Re-defining the Dad Bod
The Dad Bod. The urban dictionary defines it as: ‘a male body type best described as softly round’.
As an alternative, I tend to define it as a bad excuse we have created – and accepted – that it’s OK for men to not prioritise their health after becoming a dad.
The average male will transfer into “Dad Category” anywhere between the age of 25 and 45. It also happens to be the same demographic in which many gentlemen wrestle with a sharp drop in testosterone, attempt to lock down a great sustainable job, try to set themselves (and their families) up for a debt-free future – and delivering all this on four to six hours sleep, dependent upon the age of the children.
So, believe me, I get it: health slides gracefully down the importance scale. But this needs to change, and change quickly!
My mantra in life is that health is – and should always be – your No.1 wealth.
Consider this: with every minuscule decision that your brain makes (whether that be hitting a button on the keyboard, deciding what shoes to wear, or flooring the accelerator at a green light), multiple chemical reactions are required to transport glucose to your brain to execute on that decision.
We can, however, subconsciously optimise this process and preserve our energy stores for those important decisions simply by making two really small changes to our lives to be healthier and fitter.
Health is – and should always be – your No.1 wealth…
So how do we do it? Two things.
High-intensity interval training
An hour at the gym can seem impossible for many blokes. So what if I told you could get a far more powerful benefit doing high-intensity interval training for 20 minutes in your lounge room every day?
Try this: 30 seconds star jumps, 30 seconds rest; 30 seconds burpees, 30 seconds rest; 30 seconds push-ups, 30 seconds rest; 30 seconds squats, 30 seconds rest; 30 seconds high knee running on the spot; 30 seconds rest. Repeat four times.
Avoid eating late – and early
Diet is of utmost importance. Don’t eat after 8 pm, and attempt to go as late as possible into the next morning without any food. Why? This is an intermittent fasting technique. Put simply, once your body is in “fasting mode” – anything beyond 12 hours without eating – it will transition into a pure fat-burning mode. Your body will literally eat its own fat stores.
The ultimate aim is to get to lunchtime but start slowly and aim for 10 am, then 11 am and then midday will become a breeze. Try to fill yourself with black coffee, as many herbal teas as you like and a couple of litres of water. You will start to feel and look amazing after four weeks.
Let’s get on-board the ADC (Anti Dad-Bod Campaign) together and start creating a fitter, stronger more optimal existence as role-models. We are all gonna make it!
Kane Draper resides in Bondi, NSW with his wife, Kylie, and two young children, Xavier and Scarlet. He works as a sales strategy consultant, writer and personal trainer and is currently penning a book about ’10X productivity’. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.