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Posted Tuesday 4th October 2016
In this guest blog, Nat Summers, personal trainer to Bear Grylls, explains how new Dads don’t need to slack off the training. With these simple tips, getting a solid workout in can be a piece of cake! (not literally…)
All Dads know time becomes the enemy when trying to balance a new baby in your family unit and priorities change, with training often featuring low on the list.
Here are my top fitness tips to helping new Dads stay on track whilst juggling work and a wonderful, yet ever changing family environment
Use HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) protocols and train with maximum effort in minimum time for great results. In our Bear Grylls’ Fitness concept we use HIIT protocols for our all of workouts …. Make sure you get hot and sweaty to ensure body continues to burn more effectively post workout.
Get back to basics with bodyweight training. Incorporate compound moves, core focused moves and always finish with a primal power stretch sequence to help you stay supple.
From walking to work, to the shops or even when you are out and about clearing your head make the most of being in the outdoors and remember workouts don’t always have to be planned, they can be an accumulation of mini bursts of activity.
From leaping on and off park benches or sprinting ahead with the pushchair, bring back the inner child and begin to think outside the box. Walk, run, climb, jump….mix it up and challenge yourself at every opportunity and start to see the outdoors as your new playground.
When you can go harder go harder, when you feel tired rest. Take time to get to know both your physical and mental boundaries as a new dad!
Yep. It’s not just pre-natal mums that get to squat with their babies and give push up kisses. Dads can too!
Get your man-papoose on and try this simple lower body Circuit. 25 seconds of work 10 seconds of rest:
Repeat 3-5 times….. baby dependent!
From training buddies, through to booking events, make sure you know what buttons to press and activate when your motivation is running low.
Eat whole foods in their natural state. Limit refined or processed food. Plan it around your training days and every time you prepare a bottle, whizz up a fresh smoothie.
A great one is Bear’s Kick-start smoothie, from our book Your Life Train For It. As a busy father to three, Bear knows the importance of quick and easy recipes, try this:
Pop everything into a blender and blitz!
It can be easy to slip back to the same old workout each day, especially when you are pushed for time BUT being in your comfort zone often means you have a hit a training plateau. A
Avoid this by making your workouts, diverse, progressive and sweaty!
Lead by example and where possible enjoy active days out with the family!
From trampoline parks, family OCR races through to our Bear Grylls fitness indoor obstacle course, there are so many diverse activities that offer functional workouts, we really are spoilt for choice!