Never Be Unsure Of Your “Why” For Exercise
I’m a relatively young dad, but woefully aware of my slipping energy levels. And honestly, I don’t think it’s so much because I’m getting older and presumably slowing down, but because my days are jam-packed. If you have read my post, Ruthless Time Management, then you have a good idea of my schedule.
Honestly, at 24, I’m still a young bull and should be peaking physically (I think, or did I miss it already?).
For a long time I was really into Spartan racing and that kept me going with a “push harder” mindset. But you can only tell yourself to “spartan up” so many times at 5 AM for a workout before you start detesting the phrase.
I don’t necessarily want to be in shape to try and smoke people at races (because that wasn’t happening anyway). I really just want to look good for my wife, optimize my energy levels, and be able to play with my kid. I’m not a scientist or self-help guru, I’m a dad who is paying attention. And what I’ve noticed is that I can regularly exercise and still feel like crap.
Remember the 5 AM workouts I referenced? Those SUCKED and I laid around like a discarded wooden puppet in the evenings usually. It didn’t work for me, even though I stubbornly stuck with it for about half a year. Ever heard of Jocko Willink? He’s a former Navy Seal and staunchly believes in 4 AM wake-ups and workouts. He was the one who originally inspired me to try early workouts. That works for him, but it just didn’t fit my ideal lifestyle.
So what works for an average joe (not Jocko) like me?
It depends. It gets back to goals and values. There’s a big difference between the two, but both are important. As a dad with limited time, think in terms of Venn Diagram with goals on one side and values on the other. Where they intersect will give you a good idea of what kind of workouts you should be doing as well as how long/hard those should be.
Examples of exercise-related goals:
- Losing 30 pounds
- Learning to handstand walk
- Place Top Ten in Age Group at a race
Examples of exercise-related values:
- Bodily longevity
- Physical sustainability
- Family time
Take the “Losing 30 pounds” goal and put it in one circle in the Venn Diagram, then take the “Family Time” value and put it in the other circle. Where they intersect is where you’ll have to evaluate: how can I lose 30 pounds yet spend more time with my family? Maybe that looks like waking up at 6 AM and doing a 30-minute Crossfit workout. Not an early riser? Maybe it’s a run around lunchtime. But I’ll tell you what it isn’t — it’s not spending an hour or two at the gym after work when you could be at home with your family. That will help you accomplish your goal, but it completely neglects your values. Identifying what works within the intersection of your goals and values is the key to unlocking your dadbod.
For me, it changes. Over the last year I have trained with “Antifragile” movements. I learned about this concept from an Art of Manliness podcast episode featuring Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. It’s summed up as practicing natural movements to increase your toughness (including endurance and strength) as well as mobility. These are movements like running, jumping, rolling, hanging, etc.
Personally I use a combination of the Antifragile concept and Crossfit-y workouts. But for three months in 2019 I also did traditional strength training.
As you can tell, I like changing it up. Variation in training has worked for me, and I never get bored. But as you’re developing a system that works for you, continue to pay attention to your body. When I was doing the traditional muscle-building, I felt sorer most of the time. What helped was adding some pretty non-extraneous Antifragile movements (basically dynamic stretching).
The bottom line that my non-professional, average joe opinion recommends is:
- Identify your goals and your values
- If you aren’t working out, start working out
- Add natural forms of movement
As a dad, the main thing is to get out there and do it.
Originally published at https://domainofdads.com on March 21, 2020.
