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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!
*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…
I hope you and your family are staying well during this swine flu craziness.
We have been having some late nights with our little daughter Matea as she has come down with a runny nose and a tough cough which is keeping her up at night.
There is nothing worse than seeing your child sick and there is not much you can do but keep them comfortable…
If you are getting too comfortable with your workout routine, remember that there are ONLY 8 weeks left in this year!
With the Dad Fitness System, 8 weeks is plenty of time to get in shape for the holidays.
The key is to try to get better EVERY day with your workouts and your healthy eating.
Here are 5 Tips For Faster Fat Loss.
1. Break Records
Push for progress and not perfection and challenge yourself by pushing for one extra rep or a couple more pounds every week in your workouts. Use the smallest plates you have available, (usually 2.5lbs) to keep stimulating fat burning muscle.
2. Fun Food
Experiment with a different fruit or vegetable each week by eating the colors of the rainbow. Get your family together and try different recipes, some you will love, and maybe some you won’t. Keep food fun by trying new recipes with foods you haven’t tried before because no one gets fat by eating more fruit and veggies.
3. Faster Not Further
Increase the INTENSITY in your fat burning cardio intervals… not the duration. Don’t just record you weight workouts. Record your cardio intensity and try to beat it each week. If you sprinted at level 7 this week shoot for 7.1 next week.
4. Fail Proof Your Fridge
Make healthy eating “Fail Proof” by picking up only the groceries you need each week. If you have no junk in your house, chances are you won’t be eating junk. Then before you put your food away, chop up your veggies and place them into containers or ziplock bags to make meal preparation super quick and easy.
5. Step Away From the Scale
Don’t get obsessed with numbers by weighing or measuring yourself everyday. I recommend to step on the scale once a week first thing in the morning because it is normal for your bodyweight to fluctuate up to 5lbs during the day due to fluid and food intake.
These 5 tips might seem like little things, but they make a BIG difference!
Stay focused and cross off each day on your calendar and ask yourself before you go to bed each night.
“Did I do everything I needed to do today to get closer to my fitness goals?”
Let’s, hope you have a lot of yes’s!
Got any fat loss tips of your own? Feel free to post a comment below!
I am really excited to share with you a Dad Fitness exclusive interview with best selling fitness author, Lou Schuler.
As a fitness book worm I personally get every book Lou puts out because they are always top notch and full of the latest information in regards to effective workouts and healthy eating.
Lou has been in the game a long time and seen a lot of the fitness fads come and go.
So I asked him to give me his thoughts on fitness, family and fatherhood…
SB. For people who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself Lou, and how you got started in the fitness industry?
LS. I’m a journalist who’s also a fitness professional. Before I started at Men’s Fitness in 1992, I’d had a fairly conventional journalism career, working at daily and weekly newspapers and regional magazines. I worked at MF for six years, the last three as fitness editor, and then moved to Men’s Health for the next six years, first as fitness editor, then as fitness director.
The Testosterone Advantage Plan, my first book as an author, came out in December 2001. That was followed by Home Workout Bible, Book of Muscle, The New Rules of Lifting, and The New Rules of Lifting for Women. The third book in the New Rules of Lifting series will come out in January 2011.
SB. I hear you are also a busy dad and husband as well. How many kids do you have and what is your favorite part of being a dad?
LS. I have three kids, who are 13, 11, and 9. My favorite part of being a dad is not being anything like my own dad, who was a wreck physically and disengaged emotionally.
SB. Lou, how did your fitness philosophy change once you became a father?
LS. Most of the changes in my approach came about because of the research I was doing for the books I wrote. My diet changed from low-fat to one with balanced macronutrients while writing Testosterone Advantage Plan. I also got my CSCS in 2001, and that coincided with more of an emphasis on training for strength and performance. Coincidentally, I found it was more efficient to train that way.
SB. As a fitness author, what are the 3 biggest mistakes you see busy dads trying to staying fit make with their workouts?
LS. I can’t really say what other guys do or don’t do. I really just see the guys in my own gym, and most of them seem to have pretty solid workout programs. And I also hate to criticize the minority of adults who’re actually making an effort to stay in shape. I could find ways to improve most of the routines I see, but I’m sure at least a few of those guys are thinking the same thing about my workouts.
SB. What do your workouts currently look like?
LS. I do full-body workouts every time in the gym, so if I have to miss a workout because of an unforeseen problem, I don’t have to worry about unbalanced training.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ll start with a lower-body exercise — a squat variation one workout, a deadlift variation the next, and a lunge variation the next. My upper-body work alternates between bilateral and unilateral movements. I like to do almost every exercise from a standing or kneeling position, to keep the core muscles engaged.
I also move pretty quickly from one exercise to the next. I’m not trying to add size — in fact, I’ve lost a few pounds in the past year — so I minimize rest periods and aim for more of a conditioning effect.
SB. What are some of your favorite healthy meals and snacks?
LS. My favorite is one I got from TC Luoma of TMUSCLE: natural peanut butter mixed in a bowl with low-carb chocolate protein powder and low-fat milk. Really hits the spot, and satisfies my hunger for hours.
SB. Why do you think it’s important for us dads to stay fit?
LS. Our kids should see that fitness is a lifelong pursuit. If they see us make time for it, and invest energy in it, they’ll understand that it’s an important part of life.
In our parents’ generation, there wasn’t much of an organized structure for fitness activities. You played outside as a kid, then maybe you played on sports teams through high school or even college, if you were one of the lucky ones. Many of our dads also did physical training in the military, where it was used as a punishment as much as a tool for activity-specific performance. Once you were out of the military, and presumably finished with sports, there wasn’t really any structure in place to encourage lifelong fitness.
But with our kids, everything is structured. There’s almost no such thing as backyard sports, or neighborhood games. If you play something, you play it on a team. If you do pure exercise, it happens in gym class. So it’s important for them to see their parents using those same structures to pursue lifelong fitness, and doing it voluntarily.
We all know as parents how important it is to read to our kids, and to have lots of books around the house. But it’s also important for kids to see their parents reading books for pleasure. That helps them understand that they aren’t just reading because adults say they have to. They’re reading because it’s such an important part of a fulfilling life.
Now we apply that to sports and fitness. At a certain point, I think kids start to ask themselves if they’re playing sports because they enjoy it, or because their parents expect them to play. If Dad is still playing something in middle age — golf, bowling, slow-pitch softball, or anything else that involves competition and some degree of coordination and focus — it reinforces the idea that sports are something you do for yourself.
If they understand that Dad goes to the gym three times a week because he enjoys it and considers it important, it sends the message that structured exercise isn’t just something you do in gym class because the school says you have to.
SB. Anything you would like to add? Any favorite tips you learned from other experts over the years?
One thing I’ve learned from experience is that you have to place as much importance on your wife’s fitness program as you do on your own. That is, you make sure she has as much opportunity to get to the gym or get outside for a run as you do. You can’t pressure her to train if she doesn’t want to — I think that’s obvious. But you have to make sure there’s equal opportunity within your household. Sometimes that means skipping your own workout when something comes up, rather than forcing her to miss hers.
During those times when you simply need to train more often than she needs or wants to train, you have to negotiate the opportunity to do that, rather than just assuming you deserve it by virtue of the fact you’re more ambitious or disciplined.
The benefits come back to you in two major ways. First, of course, is the health and stability of your relationship. You don’t want your wife resenting your desire to be healthy and fit, or to see it as a wedge you use to shift the priorities of the marriage in your direction. Second, your kids see that fitness isn’t just a priority for one individual in their house, but for everyone. If Mom and Dad have fitness pursuits that make them happier, that’s the most positive message we could possibly send to our kids.
SB. Where can people find out more about you and your books?
New Rules of Lifting Books
SB.Thanks Lou for showing us that as a busy dad and fitness author you also practice what you preach!
LS. My pleasure.
Lou Schuler is an award-winning journalist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, author or coauthor of many popular books about diet and strength training. His books include The New Rules of Lifting for Women (with coauthors Cassandra Forsythe and Alwyn Cosgrove), The New Rules of Lifting (with Alwyn Cosgrove), The Book of Muscle (with Ian King), The Home Workout Bible (with Mike Mejia and many other contributors), and The Testosterone Advantage Plan (with Jeff Volek, Mike Mejia, and Adam Campbell).
Would you like to see more interviews like this? Let me know who you would like to see by leaving a comment below!
Would you like to know the one exercise that works every muscle in your body, can be done anywhere at anytime and requires no equipment?
Well, your old high school gym teacher might have been right after all…
The Burpee, despite it’s amusing name is probably the most efficient and effective bodyweight exercise you can do to build lean muscle and burn off that beer belly.
Not to be confused with the Burp which actually makes room for drinking more beer.
If you are not emotionally scarred from the heart searing burpee workouts that your gym teacher had you do in highschool you might remember how easy AND how hard this exercise is.
In a standing position, jump down and get on all fours before pushing your feet back behind you putting you in the top position of a pushup.
With your body braced in a straight line perform a regular pushup, then jump your feet back closer to your hands so you are in the “all fours” position once again.
With explosive force jump straight up from a squatting position as high as you can while reaching your arms straight overhead.
That’s ONE rep..yeah that’s right, one rep.
Congratulations! You just completed the world’s most efficient exercise.
By performing two of the most natural upper and lower body movements in an explosive manner, the pushup and the squat, you are building functional muscle that in-turn also burns fat.
You worked your chest,shoulders,arms,back and abs with the pushup. You then challenged your legs with the jump squat.
Repeat for the desired number of reps and wipe your self off the floor.
So now you have no more excuses for getting a big workout in little time…
Have you had a busy week?
Wow it’s certainly been a busy week for me!
I just worked 84 hours in the last 7 days…Being a busy working dad and trying to stay fit gets tough during weeks like this.
But, I have a plan that never fails to keep me in great shape even when I can’t find time to workout.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash dvd So when things get hectic like this I even find it difficult to get in three short workouts a week.
My secret to staying fit during those crazy weeks when all it seems like I do is work and sleep is:
Staying on track with a healthy diet is EVEN more important if you have to go a few days without getting in a workout.
But don’t worry about losing that strong dad body just because you miss a couple workouts.
Whatever you have to do to bring your lunches with you, JUST DO IT!
whether its in a lunch box (I use a stainless steel lunchbox), a little cooler, or even a brown bag.
Just make sure to plan and prepare your healthy meals and take them to work with you so you don’t fall prey during your lunch break to all those neon signs waving you in to try the latest heart attack burger down the street.
Some of my lunch box staples this week were turkey meatballs, omelet casserole, chili, “goulash for guys” from my Manly Meals Dad Fitness Cookbook, brown rice, lots of fresh fruit, mixed nuts, yogurt and of course lots of cold refreshing water from my stainless steel water bottle.
Everything was REAL HOMEMADE FOOD, not food products!
A lot of these meals were also made earlier during the week and frozen in portion sized Tupperware. But I have to thank my wife for her help as well, she makes the best turkey meatballs!
Remember “If you Fail To Plan, You Plan To Fail”
PS. I really want to hear YOUR secrets to staying fit during those crazy busy weeks so be sure to leave a comment below!