Dad Fitness » Warmup

The BIGGEST Diet Mistake

Sean Barker — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:10:56 +0000

The BIGGEST Diet Mistake

I am at 30,000 feet right now flying home on the red eye from Orange County, California after an awesome weekend fitness conference hanging with the top fitness professionals in the world.

Me and Mr. Lean Hybrid Muscle and busy dad Elliott Hulse

Check out what I think you MUST do to stay in shape while traveling and the BIGGEST diet mistake I seen people making during my trip to California.The 4 hour east-west coast time shift was quite the adjustment, so I found myself wide awake at 5am every morning. I like to take advantage of training at different gyms when I travel.

…So it was a great chance to hit the nearest big chain gym for a couple workouts to clear the mind and body after sitting for 8 hours a day in a conference room. I feel SO much better and energized afterwards!

There’s a reason why so many of the worlds most successful business men start their day with an early morning workout and make it the most important appointment of their day. It’s priceless…

As for phoning my wife at 2am east coast time, not such a great idea! (should of changed the time on my MacBook)

…I think making the time for a workout when you travel no matter where you do it is even more crucial, to combat all the sitting on airplanes, meetings and well, the hotel bar stools…I like to even do a little extra foam rolling and warmup to loosen up the tight knots in my muscles.

But the BIGGEST belly buster I noticed while in the US was how outrageous the portion sizes are in the restaurants compared to Canada. Now don’t get me wrong, even our typical food fare is way beyond what anyones needs for nourishment,but south of the border the portions were twice as much!

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a night out with friends for dinner and drinks when you travel for business, but don’t feel obligated to eat everything on your plate or you just might find yourself paying “overweight” when you check-in at the airport.

The key to long term leanness is to learn to enjoy the treat foods you do eat but just eat less. Sounds like a good deal to me…

The Weekday Workout: One Lift a Day For Maximum Muscle

Sean Barker — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:25:38 +0000

With the popularity of The WeekEND Workout article I wrote a few years back I thought I would switch gears and fit our workouts into most of our work-weeks, so we could be more productive during the week and have the weekend to kickback with our family.

For a lot of us busy dads trying to stay fit it’s not that we can’t find time to squeeze in 3 or 4 workouts during the week but it’s trying to string together a consecutive hour or two during the work day to complete our workout.

Because let’s face it, most serious workouts usually take an hour to complete after you factor in a proper warmup, a few warmup sets for each exercise and then some cooldown stretching. Then if you prefer to train at a gym, you have to tack on time for commuting and hitting the showers.

But if you’re like me you love how better you feel on the days you DO workout; before, during and after, so recently I bumped my training up from 3 days a week to 4 but cut my workouts almost in half by hacking away the time wasters and focusing on just ONE lift a day during my workout. This took my workouts from 60 minutes to 30 minutes including warmup and cooldown; something you shouldn’t cut out of your workout.

By reducing the QUANTITY in your workouts you have to make up for it in QUALITY so the peck deck or bicep curl machine will not count as a lift in this program. You need to pick the big multi muscle movers, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, standing overhead presses, chinups, pullups, and dips.

There is a reason why powerlifters and olympic lifters stick with these basic pushing and pulling exercises, because they make you bigger and stronger faster than “feeling the burn” on the leg curl machine.

Just knowing you have only ONE lift to do allows you to train more often, even up to 5 days a week if you prefer, and gives you laser like focus to follow the proven muscle building method of progressive overload by gradually breaking personal lifting records each and every week and adding a fews extra pounds to the bar or pushing out an extra rep.

So here is the One Lift a Day Template to build maximum muscle in minimum time. By sticking to the “3-5″ formula you get the results you want with the flexibility to fit any man’s schedule.

Choose one main lift 3-5 days during the work week, hit it hard for 3-5 reps of 3-5 sets and get on with your day knowing that no muscle will be left behind by the end of the week.

If you want to focus more on getting stronger in specific exercises stick with the same lift choices for 4 weeks. If strictly building bigger muscles is more your goal, choose a different exercise lift each week.

Monday- Standing Barbell or Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Tuesday- Barbell Deadlifts or Dumbbell Deadlifts, or *Chinups

*Wednesday OFF or – Chinups or Pullups

Thursday- Barbell Bench Press or Dumbbell Bench Press (flat, incline or decline) or Dips

Friday- Barbell Back Squat or Front Squat or Box Squat

*For a 4 day split you can choose chinups as a main lift on Day 2 or for a 5 day split choose only chinups or pullups on Day 5

But wait! No curls or crunches?

Don’t let the simplicity fool you, chinups and deadlifts will give you brawny biceps and forearms and standing overhead presses and squats will strengthen and stabilize your abs better than rolling around on the dirty gym floor.

So don’t worry about being a weekend warrior and keep your work and workouts for the workweek so you have the weekends to rest and recover with your family.

Because being a strong dad means more than just lifting weights…

The Busy Gym Workout

Sean Barker — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:03:11 +0000

There is nothing worse than trying to get in a good workout when the gym is jam-packed!

Well I created for you the Busy Gym Workout that works every muscle in your body and only requires a bench and ONE set of dumbbells…

For days when your local gym is packed liked sardines and probably don’t smell much better, head over to an empty corner of the gym with a flat bench and a set of dumbbells and crank up your ipod to blast out the Busy Gym Workout.

*Warmup with 10 reps of bodyweight squats, pushups and lunges.

Pick one set of dumbbells that you can perform at least 3 sets of 8-10 reps for all exercises.

A Db bench squat to shoulder press, rest 60 secs (hold dumbbells at shoulder height and squat back on bench until your butt touches then stand up and press dumbbells overhead),
B1 One Arm Bent Over DB row, no rest go directly to
B2 One Arm Flat DB Chest press, rest 60 secs
C1 Seated DB Bicep curls,no rest go directly to
C2 Lying DB Tricep Ext, rest 60 secs
D1 Cross Body Mountain Climbers, no rest go directly to
D2 Ab Plank From Floor, rest 60 secs

By using supersets and exercises that keep you in the same space you get an intense workout without the wait!

Warmups For Your Workout

Sean Barker — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:58:28 +0000

I CRINGE every time I see some clown stroll into the gym cold off the street and start loading up the bar without completing a proper warmup.

Coincidentally it seems the same people who neglect this important part of their workout are the same people complaining about shoulder pain or back pain and wrap themselves up like a mummy before their workout with wrist wraps, elbow wraps, knee wraps and the infamous weight lifting belt for EVERY exercise so they can manage to get through their workout.

Even though I don’t recommend the “old school” warmups of walking on a treadmill for 5 minutes and then static stretching before your workout, (which I will explain in a future post) it is still a lot better than doing nothing at all!

What I do recommend is a Dynamic Warm-Up before you workout, so here is my current warmup I do before EVERY Dad Fitness workout to enhance muscular activation and increase joint mobility.

Give this one a try or let me know what you do for your workout warmup by leaving a comment below…

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Einstein Workout

Sean Barker — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:25:29 +0000

E=mc²

You might remember this from your old high school math class.

It was Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Despite Einstein’s well known brilliance, what amazes me even more was he was also a busy dad of 3 kids.

Einstein was known for challenging the status quo and I think if he was alive today he would tell us busy dads who continue to waste time on long boring workouts that leave us even more exhausted to smarten up and fly right!

Einstein doing his interval training

So let’s do the math…

A typical workout may look like this.

Pushups, 3 sets of 12-15 reps, rest 60 secs
Deadlifts, 3 sets of 6-8 reps, rest 60 secs
Bicep Curls, 3 sets of 8-10 reps, rest 60 secs
Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps, rest 60 secs

With each set taking almost a minute to complete and resting a minute in between sets this workout would take you about 30 minutes on paper.

But in reality, this workout would take even longer as you would have to move around the gym setting up each exercise and changing weights, not to mention actually getting to the gym.

Even a 40 minute workout is not bad compared to most endurance type workouts found in the muscle mags on your local newsstand.

What if I could show you how to get this same great workout using all the same exercises in half the time and without all the equipment?

Would you be interested? If your a busy dad, you should be.

Enter the Dad Fitness Theory of Efficiency, which is
E=Dad ^Fit

I am so smart…SMRT

Where E is Efficiency, Dad is well… you!, and Fit is what you will become using this workout routine

So it’s time we pulled a General Motors with our workouts by getting rid of the excess junk and focusing on what works…no offense Saturn owners.

Check out this video to see the same Dad Fitness workout using the exact same exercises done in all in one movement but without the wasted time.

Plus all you need is a simple set of dumbbells!

Click here to view the embedded video.

*Warmup with 10 reps of bodyweight burpees.

Dumbbell Pushup, no rest, go directly to
Dumbbell Deadlift, no rest, go directly to
Dumbell Bicep Curl, no rest, go directly to
Dumbbell Shoulder Press, rest 60 secs

Complete this circuit 8-10 times before resting, and repeat the circuit 3 times.

Total workout time is about 15 minutes. How’s that for efficiency?

So lets get smart with our time and put the “work” back into our workouts so we can spend less time with the dumbbells and more time being a dad…

Fit and Fast Medicine Ball Workout

Sean Barker — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:08:12 +0000

I can’t believe summer is winding down already. At least here it is anyway.

Summer is great though: taking the kids to the beach; getting some exercise outdoors, and firing up the grill and sitting out on the deck just because…

Plus I really like Bud Light’s new summertime lime beer! Goes great with this Chicken Taco recipe.

For most people though, the thought of the days getting shorter and the air getting cooler represents the slowing down of the summer season.

But, this doesn’t have to mean that your workouts has to slow down.

As the fall season draws in learn to welcome the heat generated by some intense workouts.

So with the changing of the seasons, maybe it’s time you changed up your workout program.

Here is an awesome new Medicine Ball Bodyweight Workout that I am really enjoying!.

You can do this at the gym, at home or during a sunny fall day at the playground with the kids.

All you need is a medicine ball and use any monkey bar attachment for your chinups.

*Warmup with Medicine Ball Squat To Overhead Press, 2 sets of 10 reps or just push your kids on the swing!

1. Medicine Ball Overhead Lunge, 3 sets of 10 reps, rest 60 sec

2A. Medicine Ball Close Grip Pushups, 2 sets of max reps, go directly to:
2B. Medicine Ball Chin-Ups with ball between feet, 2 sets of max reps, rest 60 sec

3A. Medicine Ball Mountain Climbers, 2 sets of max reps, go directly to:
3B. Medicine Ball Ab Plank, 2 sets, hold as long as you can

Try this new busy dad workout and let me know how you like it by leaving a comment below!

Go With Your Gut

Sean Barker — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:54:17 +0000

By “going with your gut” I don’t mean you should accept that beer belly hanging over your belt.

What I mean is that sometimes you have to go by how you feel if you want to stay motivated with your exercise program.

I have no workout scheduled for today so it’s my wife’s turn to hit the gym as I stay home with our baby daughter Matea for the afternoon.

It’s a cool rainy day here so I guess we will have to keep things inside. I hope Hokey Pokey Elmo can keep up!

I am looking forward to tonight though as it’s “date night” with my wife and Matea will spend the night with her nanny and poppy.

Not sure if we will go out or cook dinner at home…

Yesterday I went to the gym for a busy dad workout but when I got there I wasn’t really in the mood to do the workout I had planned.

I just wasn’t up for heavy deadlifts and I wanted to just do whatever I felt like doing for a change so I threw my training journal back in my gym bag and did whatever exercises I felt like doing.

This is something I rarely do so when I have days like this I know it’s time to change up my workout.

So here is what I came up with after my warmup.

Dumbbell Pushups off hexagon dumbbells supersetted with Inverted Barbell Rows.

3 sets each, 12-15 reps

V Bar Weighted Pulllups with a 10lb plate attached to a dip belt.

6 reps, 2 sets, with a 20 sec negative lowering for the last rep

Bulgarian Split Squats

8 reps each leg, 2 sets

Standing Dumbbell Curls/Hammer Curls

I supersetted a set of dumbbell curls with a set of hammer curls

2 sets each

Seated Calf Raises

2 sets of 10 reps

Ab Wheel Rollouts

2 sets of 10 reps

I really enjoyed this workout, I got a great pump, worked up a good sweat and it was mentally refreshing to just “wing it” at the gym for a change.

I have been doing the same Dad Fitness workout routine for the last 4 weeks so I will design a new workout program and start Sunday or Monday.

The Barbell Belly Blaster Workout

smbarker — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Are you a busy dad who likes to go to the gym for a quick fat burning workout but hate encountering a crowd of regular gym goers who hog workout equipment while yapping on their cell phone?

If so, The Barbell Belly Blaster Workout is for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are lucky enough to have an Olympic Barbell in your home gym, you can also do this workout without ever leaving your house.

Lock Up dvdrip This is primarily a fat loss workout as it elevates your heart rate while supersetting exercises using your bodies major muscles.

But by using your major muscles you are building strength and endurance in those muscles which will also help to build lean muscle in beginners to intermediate lifters.

This is also a great alternative to long boring cardio and can be done at the end of your regular weight training workout to burn extra calories and lose bodyfat.

To increase the muscle building effects of this workout you can add additional weight to the bar but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a few years of training under your belt.

For absolute beginners who find that the 45lb bar is too much, you can use a lighter bar like the EZ curl bar which is around 25lbs or even a broomstick.

This workout only requires the empty 45lb Olympic Barbell for the entire workout so you can grab a barbell and head off to an empty corner in the gym so you can get a great fat burning workout and be free of any distractions.

You will be using the barbell to complete a Complex, which is just a series of barbell free weight exercises that you will do without rest while keeping the bar in your hands the entire time.

Perform 10-15 reps for each exercise. Complete all exercises without rest, then rest 60 seconds and repeat the circuit 2 more times.

*Warmup with 12 Burpees.

Jump down onto the floor in the bottom of the pushup position and jump back up with hands in the air reaching for the ceiling.

1A Barbell Pushup

Perform regular pushup with hands on the barbell. Brace your abs hard so that you do not roll the bar on the floor.

2A Barbell Squat

Pick barbell off the floor and press overhead and rest the bar across your shoulders. Pushing hips back squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.

3A Barbell Shoulder Press

After squats, press the bar back overhead and in front of your shoulders with shoulder width grip press the bar straight up overhead.

4A Barbell Bent-Over Row

After shoulder presses, bend over with bar hanging straight down. Using your elbows pull or row the bar up to your belly button.

5A Barbell Mountain Climber

Place bar back on the floor and get in top part of the pushups position. With abs tight hold that position while you bring one knee to towards your elbow and alternate each leg

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

The Best Way To Relieve Muscle Soreness

smbarker — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:29:00 +0000

Ahhhh…f$%* that hurts!

That’s how I felt this morning as I bent over to pickup my baby daughter off the floor this morning.

After getting back to the gym after a week off and doing my first lower body workout in almost 2 weeks yesterday my legs are pretty sore and stiff!

For the best way to relieve muscle soreness check out the video below.

We have all experienced this one time or another, muscle soreness or what the exercise geeks (me included) refer to as DOMS.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness…

This can occur whether you have been working out for years or are just starting to exercise.

Basically its the microscopic tearing of your muscle fibers that causes the inflammation and swelling of the muscles putting additional pressure around the surrounding joints.

But I bet what you really what to know is how to avoid it or even relieve muscle soreness when you do get it.

To prevent it, try not to do much too soon and ease into any exercise program wether its lifting weights, running or your favorite recreational sport. Whatever workout routine you are starting, just do half of the exercise volume to introduce your muscles to the exercises.

Warmup properly BEFORE you workout and stretch AFTER you workout to remove the lactic acid from your muscles and start the recovery process.

To help relieve it when you do over do it from doing too much or doing something new, get some “active rest” by going for a walk with your family or playing with your kids at the playground (lying on the couch watching 24 is not considered active rest!).

Also take rest days from your workouts which means don’t work those sore muscles with heavy weight training until the soreness subsides.

Make sure you are eating high quality protein throughout the day to provide your body with the nutrients it needs for muscle repair and stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.

Vitamin C has been shown to aid in muscle recovery as well as hot saunas and deep tissue massage.

Getting lots of omega 3 fats in your diet through fish oils, mixed nuts and avocados will also help to scavenge free radicals and reduce inflammation in your muscles and throughout your entire body

These recovery tips all help…

But for the BEST way to relieve muscle soreness watch this quick video.

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

Bodyweight Workout In The Snow

smbarker — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:53:00 +0000

There is never an excuse to skip a workout no matter where you are or how little time you have.

Here is a quick bodyweight workout you can do even outdoors before you go for a walk with your family.

It can serve as a great warmup or even a challenging workout if your just starting out with your Dad Fitness exercise program.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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