Feel guilty taking time out to exercise? You're not alone...

Dads, if you’re feeling guilty taking time to exercise, you’re not alone.

It’s in the top cited reasons why fitness levels fall off a cliff for new parents.

It seems selfish taking time to focus on you. Limited time outside of work, and potentially some tiny sleep thieves, makes it challenging.

But I’m here to reframe the f*ck out of that.

A study in the journal “Health Psychology”, found exercise improves self-esteem and coping skills. What can these do? Reduce anger.

We love our kids, that’s indisputable. One universal “problem” with being human is emotional reactions. Even with the best intentions, the smallest thing at the wrong time, can trigger us.

It gets better with time.

Katy peeling a banana when I wanted to peel it? That no longer triggers me.

Research shows kids learn coping skills by imitating and watching their caregivers.

Anything we can do to model healthy coping skills will trickle down into our little ones.

One of the best coping skills? Exercise. Make it a habit. It’s the no.1 catalyst for long term behaviour change.

So. How much exercise should you do?

Whatever is realistic for you. That might be 10 minutes whilst the kids eat breakfast, or 45 minutes on your lunch break at work. 

Either way SOMETHING is better than nothing.

Over time, here’s a research backed amount to aim for.

A study in “PLOS One” found people who exercised for 30 minutes per day had lower levels of anger than those who exercised for less than 30 minutes a day.

If that seems like a lofty unattainable goal right now, that’s ok. View it as your ‘north star’, a target to aim for.

Parenting is about progress not perfection. Your exercise habits are the same.

What exercise should you do?

At the start…anything that gets you moving.

A brisk walk, bodyweight exercises, a spin class, a gym session, dance in the kitchen, a youtube workout, running up and down the stairs, a burpee in between every swing push (don’t come for me if you get kicked in the head).

You’re not training to be an Olympian. You’re training to live longer, stay healthy and be more in control of your emotions.

Remember earlier when I said children learn coping skills by imitating their caregivers?

What do you think happens when your kids see you exercise?

That’s right. They’ll imitate exercise too.

Your kids will view exercise as a normal part of life. The butterfly effect in full swing.

You can change the course of your kids' life. That’s powerful.

You want to make the change. 

How can you find 30 minutes a day to train?!

Here’s a few ideas

• Tag team with your partner. You take the kids for 30 minutes in the evening, let your partner exercise, then swap for the next 30 minutes.

• Take 30 minutes in your lunch break. Go for a brisk walk, join a gym near your office, get outside.

• Stick a Youtube workout on and get the whole family involved. Easier on the weekend, but why not have a 10 minute workout as a family activity first thing in the morning? Just try it once and see if it can work for you. It may be carnage, but you may be surprised!

• Re-prioritise what you do. Spend a couple of hours watching Netflix in the evening? It’s easy for me to sit here and say “train then”. Nobody who swaps evening Netflix for a workout regrets it. Promise.

• Use your weekends. Choose to be active, it’s good for everyone.

I’ll finish on this.

Change is the hardest part of a health and fitness journey. Once you’ve made the change and have a week of it under your belt, it becomes more manageable. Once you’ve got a month under your belt, it becomes normal. The thought of returning to your old routine? Not a chance. 

Remember. You just need to start. Today is a really good day to start.

Want to connect with other dads a few steps ahead of you? Need accountability and expert plans at your fingertips? Check out The Father Fit Community. I’m in there daily helping all our members smash their health and fitness goals.