No it’s not a Kit-Kat bar…

But the message behind their advertising slogan is one great way.

Gimme a Break!

1. Breakway from the Barbells

For us Gung-ho guys sometimes the hardest part of working out is NOT working out at all.  As hard as it may be when you feel you’re making progress with your workouts and the WEIGHTS are going up while your WAIST is going down, it’s always a good idea to have rest weeks designed into your training the same way you have sets and reps.

So that’s why after 12 weeks of hard and intense workouts, it’s time I take a break from the gym…and maybe you should too! Usually I try and take an entire week off from the gym every 8-10 weeks to give my body as well as my mind a rest so I can recharge my body’s batteries and be ready to start a new workout routine for another couple months.

2. Deload the Dumbbells.

Wether you are focusing on fat loss or getting stronger, when doing a longer training routine of 12-16 weeks it’s probably best to have a deload week every 4 weeks in your workouts. This is usually where you reduce the normal working weights and reps in your workout by 50%.  If you don’t have the mental muscle to stay away from the gym entirely, deload weeks are a great way to prevent burnout, get strong over time and avoid injury in the process while still remaining active.

3. Alternate don’t Adapt

Your body is made to adapt, otherwise you wouldn’t be here to read this… Research shows your body adapts to your workouts after 4-6 weeks. It adapts to your rep ranges first, then it catches on to your movement patterns. This is why it’s important to do different exercises from many different angles to stay one step ahead of that dreaded training plateau where your gains come to a screeching halt.

An example for chest would be to do barbell bench press for 4 sets of 6 reps on Monday, 2 sets of 12 of incline dumbbell presses on Wednesday and 3 sets of 8 of decline pushups on Friday…

I also like to cut myself some slack with my nutrition during my recovery week and not follow such a set eating schedule of eating 5-6 meals a day, every 3-4 hours.

Although I follow this structure 90% of the time as I believe in the benefits it gives me of higher energy and better health it’s good to go Primal every once and awhile and just eat when you’re hungry and even try intermittent fasting for 24 hours once a week.

I think the future of of food and healthy nutrition is in the past and that we should eat like our primal ancestors did most of the time sticking to wild meat, plants, nut and berries.

Eating this way and avoiding all the manufactured grains prevents our body’s fat storing hormone insulin from going on a constant roller coaster ride with our blood sugar. This way our body is burning fat for fuel, giving protein to our hungry muscles and we don’t have to worry if we go longer than 3 hours without stuffing our face.

So if you want to prevent workout burnout and be healthy and happy for the long term, sometimes it’s best to take 2 steps forward and one step back…

“What do YOUR workout routine look like?

Well ever since I created The Dad Fitness System I would just point them to www.DadFitness.com where they can get their own copy of The Ultimate Fitness Plan For Busy Dads downloaded instantly to their computer.

It works for me and it’s working for other busy dads all around the world.

But this year I have been improving the Dad Fitness workouts to better fit MY busy lifestyle and for all of YOU living the Dad Fitness lifestyle as well.

You see, being a busy dad and husband working a full-time job and running a business on the side doesn’t allow me to spend 5-6 days a week working out at the gym to stay fit.

I will be honest though, I LOVE working out at the gym, especially our little dungeon of a gym here in town. No lineups, no machines, just torn up benches with some rusty barbells and dumbbells. I guess you can call me “old school”.

But as much as I would like to I can’t always get there as often as I wish as I spend most of my days off from working shift work staying home with my 19 month old daughter while my wife is at work.

Some weeks I find it hard to get to the gym even 3 days a week so I had to adapt and tweak the Dad Fitness workouts.

So I designed a workout routine that focuses on 2 gym workouts a week and one bodyweight workout a week, totaling 3 short but intense workouts a week. …Which is all most of us really need to get in great shape anyway.

I have been loving this routine as I can get in 2 intense gym workouts a week and have no problem getting in the 3rd bodyweight workout as it can be done at home with minimal equipment, at the gym or even at my local playground when the weather permits.

Now that’s the way workouts should be, they should fit around YOUR lifestyle, not the other way around like most programs you might find in the magazines.

I am building muscle, gaining strength and staying lean like never before and it’s all because of the intricate design of these workouts.

Every exercise, Every rep and Every set is specifically selected and has a scientific reason for being in the program.

This gives you the complete “Training Triangle” to build muscle, gain strength and burn fat all in minimum time and in one simple 3 day a week workout routine.

So here is the breakdown of what I like to call Dad Fitness 2.0

• 3 workouts a week consisting of 2 gym workouts and 1 bodyweight workout.

• The workouts rotate on a 2 week cycle meaning there is a Week 1 of workouts and a Week 2, before you repeat the same workouts.
• Each routine is followed for 8 weeks allowing each weekly workout to be completed 4 times.

This keeps my motivation high and prevents the dreaded training plateau by rotating exercises every 2 weeks instead of every week like most programs.

So here is an example of just of ONE of the weekly workout routines in the upcoming yet to be released Dad Fitness 2.0 Fitness Plan.

Day 1, Week 1, Gym

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

Decline Barbell Bench Press, 2 sets of 4-6 reps.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, 2 sets of 6-8 reps

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press, 2 sets of 4-6 reps

Standing Triple Threat Dumbbell Lateral Raise Superset, (side, front and rear) 2 sets of 6-8 reps each

Lying Flat Ez Bar Tricep Extensions, 2 sets of 4-6 reps

Tricep Cable Pushdowns, 2 sets of 6-8 reps

Cable Crunch, 2 sets of 8-10 reps

Day 2, Week 1, Gym

Legs, Back and Biceps

Barbell Squats, 2 sets of 4-6 reps

Dumbbell Lunges, 2 sets of 6-8 reps

Weighted Pullups, 2 sets of 4-6 reps

Bent Over Barbell Rows, 2 sets of 6-8 reps

Standing Barbell Curls, 2 sets of 4-6 reps

Standing Dumbbell Curls, 2 sets of 6-8 reps

Standing Calf Raise, 2 set of 8-10 reps

Day 3, Week 1, Bodyweight

One Leg Squats, 3 sets of max reps

Medicine Ball Pushups, 3 sets of max reps

Inverted Pullups, 3 sets of max reps

Dips, 3 sets of max reps

Parallel Grip Pullups, 3 sets of max reps

Front Plank, 2 set of 60 secs

Side Plank, 2 sets of 45 secs

I don’t have an exact date yet for the release of Dad Fitness 2.0 but I am working hard to get it complete so it can be YOUR favorite workout of 2010!

and let me know your favorite workout of 2009 by posting a comment below…

Friday night we had to take our 13 month old daughter Matea to the emergency room after a gust of wind blew the front door of our house that was open, unfortunately hitting her in the front of the head.

Sporting her bruise like a champ!

She started to get a huge bump right away so we played it safe and took her to the ER just in case. Thankfully the swelling went down rather fast after we applied an ice pack and it was only a minor boo-boo and she hardly cried afterward, she’s a trooper!

Then Saturday night my wife and I had date night and we went out for some fine dining. I had the wild mushrooms to start and then ordered the herb crusted rack of lamb that was fall-off-the-bone delicious.

That's some good eatin'...

Sunday brought on more fun, food and family with a BBQ at the in-laws house. I enjoyed a burger, more ribs, and a couple Cuban beers that Kathy’s parents brought back from their vacation awhile ago!

Almost as good as our Canadian beers!

If you want to know how I eat what I want on the weekends and still stay in great shape year round as a busy dad.

Click Here To See My 24 Hour Diet.

==>http://www.Seans24HourDiet.com

If you want to see how I workout on the weekends when I have a busy week and can’t get to the gym, READ ON…

The Weekend Workout.

Is a 2 day workout plan that only requires 2 back to back workouts on Saturday and Sunday. This program also requires that you are willing to dedicate time on your weekends to 2 intense workouts.

Yes…I did say intense because what you miss in QUANTITY, you will make up for in QUALITY.  These workouts will not be your 10 minute fluff workouts using soup cans.

These 2 workouts will take at least an hour each and require some real-man hard work and intensity, so don’t complain or make excuses, after all, you have all week long to get over it!

I also recommend that you workout in the morning if at all possible for mainly two reasons.

#1 . You won’t have any chance of blowing off these workouts if things come up during the rest of the day. These are your only scheduled workouts for the week so you have to make them count.

#2. You want to take advantage of maximizing your metabolism early in the day so your body will be primed for burning fat and building muscle all weekend long. So if you are going to be a weekend warrior, you have to save your energy for your weekend workouts, so staying out late at the bar with the guys from work when you finish up on Friday isn’t going to put you onto the path to being the fittest dad on the playground .

A man’s gotta do, what a man’s gotta do. So it’s time to step up to the plate and knock out the excuses with the Weekend Workout…

Out of all the different workout routines I have done over the years there is one that I keep coming back to, the one that never fails me don’t matter how many curve balls life throws my way.

My Big Fat Independent Movie dvd

It’s called the AB Split.

It’s simple and effective and best of all it is easy to work into any busy dads schedule.

You just have two different workouts where you train half of your body one day and the other half the next.

Now the beauty of The Weekend Workout is that you can workout on back to back days, in this case, Saturday and Sunday because you are not annihilating and isolating specific muscle groups.

You will be using the classic compound exercises that work many of your body’s largest muscle groups revving up your metabolism to burn fat and increasing Testosterone to build strong dad muscle.

Saturday: Workout A

The Barbell Squat, 5 sets of 5 reps

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press, 3 sets of 8 reps

Bent Over Barbell Row, 3 sets of 8 reps

Close Grip Bench Press, 3 sets of 6 reps

Front Abdominal Plank, Hold for 30-60 secs

High Intensity Interval Cardio:

Use a treadmill and perform intervals for 6 rounds of 30 secs sprint, 60 secs walk

Sunday: Workout B

The Barbell Deadlift, 5 sets of 5 reps

Chin-Ups, 3 sets of 8 reps

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 8 reps

Standing Barbell Bicep Curl, 3 sets of 6 reps

Standing Calf Raise, 3 sets of 10 reps

High Intensity Interval Cardio:

Use a stationary bike and perform intervals for 6 rounds of 60 secs fast, 90 secs easy

*The Mid Week Bodyweight Booster Workout

Yeah I know this is supposed to be a TWO DAY a week workout plan. You CAN make progress on this plan if you only have 2 hours a week to dedicate to some serious lifting.

BUT, if you can find another 15 minutes sometime during the week, do this Mid Week Metabolism Booster Workout with just your own bodyweight to boost that metabolism and get the blood flowing to your recovering muscles that you trashed on the weekend. I would recommend you do this short workout on Wednesday preferably to allow for maximim recovery from your weekend workouts.  This bodyweight workout can be done anytime anywhere so it’s hard to find a reason to not squeeze in this little workout that can make a big difference in burning off that gut and buidling some strong lean muscle despite your busy schedule.

Prisoner Squats
T-Pushups
Lunges
Cross Body Mountain Climbers
Burpees

Do 10 reps of each exercise without rest. Then rest for 1 minute and repeat the circuit 3 times.

I would love to hear about YOUR weekend workouts!

Leave a comment below and tell me about your weekend workouts…

Our baby daughter Matea turned the big #1 on Saturday and celebrated her 1st Birthday!

Days later…I am still cleaning up cake

Used Cars move I can’t believe a whole year has gone by since I became a dad.

Serving Sara trailer

I have to say it’s been the most challenging AND the most rewarding year of my life.

Looking back I don’t know how I survived on such little sleep!

But when you are suddenly responsible for another little life, you find a way to do what you have to do to be the best damn dad you can be.

Which also involves not forgetting to take care of myself…. I don’t want to be huffing and puffing and out of breath when I am running around the backyard playing with my daughter because I neglected to take time for myself and stay fit with just 3 short workouts a week.

Despite being a busy dad working full-time up to 60 hours a week and running a business on the side , with my Dad Fitness workouts the only weight I gained during the past year has been my 25lb beautiful baby daughter.

I am actually down a few pounds to about 175lbs and a little leaner, compared to this time last year. But I am feeling healthier and stronger than I have ever been thanks to paying extra attention to my warm ups, mobility and my flexibility during my workouts.

I keep things pretty simple with short intense workouts and eating REAL food most of the time.

I work hard in the gym but more importantly work hard at home being a dad, a husband and a man.

That weight on my shoulders is something that I never want to lose…

Happy Birthday Matea.

Enjoy the ride…I will be there every step of the way;-)

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

After sleeping at our in-laws most of the week because we have been renovating our bedroom, I am glad to be able to sleep in our own bed tonight.

and I must say…we did a good job. Thanks for all the help dad!

• buy New Jersey Drive

How not to use a hammer!

So this week was also a good time to take a week off from the gym as it has been another 8 week run with my workout routine.

By taking a week off from the gym every 8-10 weeks it not only gives me a mental and physical break from my intense workouts but it also frees up some time I can devote to other projects like this renovation for example.

You can time your rest week from your Dad Fitness workouts for other things that might come up as well like vacations, an unexpected injury, or just to spend some extra time with your family with the long summer days ahead.

That’s what I love about my Dad Fitness 3 day a week workout program, it gives me the flexibility to do all the other things I need to do as a busy dad without having to stress over trying to get in a workout every day.

So after my wife getting her “new” bedroom, she has to head out of town for the weekend on business.

…Oh the thanks us guys get!

This weekend will also be the last weekend I spend at home as a full time stay-at-home dad with my baby daughter as I will be returning to work on Monday after 4 months parental leave.

With my wife and I back to work we reluctantly will have to leave Matea with a babysitter for the first time on Tuesday. Luckily it is a friend of ours so we are hoping the transition will be OK.

It’s been a privilege to play such a hands on roll as a dad and I look forward to coming home from work and seeing her beautiful 3 teeth smile greeting me at the door…

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

“Wok With Sean” instead of a cooking show called Wok With Yan, that used to come on CBC television here in Canada back in the 80′s.

It was a funny blend of Cantonese cuisine, recipes, feeding the audience, and dorky humor.

…and who could forget his trademark apron’s which contained a variety of Wok puns.

Some of my favorites were:

• Wok & Roll
• Danger, Men at Wok
• Wok the Heck
• Stuck between a Wok and a Hard Place
• Wokkey Night in Canada
• Raiders of the Lost Wok

I always loved watching cooking shows and that was probably the first one I ever watched.

Now you can join ME in the kitchen as I whip up a healthy version of the classic Fish and Chips.

If you want to get REAL results from your workouts then you have to starting eating REAL.

Nothing processed or out of a box or package.

If it don’t fly, swim, run around or is green your body don’t need it!

What’s not enjoyable about frying up some tasty fish outdoors on your grill in the spring sunshine while sipping on a cold beer? Watch the video to see for yourself.

..and yes you can even enjoy an occasional beer and still lose that “beer belly”!

As long as you are eating real food most of the time such as lean meats, fruit and veggies and doing your 3 intense workouts a week, YOU will see RESULTS.

I hope your hungry, because if you are not, you will be after watching this video!

Remember, You Are Wok You Eat…

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

We haven’t worked out together in years so it is great to meet up at the gym 3 days a week for some short intense workouts.

Oh yeah, he also made a dramatic transformation using my workout and nutrition system.

Check it out==>

“Coming from a “big boned” family I thought I was cursed with the fat gene. I am a guy who loves to eat, and on this lifestyle program I ate more than I ever had.

Within the first week after each workout it’s like I could actually feel my body burning fat. Over the years I tried all the traditional forms of exercise and spent hours in the gym, with minimal results. With this program I loved the freedom it gave me with just 3 workouts a week.

Sean’s program was different, it’s short, simple, and it works! And it’s backed my science, so I know it had to work.

Thanks Sean,

Toby Aylward,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

But there is a BIG difference in my life and the way I train now compared to the way we used to workout, because now I am married and a proud and busy dad to our 10 month old daughter Matea.

We always were pretty intense with our workouts back in the day but they were more bodybuilding style workouts and we took more rest in between sets to chat about last nights hockey game or our plans for the weekend.

From our first workout on Monday he noticed that I now don’t waste anytime in the gym anymore as I only have an hour at the most to get to the gym, warmup, workout, stretch and be home to get back to my duties as Mr. Mom. Thankfully the gym is only 5 mins drive away.

With my Dad Fitness System I have fast and furious workouts that build lean muscle and keep my metabolism into overdrive burning fat even while I sleep.

We had a great training session today, here it what we did.

Max Effort Upper Body

Incline Bench Press, 1 max set, 3-5 reps
Flat DB Bench Press, 4 sets, 6-10 reps
One Arm DB Row, 4 sets, 10-15 reps
Cable Rope Upright Rows, 3 sets, 12-15 reps
Hanging Leg Raise, 3 sets, 10-12 reps

Now I am heading out and looking forward to date night with my wife as my mother has Matea for the night. Now that my 3 short workouts are finished for the week I can relax come the weekend and enjoy time with my family.

On tonight’s menu, the movie Benjamin Button and then I think I will treat myself to a couple slices of Pizza after eating healthy all week.

Love Livin’ the Dad Fitness Lifestyle…

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Today I was planning on heading to the gym for one last workout before I take a week off from my workout routine.

But I seem to have caught a head cold the last few days and I am not really feeling 100%, sniff..sniff…cough..cough.. Seeing as my last workout was Thursday I won’t head back to the gym until this Thursday.

Every 8 weeks I try to take a recovery week off from my intense workouts but I have now gone over 10 weeks without a break and I guess I am starting to wear myself down.

I will still try and remain active during this week but won’t be doing my intense Dad Fitness weight training workouts.

I am not the only one in our house feeling under the weather as our 9 month old daughter has it as well. I feel bad for her as she keeps waking herself up during the night coughing. But at that age they recommend that you give them nothing, and let it take its course.

She’s tough like her dad but we have a humidifier going in her room during the night to help her congestion.

Shirt reads: “There is Snowone Like Dad”

Despite us battling the sniffles we had our in-laws over for dinner last night and I made a delicious new recipe from the April issue of Men’s Health Magazine.

This turned out awesome as I even made the power side salad as well,
Arugula and Parmesan Salad

The only changes I made was I used Spring Mix instead of Arugula and garlic goat cheese instead of Gorgonzola as I could not find it at my local supermarket.

The whole meal was super easy to prepare and we all REALLY loved it. The pesto and garlic goat cheese gave it amazing flavor!

I upped the ingredients to make enough for 4 with a little leftovers.

Savory Seafood Penne

• 1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
• 2 bags of frozen cooked shrimp
• 1 small cub of garlic goat cheese crumbled
• 3 cups of baby spinach
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 tsp walnuts chopped 3 tsp of ready made pesto

1. Defrost shrimp under running water for 5 mins.
2. Cook pasta according to directions.
3. Transfer pasta to large bowl, add shrimp, cheese, spinach, tomato, walnuts and pesto.
4. Stir well to combined ingredients.

Another healthy meal in minutes for you and your family that will fill you up without filling you out!

Bedazzled Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

With my wife working I dropped Matea off to my moms for an hour. She loves to have her visit and with my Dad Fitness workouts only being an hour, 3 times a week it isn’t a big hassle.

My right shoulder has been acting up the last few days. I haven’t had any shoulder pain in a long time. I don’t remember doing anything specific. I just think it soon maybe time for a week off from the gym.

I usually try to take a recovery week off from the gym every 8-10 weeks just to give my mind and body a little rest from a couple months of hard training.

You can still do some light bodyweight workouts and stay active during your week off from weight training, just stay away from intense workouts.

I also find this a great time to try some different activities during my would-be workout time or even catch up on some reading as well as plan my next phase of Dad Fitness Workouts.

Today I started a new set of workouts and plan on doing them for the next 3 weeks if my shoulder don’t get any worse.

Day 1 is Max Effort Upper Body

Day 2 is Max Effort Lower Body

Day 3 is High Rep Day Upper Body

Here was my workout for today. I was able to do these exercises without much discomfort.

Max Effort Upper Body

Barbell Floor Press, 1 max set of 3-5 reps
Decline DB Press, 4 sets of 6-10 reps
Chest Supported Barbell Row, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Bent Over Lateral Raise, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Cable Crunch, 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Here is a fitting article for today’s post.

Get Some R&R- Rest and Recovery
By Sean Barker,CPT

It happens to us all every now and then, even the most passionate of trainers. We reach a point in our workout when we lack motivation to train, eat right and we feel tired or come down with the flu.

Someone likes her R&R

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com