The New Dad's Guide to Staying Lean

I was scared about having a kid.

Not because of the usual stuff. The restless nights, the busy days, the chaos.

I was worried about my health.

When your life takes a turn, where someone else’s needs are greater than your own, you can’t help but wonder how that will negatively impact you.

Dr. Huberman’s comments about “dad bod” being a real thing didn’t help here either lol!

It’s selfish to a degree. But selfishness is only an issue if it negatively impacts those around you, right? If you can take that feeling and come up with a solution, that feeling starts to feel more like a signal. A “heads up”.

“Hey, there’s this thing that’s important to you but your circumstances require a compromise. How can we meet everyone’s needs and keep them happy at the same time?”

I’m only a month in but my daily schedule been completely redone, from scratch.

Here’s what I’ve done to prioritize my work, training, and physique while being a good husband and father.

Reevaluate Your Goals, Honestly

This applies to single bachelors just as much as it does to new dads.

Sure, being able to do a full planche would be nice. But is it high priority relative to family, work, and overall health and wellness?

No. At best, it would be a cherry on top. So what good is it to set that as a goal, create a training plan around it, when it’s not even a high priority?

Years ago, training was a top priority. Right now, I’m happy just to maintain where I’m at.

1. Full body workouts
2. Calisthenics skills workouts (planche, front lever, handstand)
3. Cardio days (jump rope, walking, cycling)
4. Stretching
5. Bouldering

All of that can keep me in great shape and happy because I’ve reevaluated my goals.

As long as I’m having fun, staying active, and not getting weaker I can move on with the rest of my life.

On the dieting side of things, I’m not trying to pack on every ounce of muscle I possibly can right now. Once again I’m focused on maintenance and a routine that works well for both me and my wife.

I’ve been feeding my son in the morning so instead of having breakfast like I normally would, I just feed him, put him down for a nap, and get to work until my wife wakes up. We’ll have brunch together around 10-11am, I’ll have a small snack sometime in the afternoon after I train, and then we have dinner together in the evening.

That’s been working very well for me so far. I get 2 real meals, I’m satisfied throughout the day, and I’ve actually been leaning out since becoming a dad.

Cherish Your Free Time

If you’re not familiar with a newborn baby’s schedule, it looks like this.

Drink milk > sleep 3 hours > drink milk > sleep 3 hours > repeat every day

When I feed him in the morning, I know I only have 3 hours to do whatever it is I have to do until I have to feed him again.

If you follow me on Instagram then you know I use this window to get my stretching done for the day. Or if it’s not a stretching day, I get straight to work.

Pre-baby, I would just spend that time on social media while drinking coffee or watching a YouTube video before eventually starting work.

Not anymore. You learn to make the best use of limited time.

But more importantly, you learn to compromise. For me, it’s a compromise with my wife and son.

Their needs come first. I train and work when I can, not when I want to.

A giant part of setting yourself up for success is setting the foundation.

It’s not the specific exercise or rep range. It’s the habit of health and wellness.

There aren’t many specifics in this email because that’s not what this is about. It’s about what really matters.

A big change in life.

From a planning-your-life POV, it’s just another variable to account for.

I had to take the time to sit down, reevaluate, and restructure my life to continue doing the things I need to do for myself and my family.

I had to do work without anybody telling me to do so.

If you skip this process, your life is chaos. Husband, single, dad, doesn’t matter.

You’re always restarting. You’re always wondering why you don’t see progress.

Nothing ever changes.

Or worse, you don’t even know what’s getting in your way because you won’t confront it.

🙋‍♂️ I’m not here to promote my coaching today. I’m here to give you someone to talk to if you need it.

If you know your life needs structure but you don’t know how to get there, let’s talk.

Not just training and diet. School, life, work, whatever.

Schedule some time or get in touch with me.