"American Working Father," now what exactly does that mean? Coming from a small
town or a big town may mean different things. While we all have our own unique challenges
in our journey to be our best selves, we also have many similarities. How exactly do we balance
time with family, food, training, work, and most importantly, sleep??? In this article, I will discuss
my own unique challenges and how I balance my overall life as a father, Nuclear Security
Officer, Student, as well as relationships, and most importantly, and foremost, TRAINING.
As a divorced man freshly out of the Marine Corps, I faced challenges that we all as divorcées
and veterans face. PTSD, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and depression. I delved into drinking 12 beers
a night and sitting in my garage feeling sorry for myself. But what was I sorry for? Was I sorry for
a failed relationship? Missing my veteran friends? Or was it a more profound meaning??
In my past life before the hard times, I was a successful athlete, competing at high levels
in High School Football, Basketball, Track, and Weightlifting. The deeper meaning after many
trips to counseling was that I didn’t know who I was anymore. I developed my identity as Brian the
broken veteran who came back from deployment divorced, with a daughter who passed away,
not Brian Gallagher, a 26-year-old from Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I wasn’t myself; the more profound
meaning was that I had to find something I loved; I had to find my purpose. I thoroughly delved into
Strongman.
With this passion I've developed, I had to make do with childcare, since I have two children
of my own. Not wanting to sacrifice time with them, I decided I would convert my entire garage
into a gym. Now I'm not talking about fancy gym stuff. I had a multi-gym with a small squat rack,
unable to walk weights out. Smith machine attached, with a lat pull machine on the back, a
single barbell, one atlas stone, and 500 lbs. of weight plates. Not much to start with, right?? But
what did I have? I had my kids watching me, learning, joining in. I had friends who came to help
me set up, I had determination, and I slowly had myself.
Now let’s back track, what was my list of who I am, I am a father. Check the gym created at
home so I’m always with my children, what's next? Nuclear Security Officer, working a 2-2-3
The schedule is less than ideal on the night shift. So, when do I train?? The answer is 1 o’clock every
day. Although six hours of sleep isn't ideal for muscle growth, it is sufficient. Getting home at 615
I sleep until 1230, wake up, and before my training, I get 16oz of water, fruit, and a protein
shake. Work out, then the food comes. More on that in the training aspect. 3 o'clock comes kid
pick up, 5 pm comes work. At work, I utilize my entire time to concentrate on recovery. Since I'm
sacrificing 2 hours of sleep to get my training in, I must make up the difference in recovery,
correct?? That’s where the food comes in.
As training time consists of lots of heavy movements and fast movements (conjugate), I usually
burn 6-800 calories just in my session. I have to replenish and maintain weight. Being 5-10 and
competing at 220, I prefer to walk pre-comp weight between 220 and 228. 230 is a bit heavy for
my liking, as I'm very lethargic. My daily food intake is listed below. I prep my
food on my day off for 2 days, as it's a lot of meat. Below will be listed as a single day, but I do
not deviate from this until its cut time. All rice is cooked in bone broth.
- 16oz water and fruit pre-workout for fast-acting sugar, hydration, and potassium in bananas.
- During a workout, 32oz of water with just some mild electrolytes to help with hydration
I've lost. - Post workout meal, six whole eggs, unless it's cut time, then it's just egg whites, 12oz of
water - ½ lb of ground venison, cup of cooked rice, cup of cooked veggies, carrots, peas, green
beans. - ½ lb of ground venison, cup of cooked rice, cup of cooked veggies, carrots, peas, green
beans. - ½ lb of ground venison, cup of cooked rice, cup of cooked veggies, carrots, peas, green
beans. - 2 oranges, to help keep blood sugar levels in check, cholesterol in check, and Vitamin C
- Protein shake at 5 am to get one last fuel in before sleep at 6.
My meat portions will change from ½ lb to ¾ lb depending on my weight and how I'm
recovering. This keeps my calories at about 3,000-4,000, depending on my weight. During
closer times to competition, I will change my carbs to virtually nothing 4-6 days out to help with
a 5-6 lb cut. I feel cutting only 5-6 lbs keeps me from losing too much energy, and that weak
feeling a lot of people get when in a caloric deficit. Most of the weight I lose is water intake.
What I'm trying to say is, dads and moms with kids, there is no excuse - you can do it. You need
a routine. Once you write the routine down, you will be more likely to stick to it. Writing down our goals and
routines works. It will force you to make a mental outline of the program you are trying to
follow. Make it a part of your life, because it's a lifestyle, not a diet. I'm not saying how I eat is
perfect or correct, but I'm saying it works for me. Find the routine of foods that works for
you!!! Red meat is an excellent source of micronutrients and fats, and rice converts to glucose and is
carried throughout the body to fuel your cells. There is no greater meat than red meat. Want to
cut weight, for example, take the rice out of this and eat red meat and water. The veggies are
just fillers, a good source of Vitamin A, K, Potassium, Peas are high in plant-based protein, and
BCAAs, Green beans are low-starch options for keeping you in that “full feeling.” Research
foods, but this is very close to the Monster Mash done by Stan Efferding.
The last I will discuss is training. As the great Louie Simmons said, getting stronger is a
mathematical formula, not a mindset. F=MA, Force, or strength equals Mass(weight)X
acceleration(speed). And I utilize this in my training every week. My days are broken up into a
Conjugate method, but not specifically a conjugate program.
Press days or upper days consist of 6 exercises, 2 of which are barbell movements. Compound barbell movements use more muscle fibers. The purpose of
Compound barbell movements are used to utilize more muscle units on that day.
For example. Strongman means overhead pressing. I will do four sets of 2 at a heavy weight; you must not miss any reps. 95 percent of your max overhead pressing. Then into heavy single arm seated dumbbell
press, four sets of 6. The compound barbell movement for the shoulder was first with the barbell.
Now we are tearing the muscle with a slight increase in volume and set ranges, but keeping the
weight heavy. Then, there are two upper back movements for the same style of training. Heavy
bent over rows, then into chest supported rows. Keeping the weight heavy. This is utilized on all
Max Effort Work, whether it is an upper day, a deadlift day, or a squat day. The only thing that will
change is the exercise and the barbell, but the style of training is the same.
Dynamic days are for speed, remember the formula??? Speed days consist of exercises like box
squats, tempo eccentric squat to explosive concentric. There are hundreds of examples, but
one I recently did is the following.
- 15 sets of 3 box squats with grey bands attached, safety bars 135 bar weight, hands out
wide, pulling the bar in to tax the lats. 30-45 second rest in between - Then into sets of 10 on the belt squat
The purpose of this day is to get the weight moving as physically fast as possible,
explosive movements. Once achieved, you can work on accessory movements. Accessory
movements throw blood into the muscle. That pump feeling, while it's painful, it is healing the
muscle. It is a filling of all the blood that carries oxygen into the muscle. Speed days are more
important for the development of strength. As the weight gets heavier, we tend to have an
effect to only press or push to equal the weight. We are meeting the weights resistance with
our own ability; speed days help us achieve maximum velocity to the barbell and push past
sticking points.
While I am by no means an expert or a professional, I have had experience in the field
of strongman and life. Being a student of strength at the University of Concordia Exercise
Science program, a Marine Corps HIIT instructor, and a competitive Men's Open Competitor in
USS Strongman, these are tips and tricks that work. I will list basic rules to follow when
following the conjugate below. I hope this helps readers and subscribers of Elitefts develop strength
and a little bit more understanding of strength. Feel free to reach out to me via email or follow
me on Instagram @0311b_gallagher. Strength is my life; I want others to achieve happiness and
virtue in their life, as I have achieved it in my own. Thank you for your time. Stay strong, stay
motivated. We can all get through this life together and create our own happiness, our own
dreams.
Basic Conjugate Guidelines
- Speed days keep weights at 75 percent of max, get the volume in with moving as fast as
possible, 15 sets of 3, 20 sets of 2, for example - Accessories are that, they are accessories, get two compound barbell movements in,
example: press day, do a compound press, a compound row movement, then do
different accessory movements. - Change the bar, change the exercise. After 3 weeks or so, your body will adapt to
different exercises and barbells. You will have a detraining effect. CHANGE THE
METHOD. - Max Effort days 95 percent of max, DO NOT MISS REPS. Back-off sets are nice, but they
are those back-off sets. Fewer muscle units are used; they are used to get more WORK in after
the main max effort is utilized. - Hamstring development is more important than you think. While everyone works those
pretty muscles, the hamstring is the biggest start of movements like squats and
deadlifts. It is not quad-dominant; it is hamstring-weak squats. - Utilize bands and chains. Bands are an inexpensive way to increase bar weight; they move
the bar faster than gravity. Forcing out muscles to develop speed to overcome the
kinetic energy produced by the band. Chains are great to overload the bar at the top
end of movements, but they do not force the bar down faster. - Tricep power is more important than chest development; don’t just train pec flys for big
bench presses. Press the weight!!
While this is all basic coverage of conjugate, to prevent taking up too much time, follow
these guidelines. It's your choice, just things that, as a competitor, I have found helped me over the
years. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope it helps a bit. Research this system,
Westside Barbell and Elite FTS provide in-depth information on these topics. Keep positive, keep
strong, and thank you.
Brian Gallagher is the owner of Darkside Strength in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Strength training saved his life and is his passion. He hopes this article finds you well and sheds light on how to balance strength training on a limited schedule for all those dads out there who try to balance life.