things are setup right since I’m not the best in that area. Have a great week!

Do you have any favorite workouts you’d like to share?

Any tips on how to manage a first birthday party? We have the beer, what else is needed? 🙂