I’m getting tired of being cooped up in a sweaty, germ-infested gym full of meathead bodybuilders (stop doing your bicep curls on my squat rack!) and cardio queens who don’t know when to quit with the “ankle-weight-step-up-glute-squeezes”.
So I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’m building a home gym in my backyard (and a 2-level deck w/a fence and a pre-fab shed). I’ve got kettlebells that go up to 72lbs, blast straps & a sandbag and with the revamped backyard, I’ll be able to use a few more “new” toys as well.
Check out what I’m doing…
Have a great weekend!
Make sure to check back on Monday for another video!
Chris
The FitAndBusyDad
P.S. For outdoor workouts that you can do at home in your backyard, make sure to check out the FitAndBusyDad Workouts!
FBD Rule #17: Give your kids more of your TIME and less "things".
We just finished another crazy weekend. AJ had a soccer tournament. We took the kids out on Saturday night to watch fireworks. Frankie had a huge birthday party yesterday.
Family life is fun…but it’s tiring! My weekends seem to be busier than my work week!
Over the past 11 years, I’ve noticed some things. Observations, if you will. Things that I have had to learn the hard way, but eventually have led to a somewhat successful life. (Keep in mind that success is defined differently for different people. My definition of success is a little unconventional).
Over this time, I’ve compiled a list of 23 things that are now almost a manifesto on how I live my life. I haven’t mastered life by any means. But these 23 “rules” are what have lead to me living a happy, healthy and somewhat sane life as a FitAndBusyDad to a beautiful family.
I’d like to share these things with you now…
23 Rules for Living a FitAndBusyDad Life
1. Train with intensity and don’t waste your time with cardio if you want to lose weight and stay healthy.
2. Eat REAL food.
3. Your family comes first. Not money, not work, not unnecessary things.
4. Years 1 thru 5 are the MOST IMPORTANT in your child’s life (developmentally). Make an effort to be there as much as you can and to build their self-esteem and character. These years will determine who they are as a person.
5. Always continue to learn and enrich your mind with good books, continuing education courses and seminars…try to spend at least 30mins per day reading (you should always try to have the answers to questions your kids will ask you).
7. Make time for personal relationships – especially the relationship with your wife/spouse/partner. It’s too easy to get caught up with family life/commitments…you’ll need these relationships as life goes on and the kids get older.
8. Drink only water and organic tea & espresso limiting or eliminating unnaturally sweetened and preserved drinks & juices and alcohol consumption.
9. Eat the majority of your food from plants, but don’t give up meat entirely if you don’t have to.
10. Read to your kids so that they can learn to enjoy the benefits of reading.
11. Make sure your kids bare witness to you being active, they in turn, will be active themselves.
12. Master bodyweight exercises (chin-ups, push-ups, dips, pistols, lunges & squats) before picking up weights. Teach your kids these exercises too.
13. Master some form of deep breathing/mediation or stress relieving exercise that you can turn to when things start to get hectic…trust me, you’ll need it.
14. Be conscious of everything you do because someone is always watching.
15. You are a role model to your kids, empower them and build their confidence through encouraging words and actions.
16. Walk everywhere or ride a bike for transportation. Conserve energy as much as possible.
17. Give your kids more time and less “things”.
18. Train outside when you can and as often as you can.
20. Enjoy what you do for a living. If you’re passionate about work and love what you do, the money will come.
21. Train when you are in the fasted state (don’t eat 2-3 hours before training). There’s something primal and intense about lifting/training when you’re hungry.
22. Don’t drink or eat anything from plastic containers. There’s too much research out there on the dangers of this.
23. Smile more…it’s old school thinking that smiling isn’t “manly”. This is the New School.
So what do you think? Did I miss anything?
Or even worse, did I completely get anything a**-backwards?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions and hear what some of your “rules for life” are!
I’m sitting at the car dealership this morning waiting for service to get done on my car.
It’s been a fun morning. (Literally. I’m not being sarcastic this time.)
I got up at the usual 5am this morning to get some project work done. As I was finishing my first article of the morning, I hear the pitter-patter of feet running to the bathroom, giggling and then running back to her room. Then, tiptoeing in stealth, ninja-like fashion, I hear someone slowly creep down the stairs.
“It’s my birthday today”, she whispers.
“Are you sure”, I say.
“Yes. I counted my sleeps and the sun is up and now it’s morning, so today is my birthday. I’m 4 now, so you have to do everything I say today!”
So today is Frankie’s (my #3 daughter) 4th birthday.
We affectionately call her “Sparkles” or “Frankie Goes To Hollywood” or “Frankie From NYC” or, her latest nickname “The Meal Ticket”.
See, this kid’s different. My oldest, AJ, seems to be the jock. My 2nd daughter Joey is somewhat shy, but is an intellectual marvel. Mikey, the baby, we can’t quite figure out yet. But Frankie… well let’s just say that she memorized the lyrics and dance moves to “Boom, Boom, POW” by the Black Eyed Peas 2 days after the song was released.
(****As an aside: I don’t label my kids or pigeon hole them into certain roles in our family. My wife and I just believe in driving them towards their strengths and what they’re comfortable with at any given point in time in their lives. AJ’s shown a propensity to sport, Joey is picking up a 2nd language right now like she putting her socks on and well, Frankie…Frankie believes that they will re-do the movie High School Musical and cast her as “Gabriella”. That just the way we roll in our house.)
Happy Birthday, Frankie!!!!
Here’s the last installment of June’s program for Busy Dads…
Have a great weekend and make sure you check back on Monday for a special announcement!
Sorry guys, short post today. Frankie’s got a bladder infection, so we’re off to the doctor this morning. In the meantime, enjoy today’s workout. This is Day 3 of our 4 day program.
I’ll have the full program layout and the last video of the program tomorrow.
A few years ago, I added an exercise to every client’s warm-up that I thought was incredibly essential for their success. It was called “the Scorpion”. What it involved was having my client lay on his/her front, extend one leg in the air (while they were squeezing their butt) and then rotate their leg across their body to touch the floor on the opposite side.
I thought this was cutting edge. I thought I was doing stuff that nobody else was doing and that it could have been the missing link in getting my clients mobile, injury free and free of back pain.
Boy, was I wrong.
In fact, after reading Dr. Stuart McGill’s “Ultimate Back Fitness And Performance” and attending one of his seminars, I realized that what I was doing was not only wrong, but dangerous. Needless to say that I changed things right away.
What I learned is that the vertibrae & discs in your lumbar spine (your lower back) are only meant to take 2-3 degrees of rotation. More than that is excessive, creates sheer force and could potentially harm your lower back later on in life.
OK, so what does this all mean?
It means that…
-We need to focus more on bracing our abs and keeping our lower back as stable and rotation free as possible.
-We should be using our abs the way they were meant to be used – for stability and as ANTI-rotators – not as a means to bring our chest to our hips (as in a crunch or sit-up).
-We should be focusing more on rotating through our UPPER BACK and HIPS as opposed to our fragile lower backs.
-And that a poorly executed golf swing is a chiropractor’s and orthopedic surgeon’s wet dream (See above: Felxion & Rotation is a recipe for disaster. Stick to gambling & basketball, Charles.)
The solution?
First, do ab exercises like planks, side planks, and hip bridges to keep our abs strong and stable.
Second, work on the mobility in our hips.
Third, focus on keeping our upper backs – and the muscles surrounding and supporting them – knot free and mobile so that our lower backs don’t make up for it.
Here are a couple of exercises that you can do to keep your upper back loose and mobile…
This one uses a foam roller and is great for posture…
This one teaches you how to rotate through your upper back while keep your lower back stable…
If you do anything to keep your low back healthy, make sure to let me and everyone else know and leave a comment below.
It’s the first day of a new month and it’s a Monday. The weather is better, the days are longer and with the new season, you feel a refreshed and ready to go.
There’s about 4 weeks until the July long weekend (the “official” start of summer, in my opinion, if you live on the East Coast).
So why not set your sights on that weekend, take the next 4-5 weeks to work your tail-off, and get in great shape – lose some fat, put some muscle on, get your strength up and just feel better and more energetic overall!!!
Here’s your SIMPLE 4-Step Action Plan…
1. Write your goals down. Pick 2 or 3 REALISTIC and SPECIFIC goals that you’d like to achieve over the next 4 weeks, write them down and make 3 copies…
-stick one copy on your refrigerator door
-stick the second copy on the dashboard of your car
-put the final copy in your wallet
Your goals could be anything from…
“Over the next 4 weeks I will exercise and/or be active every day” to
“I will lose 2 inches off my belly” to
“I will spend at least 1 hour of devoted time with my son everyday”
It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s specific and it’s something that you feel passionate about and motivated to accomplish.
Review these goals daily, if not more. Come back to them as often as you can to keep you focused with your eye on the prize.
2. Tell somebody about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Tell your wife, your boss, your best friend or tell US. You need a support system to hold you accountable and to help you get through those times that you don’t want to do things even though you KNOW you should.
3. Get your nutrition in check. When you get home from work tonight, go through the pantry and the fridge/freezer and get all the indulgent crap out of your face. Fine, if you want to give the kids a treat now and then.
But if it were me, I’d just throw it all out. Teach your family how to eat well too.
Ice cream, chips, cookies, crackers, gummy bears, rice cakes (yes, even rice cakes)…get rid of it. These types of foods WILL NOT help you achieve your goals over the next 4 weeks.
Instead, you’ll be focusing on eating a lot of fresh fruits & vegetables, lean protein (chicken, fish & some red meat) and healthy fats (like nuts, avocados, seeds, olive & coconut oil).
Try to buy whatever’s fresh and in-season. Peppers & asparagus are great this time of year. Strawberries & blueberries are good, and if you really want a treat, grab some mangoes from the supermarket. They are ridiculously sweet this season!
Over the next 4-weeks (and hopefully the rest of your life), you’ll be focusing on eating REAL FOOD. Nothing packaged, no GMOs, nothing processed or unnatural. Eat foods the way Mother Nature intended and you will lose weight and be healthier.
Guaranteed.
4. Do this workout. It will take you about 21-minutes. If you like it, come back tomorrow and I’ll give you one to do for tomorrow (Tuesday)…
It’s been a dreary past few days here in Toronto. It’s been cold and rainy…feels more like fall than it does spring.
Nonetheless, it’s June and we’ve only got 31 days left until the July long weekend (Canada Day for my fellow Canadians, 4th of July for our American friends).
I’m putting together a full month’s worth of FitAndBusyDad Workouts for you guys to do and get yourself in gear over the next 4 weeks (that’s 4 workouts per week for 4 weeks…not 30 days of new workouts, sorry!). If you missed yesterday’s workout, you can find it HERE.
Have you written your GOALS down yet? Have you made 3 copies and put one copy each on your fridge, your dashboard and in your wallet?
If not, why not? Make sure you do it today!
Today, we’ve got a bodyweight based workout that will get your heart rate up and get your blood pumping. It’s the perfect compliment to yesterday’s strength/resistance based workout.
The beauty of bodyweight training is that it can be done ANYWHERE. At the park, in your basement, in the living room, at the office. All you need is an 8 x 8 area and the drive to work hard and get it done.
Our workout schedule for this week looks like this…
Monday – Strength Workout 1 Tuesday (today) – Bodyweight Workout 1 (see below) Wednesday – optional foam rolling/mobility or DAY OFF Thursday – Strength Workout 2 Friday – Bodyweight Workout 2 Saturday/Sunday – Active Family Lifestyle Days!!!
I filmed today’s workout in the park with Joey (she’s on the swing in the background) and AJ (she’s holding the camera). I love doing anything active or exercise related and having my kids around to watch or to participate. I think that is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to having an active family lifestyle – having your kids witness you and your healthy and active habits. Kids learn more through example than they do through verbal instruction.
I’ve been reading ZenHabits.net for over a year now and I get great and RELEVANT information each and every time I read a new post.
So, whenLeo Babauta came out with a book, The Power of Less, earlier this year, I was there the Tuesday it came out to pick-up a copy. Since then, I’ve bought copies for several of my family and friends.
I’ve been using it as my guide for 2009 to SIMPLIFY my life and to teach me how to FOCUS ON JUST THE ESSENTIAL.
Check out this review that I did for the book, and then make sure to download the NEW interview that I did with Leo where we apply THE POWER OF LESS to living as a FitAndBusyDad (it’s FR*EE)….
Download the FitAndBusyDad Interview with Leo Babauta HERE…
The gym that I train at here in Toronto doesn’t have any foam rollers. So, prior to my squat and deadlift workouts, I have to head over to the “abs & stretching” area of the gym to use a medicine ball to knead out my glutes & IT bands.
Without fail, every time I get to the open floor area, I’ve got to step over or around some poor trainee trying to chase his abs by doing crunches (or even worse, sit-ups) until he “feels the burn” – what is this, 1983?
If only he knew that there was a better way to get those six-pack-abs and burn fat that is actually safer, less boring and more effective.
I wish I could have told him to use big, bang-for-your-buck exercises like squats, deads, lunges, chins, rows & dips that require more abdominal work than your average crunch or sit-up.
I wish I could have told him that his 6-pack will come a lot faster if he were to limit his sugar intake and eliminate all junk food and just focus on eating fruits, vegetables, lean protein & healthy fats.
I wish I could have told him to make sure he gets enough rest and manage his stress to reduce the amount of cortisol (a belly fat loving hormone) he produces.
I wish I could have told him all those things, but I made a pact to myself never to give advice to another trainer (yes, he was a trainer that works in the gym that I go to) unless I actually know him or unless he asks….long story short, the last time I “made a suggestion” to another trainer, I almost got my a$ kicked because he thought I was being arrogant.
So, in dedication to all crunch-happy gym-goers who are in search of that “burn”, here is a great ab exercise circuit “finisher” that I did on Friday after my squat workout.
It’s called a “finisher” because…
1. You should always do your ab exercises at the end of your training session and
2. After you do a few of rounds of this circuit, you will be “finished”.
Make sure to give this one a try and let me know how you feel tomorrow! If you do this right, I guarantee you’ll be so sore that it’ll hurt to cough.
FitAndBusyDad Intermediate Ab Finisher
1a. Ab-Wheel Roll Outs x 15
1b. Lower Ab Reverse Curl x 15
1c. X-body Climbers x 20 total
Repeat the above circuit 3 times with NO REST between exercises, then finish with…
2. 100 x KB or Dumbbell Swings (Complete the swings in as minimal sets as possible resting 45s between sets…remember to brace your abs HARD on these)
This circuit should take you about 6-8 minutes to finish and uses so many muscles that it could be considered a workout by itself!
Tack this onto the end of one of your FitAndBusyDad workouts and you’ll be shedding the fat and getting 6-pack-abs that work in no time.
Chris The FitAndBusyDad
P.S. Stop wasting your time with useless crunches and sit-ups. Stop buying $50 ab-gadgets. Stop looking for the magic bullet. Work hard, train hard, eat REAL FOOD – and use FitAndBusyDad Workouts!
By this point, I hope you know NOT to buy your wife a vacuum cleaner for Mother’s Day, right?
You do know that Mother’s Day is this weekend, don’t you?
Forget the nice clothes, the pearl necklaces and the household appliances. I took a survey of all my Twitter Followers, all my Facebook Friends and all the folks that subscribe to my Newsletter and asked them what “the absolute best” Mother’s Day present they have ever given or gotten was.
Surprise, surprise…most moms don’t want the fancy things.
The 2 most popular answers will cost you little to NO MONEY AT ALL!!!
Just watch the video, and then head back to WalMart and return the frying pan set, will ya.
