The holiday season is the perfect time to reflect in our past accomplishments, celebrate with family and friends, and rejuvenate for 2010, as we continue to improve our health and fitness.
I want to take a moment to sincerely THANK-YOU for following Dad Fitness. Stay tuned for more great stuff from Dad Fitness in 2010 as we work together to make it our best year ever!
I would like to wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season and all the best life has to offer in the New Year…
Wishing You Health and Happiness,
Sean Barker
…and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy Festivus!
I am on vacation from work for a couple weeks so I thought it would be a great time to get some household projects completed.
…What I didn’t expect was to run into more problems!
Read on to find out what happened at our house and how I lost 8lbs without trying..(and no I didn’t saw off my arm if that’s what your thinking)
After repairing some boards in our patio deck and installing a new heater in our hallway, my dad and I tore down an old greenhouse in the backyard (that was falling down on it’s own anyway) so we can have more room in the yard for Matea to run around and play.
…7 trips to the town dump later, we had things cleaned up, raked and seeded.
Then the ice maker in our freezer gives out, and a couple days after that… our dryer stops working!
Both appliances are only a couple years old, so I guess the saying is true, “They REALLY Don’t Make Things Like They Used To”
We are still trying to get hold of a repairman…
The current project we are working on is installing a new shower kit downstairs in place of the old one which was all cracked up. Luckily we have another shower and tub upstairs so we don’t become the Smelly Barker’s during these renovations.
Anyway, lets hope the roof don’t fall down on me while I write this, even though it was redone 2 years ago.
…But maintaining a home is a lot like maintaining your health and fitness.
If you don’t take care of yourself and maintain a strong and fit body, you will eventually break down and need some major repairs; arthritis, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer, ring a bell?
So make sure you know your numbers and get at least a complete medical checkup once a year. I had mine last week and everything was “perfect” as the nurse said, EXCEPT
…I am 8lbs lighter than last year. (175lbs) Maybe my workouts for dads is working too good!
Eating REAL naturals foods 90% of the time, and doing SHORT high intensity workouts 3 times a week is all it takes for me to stay in great shape all year long.
I even had a dental cleaning and checkup the same day and at 31 years old kept my streak alive, still NO cavities or fillings!
So make sure YOU keep your body finely tuned by getting a regular checkup, eating right and exercising, or you just might end up with some major repairs that the doctor won’t be able to fix…
Your family is depending on you.
Get Started TODAY at ==>http://www.DadFitness.com
How are YOUR numbers? Is there something you would like to improve? Blood pressure, Cholesterol, Weight, Waist Size?
Let me know by leaving a comment below so I can help you get the numbers you want.
It’s been really quiet at my house the last few days as my wife and baby daughter left to visit relatives in Newfoundland on Thursday.
I would have made the trip with them, but unfortunately I couldn’t get time off work. We are planning on taking a vacation in September anyway to attend my wife’s sister’s wedding on the rock.
I must say I certainly miss the two ladies of the house as I really look forward to little Matea running to greet me at the door when I get home from work.
Today, was especially quiet as our area was hit with an unexpected 5 hour power outage from 9am-2pm!
With a couple days off from work and some extra time to myself I was looking forward to starting the day with an early morning workout then running some errands which I normally have little time to do when I am working or home with Matea.
But when the power went out, everything was put on hold.
Any outdoor activities were also out of the picture as it’s been pouring rain all day…
With no internet to distract me I took advantage of this time by using the couple hours of power my Macbook had left to work on some writing projects for Dad Fitness.
I even surprised myself as I got on a creative roll and completed 3 new health and fitness articles which you will be seeing very soon!
Then when my laptop when dead, I did some cleaning up around the house and even got to organizing my home office bookshelf which was being weighed down by all the books I continue to read. I try to read at least 3-4 books a month on health and fitness, self improvement, business and marketing.
When the lights came back on I was charged up to hit the gym for an intense full body workout.
Today’s workout was considered a “Light Push” workout that involved a little more isolation exercises that I usually do but it was fun and refreshing and my legs were like rubber after the first two exercises. Everything was 2 sets of 12 reps except calves.
A Leg Press
B1 Bulgarian Split Squat
B2 Dumbbell Floor Presses (keep elbows tucked to emphasize triceps)
C1 DB Fly’s
C2 Triceps “Concentration” Extensions (lie on a bench with a dumbbell held overhead with one arm and lower the forearm across your chest until the dumbbell touches. Use the other arm to support and/or assist the working arm)
D1. Dumbbell Lateral Raises
D2. Overhead Barbell Shrugs
E. Seated Calf Extensions, 3 sets of 10
To refuel after today’s workout I had a chocolate milk and a banana.
Then it was “Dinner for 1″ as I made my famous Dad Fitness Quick and Easy Chili for supper with lots of leftovers for healthy meals for the week.
Finished off the meal with a little 90% cocoa dark chocolate.
Looking forward to talking with my wife this evening as I hold down the fort here at home…
The Barker’s will be at full power on Thursday when the girls return!
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The Top 10 Things I Did To Improve my Health, Wealth & Happiness in 2008
1. I became a father. This is number one for a reason. Becoming a father has been the most rewarding and precious experience I have had since the day I was born. With all the mixed emotions being a new dad brings and no matter what may be going on in the unpredictable moments of daily life, all I have to do is see the face of my baby girl Matea and I have a guaranteed smile.
2. I finally took the plunge to follow my lifelong passion for health and fitness. Despite continuing to work my regular job as a heavy equipment operator I got certified as a personal trainer, and started my online business called Dad Fitness. I plan on eventually making this my full-time job so I can create my lifestyle around my career and be in total control of my income so I can be there for my family.
With the current news that I will be laid off from my operator job due to the economic downturn I feel the time is NOW to “feel the fear, and do it anyway”. How can I someday tell my kids that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up, if their Dad is afraid to do the same. It’s not what you say, its what you DO.
3. Dating my wife. After having our baby daughter no matter how much we thought we were prepared, we were hit with quite the wake-up call. As we got busy being parents, we let “life” get in the way of us being husband and wife. After realizing it was OK to accept help from our family once in awhile, we started having a date night at least once every 2nd week. We hope to even make this happen once a week in 2009.
4. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This quote comes from my favorite book of 2008. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I realized even following what has been considered a healthy lifestyle of eating for the last 15 years, that I was obsessed with food. “Eat this, at that time, so many times a day” was making me not enjoy food anymore. This book has changed my entire outlook on how we eat as a society and specifically how I eat.
5. I invested in MYSELF. With the world economy in a downturn I continue to make an investment that will NEVER fail me. I try to read an hour each day, 3-4 books a month and continue to advance my personal training certifications with advanced courses in training and nutrition.
I try to surround myself with positive people who are successful at doing what I WANT to do. I even traveled to Toronto this year to attend my first Mastermind meeting. I also read a lot on self improvement including success, business, money, time management, relationships and anything that I feel will help improve my health, wealth and happiness. You will never get dumber by reading a book…
6. Total Body Workouts. Like most guys who started training in the gym my background came from bodybuilding. I even went a step farther as my interest in the sport grew and competed in a few contests. But after 15 years in this industry my training philosophy is changing. For most regular folks you just want to get in shape, bodybuilding style workouts are NOT the best way to go.
That’s why the last year or so I have been designing my workouts around full-body workouts opposed to the typical body part splits such as a chest day or arm day. Most busy dads want to get the best bang for their workout buck and working your entire body with compound exercises that use a lot of muscles together is the most effective and most functional way to workout. This is the backbone of my Dad Fitness workouts and is why you can lose fat and build muscle with just 3 short workouts a week.
7. I replaced supplements with food. This year I have been gradually cutting back on the supplements that I have been taking for years and relying on whole natural foods for my vitamins and minerals. Instead of taking vitamin C, I eat more oranges and bell peppers. Instead of taking additional vitamin E, I eat more mixed nuts. I even give up taking a protein bar to work for my mid-morning snack and eat mixed nuts instead.
I also recently give up taking my post-workout protein shake and replaced it with chocolate milk. Studies show chocolate milk works just as well to help your muscle recover after a workout. Now I only take fish oil and a multivitamin twice a day to supplement my diet. As for all those empty protein tubs, they make great piggy banks for all the money I am saving!
8. Be ruthless with my time. Since becoming a busy dad who works a full-time job and running my own business I have had to better manage my time before someone else would. Making my family also number one on my priority list I had to make sure I blocked out time in each day to get things done. I don’t need a blackberry or an iphone to help organize my time as I think they are ironically time-stealers, not time-savers. I use a basic planner that I write in every day to keep me on track with work, workouts, appointments, business contacts etc. I review this every night and make sure things are planned to the best of my ability for the next day.
Another big change I made was to outsource any tasks that I have no interest in doing or think I could be doing something better with my time. Instead of spending 4 hours snow blowing our driveway I pay a company to clear my driveway with a loader that takes 5 minutes and use that time to work on my business or spend with my family.
9. I stopped microwaving plastic. You probably heard about the warnings of heating plastics and specifically the chemical found in plastics, BPA. The problem with BPA is that it doesn’t stay in the plastic. It leaches into whatever food or beverage you put in a plastic container, canned good, or plastic baby bottle. And if you microwave the containers or bottles, you are likely increasing the amount of BPA that leaches into your food.
BPA mimics the sex hormone estradiol, which can trigger major changes in your body such as brain damage, hyperactivity, abnormal sexual behaviour, increased fat formation and risk of obesity and early puberty and disrupted reproductive cycles. I simply switched to the Pyrex glass containers to store and warm my food at work and at home. This is the only time I use a microwave as I stay away from any processed foods that come in a box or container that you can heat in a microwave. I suggest you do the same.
10. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” This is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. I have this posted on the wall of my home office and this simple phrase really helps me get through the tough times. Personally at this time my wife and I are looking to leave our current jobs and move across the country to follow our true passion in life and to explore better opportunities for our family. Making such a big change and taking risks are hard to do.
But you MUST fight the fear and do things anyway if you want to be successful in all facets of your life. If you are feeling frustrated with your current situation in life, realize you can’t change everything overnight, but in the meantime keep working towards your goals and do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
PS. Don’t forget to check out my latest article posted on TheFatherLife.com.
Sean Barker, CPT
Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com
I have been waiting for this for the last few days.
The mailman delivered IT this morning.
A letter that states…
“Please be advised that unfortunately due to current economic conditions you will be laid off from your employment at Wabush Mines, commencing on February 16th, 2009 and continuing until notice of recall is issued. At this time the company anticipates that the layoff will continue until at least the middle of 2009.”
Yes, I lost my job!
Working as a heavy equipment operator with Wabush Mines has been my regular day job for the last 5 years. It pays really well with full benefits for me and my family. The last few weeks we heard the company will be laying off almost 50% of its workforce!
The other nearby iron ore mine here in Labrador City, IOCC is also expecting to get hit with massive layoffs.
Unfortunately this is all we hear everyday now with the world continuing to plummet into an economic downturn. As the iron ore mines here supplies the steel to markets such as China, they rely on the demand for steel in order to produce.
As devastating as this news is to my family. There is a silver lining.
We had plans to leave our jobs here this spring anyway and move to western Canada, specifically Calgary to pursue our passions and a higher quality of life.
This would allow me to follow my passion in health and fitness and work full time on my Dad Fitness business. My wife already has no problem to transfer her job as a Wildlife Biologist.
The mailman said “I am sorry” as he passed me the envelope holding a huge stack of these letters that everyone around this small town expects to get today.
Looking over the letter there must of been a mistake.
They forgot the line: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I honestly believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason.
If you and your family is effected by this worldwide downfall post your comments I will continue to invest in the only thing that is in my control, my HEALTH.
To invest in your health, join me and get started with
==>The Dad Fitness System.
It’s comes with a 100% risk-free guarantee. Unlike some other things in life…
Sean Barker, CPT
Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com
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