When I first came to Wentworth almost 25 years ago, I was definitely the ‘odd man’ on campus. For one, here was this over enthusiastic American trying to get members to take part in my one -to- one training and do press-ups, and secondly I was the guy with 5 kids under 7 years of age! My wife, and soon to be ex-wife, made a lot of mistakes in her own fitness programme, as did I! It definitely made parenting more of a challenge than need be. From my wife getting back to intensive training too quickly after child birth, to myself overtraining, both of us learned through failure. The way forward to getting, and staying in great shape as a parent, is to understand first the issues that need to be faced after such a life change!
The second is to make an action plan which includes training smart, eating correctly and thinking right!
Women must understand that pregnancy itself is progressive resistance training. Just carrying the baby for 9 months will get your muscles and bones stronger as long as you listen to your body. This means rest at this point is just as important as gentle exercise. Putting one’s feet up and eating nutritionally sound foods will help you cope better with pregnancy and in turn speed up recovery after birth. By following your specialist’s advice and getting back slowly, great fitness results happen quicker and with lasting effects. Babies make you stronger is what I tell my clients who are new mothers. That’s why so many top woman athletes compete at their highest levels after having children. Eating little and often(every 3 hours), small amounts of protein and complex carbs, with 2 litres of water daily will ensure that one gets more toned, lose excess fat and keeps energy levels at the highest. A healthy lifestyle in turn gives you the fitness and aesthetic results
you want while giving you the energy needed for your family.
Young dads can be overwhelmed by the needs of a young family. Not only does one have to produce more income (this applies for many woman as well), but often with less sleep! Our wives don’t show us the same attention time and romantic dinners are interrupted with dirty nappies and sickness! Many men start to neglect their own health by not eating correctly. Many pound out hours of cardio without realising that without resistance training and the correct nutrition, all that happens is they lose muscle not fat, and stay the same, but in reality, are unhealthier because they have less muscle mass to support joints and burn calories! The injuries which one gets from all this can linger if untreated for years. Bad backs and poor digestion can begin when guys become dads. The answer is training smart with a training program that is based on resistance (wts) which raises ones metabolic rate (calories burned ) and keeps our injuries at bay. We must realise that we are what we eat . By eating every 3 hours small amounts of protein and carbs we can get closer to that six pack and have the energy we need for our professional and family needs . Recovery days must be factored into our training (we get stronger after exercise), for without non exercise days our efforts make the medicine worse than the disease!
Our mindset to parenthood must be correct and must be worked on just as much as our training and our nutrition. Meditation, prayer, and many self help books (zen) are some places to start. Not only can our emotional fitness make us more ready for the “terrible two’s”, but without it stress can blunt our fitness efforts and damage our health. Free your mind and your butt will follow is what can actually happen for us all!
Having a young family can be one of the best times of your life. From my own experience and my partner Corrine (7 children and one grandchild between us), it is however just the beginning. You can house the body, but not the soul, and as children get older, the demands on all fronts grow and change . Life with children can feel out of control at times where you feel that you’re the ball and not the bat! By training smart, eating correctly and having the right mindset, your own body and soul will be strong enough to respond appropriately .