Battling The Dad Bod

Gentlemen…let’s face it: Once fatherhood comes, another reality sets in. Taking care of kids comes with more high calorie foods (such as kid snacks), their leftovers, and less time to work out. All the time and effort to maintain that Aries-like figure has been redirected to building up that legacy in your offspring.

I can recall a time when my meals would consist mainly of organic meats and vegetables, and snacks of trail mix, jerky, and a piece of fruit. Protein smoothies followed morning workouts and again after work. My weekly treat was a three-course meal at Cheesecake factory with my friends following our weekly grocery trip to the Whole Foods next door in Louisville, KY. The military moved me back home to my family and my diet staples became mac-n-cheese, rice, and weekly doses of home-cooked Filipino food (no complaints, though!). Unless I was able to get some training in during work hours, my time spent off-duty was with my wife and daughter.

Then the Dad Bod comes: A physical manifestation of our physical and mental investment in our children. A less than ideal physical reminder of a noble cause. Is there a way out? A way to find former glory in your current situation? You may not be able to turn back time, but there are some things you can do to combat that Dad Bod.

You may not be able to turn back time, but there are some things you can do to combat that Dad Bod.

Sleep. Sleep is the time when your body gets to the opposite end of fight or flight. Your body then has the opportunity to get your hormones in check which also affects your metabolism. Shoot for more than 6-7 hours of sleep at night. In order to help you get to sleep faster in the evening, minimize electronic device use, turn down the lights, and get your bedroom as dark as possible (blackout curtains or eye masks have helped me in the past). Some phases in life, such as having newborns, will not permit you this luxury, and that’s okay. Take naps during the day. Yes, naps are not just for kindergarteners. Ten to 30 minute power naps during the day will work wonders.

Take naps during the day.

Food. Snacks happen. But just because your kids eat those juicy gummies or animal crackers doesn’t mean you have to. Opt for some healthier snacks and place them beside your kid’s snacks. That way you grab your snack instead of helping yourself to your little one’s. Trail mix, jerky, protein bars, and fruit are great options, but you need to have them available just as quickly as your little one needs theirs.

Opt for some healthier snacks and place them beside your kid’s snacks.

Move. Exercise! Long gone are the times where you can block off an hour or two to get to the gym. So how can you get moving? Make moving fit in your day. Do you take an hourly break from sitting at your desk? Use that 5-10 minute opportunity to knock out a set of push ups and/or bodyweight squats. Find a flight of steps and take a couple of laps on your way to the restroom. Stuck at home? Short workouts during your little champ’s nap time are in order.

Make moving fit in your day.

Here’s a short workout that you can complete in less than 15 minutes without any equipment: Complete 4 sets of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest of a given movement. After your last set, complete one minute of the same movement (3 minutes total). Rest one minute and then repeat. We’ll go through this three times, the first time focusing on a lower body movement, the second time focusing on upper body, and the third time focusing on a total body movement. We can do this a la carte so that you can change it up every once in a while.

Lower Body: Split Squat, Lunge, Squat

Upper Body: Push Up, Piked Push Up, Dips (off the edge of a bench, chair, couch)

Total Body: Squat Thrust, Burpee, Mountain Climbers

Your workout will look like this:

20 sec Lunge / 10 sec Rest

1 minute Lunges (as many as possible)

1 min Rest

20 sec Push Ups / 10 sec Rest

1 minute Push Ups (as many as possible)

1 min Rest

20 sec Mountain Climbers / 10 sec Rest

1 minute Mountain Climbers (as many as possible)

Done!

Combatting that Dad Bod takes a little bit of effort, but you can do it. Fatherhood is the long game and those kiddos will always need you. So get some rest, eat well, and move often.