Fit Dad Life
Helping busy dads learn how to get strong and live strong. Weekly newsletter with practical fitness tips, wisdom, and encouragement (plus the occasional LEGO).
🎸 How to let your kids practice ownership
How to let your kids practice ownership Featured Dad: Josh Spector I’m a big believer in giving kids ownership of their lives and allowing them to make decisions - even at a young age. My daughter is only 3.5 years old, but I’ve always tried to allow her to have a say in what she/we do and how she/we do it. That doesn’t mean she can do whatever she wants obviously. That can be a fine line to walk, but I’ve learned how to do so effectively by presenting her with options within a set of...
🎸 It doesn't get easier. Just different.
It doesn't get easier. Just different. Featured Dad: Mike Vardy What’s the last lesson you learned as a dad? Reframing worry matters. You can be supportive without stagnating them. You can be concerned for their well-being without living in worry. You can let go without losing them. I didn't understand that for a long time. I thought concern and worry were the same thing, and that loosening my grip meant loosening the bond. My kids are 21 and 16 now, and I've hit the part where I get to watch...
🎸 Day 4: Fatherhood never "clicks" and that's ok
Day 4: Fatherhood never "clicks" Featured Dad: Gannon Nordberg What’s the last lesson you learned as a dad? Little girls talk. Constantly. About everything. 😜 My two boys would answer a question with three words and call it a conversation. My daughter will give me a full documentary — complete with dramatic pauses, plot twists, and a surprise ending I didn't see coming. I've learned to just listen. Not fix. Not redirect. Just be an audience of one for whatever is on her mind that day. Turns...
🎸 Day 3: The difference between being "present" and giving true presence
Day 3: The difference between being "present" and giving true presence Featured Dad: Robby Miles When it comes to fatherhood, presence is more important than anything else. Presence with your wife. How you treat her will show your boys how to treat women and show your girls how they should expect to be treated. Presence with your kids. I have seven kids, and there are more days than I care to admit that it’s hard to give each of them the attention I feel they deserve. But I have a strict...
🎸 Day 2: What your kid really cares about
Day 2: What your kid really cares about Featured Dad: Joey Cofone If you subscribed to this, you think about being a good father. Probably a lot. Our little girl just turned two and, combined with the pregnancy period, it’s been close to three years that I’ve been thinking about: What kind of dad I want to be What I want to teach my little girl What lessons to pass on Which habits to form (and which to break) It can be overwhelming at times. Then, one morning when she was fully taken care...
🎸 Day 1: How to actually rest with kids
Day 1: How to actually rest with kids Featured Dad: Thom Gibson Sundays are typically a day to take it easy. But for a long time, my Sundays looked a whole lot like my Saturdays, except with church thrown in there. For years, I’d get up before the family to work on my side business, I’d try to get a workout in when the kids would nap later in the day, and maybe I’d even get a head start on the work week (which was particularly easier to fall into since I work from home) To NOT do those things...
Breaking up with the gym after 21 years
I've got a confession to make. I cheated on the gym. Specifically 24-Hour Fitness. After 21 years and 3 different gym locations. It's over. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm still working out. It's just in my garage. No more 4am alarms. No more 25-minute "commute" to the gym before breakfast. I was a bit worried about quitting the gym. It was weird because it really felt like I was breaking up with someone. Definitely one of those "It's not me, it's you" situations. But after getting some gear...
Bad dads don't ask this question
I worry about being a good dad a lot. Am I a good example?Am I working hard enough?Am I teaching them the right values? Do I let them watch too much TV?Do I make sure they get enough sleep? Should I read to them more?Should I give them more chores? Are they going to be ok when they move out?Are they going to be successful and happy? And so on the list of worries spirals out of control until my wife wraps her arms around my neck, looks romantically into my eyes, and says: "Did you shower yet...
The hardest worker in the room
FIT DAD LIFE Fitness, Family, and Beyond “KC is the hardest working person I know.” A client said this about me several years ago. And he repeated it recently when we reconnected. You see, I’ve worked out 4x a week on average for the last 20 years. That’s over 4000 times. It looks something like this. I’m so disciplined with exercise that I don’t even think about it. I just get out of bed, put on my gym clothes, and head out the door. But discipline is funny, and here's why... One would think...
Do you feel lucky?
FIT DAD LIFE Fitness, Family, and Beyond It’s Friday the 13th. Do you feel lucky?Do you feel unlucky? I’m not a superstitious person, but we narrowly avoided our middle daughter turning 13 on Friday the 13th. Feel like that would be the plot to a cheesy 90s horror movie or something. Not that the teenage years aren’t a little terrifying for everyone involved. Luck is a matter of perspective. I once heard someone say they don’t believe in luck. My first thought was “That’s the dumbest thing...
Helping busy dads learn how to get strong and live strong. Weekly newsletter with practical fitness tips, wisdom, and encouragement (plus the occasional LEGO).