Dad’s (and Men)…It’s Time to Lead Again!
According to the CDC childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among 
children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.
This dramatic rise in children obesity is simply a reflection of what is happing to parents. I’m not going to be nice about this…parent’s are getting fat and fatter!
There it is…I have call it like it is….the more we cover this fact with terms like obesity, over weight, big boned, the more we diffuse the real issue.
In 2007 the CDC reported
- 26.4% of men and 24.8% of women were obese.
- The obesity prevalence ranged from 19.1% for men and women aged 18–29 years to 31.7% and 30.2%, respectively, for men and women aged 50–59 years.
So what am I getting at and how does this apply to dads (and men)?
Dads you are the leaders of the home and your family! What you do, your family follows…you are leading your family whether you know it or not. It’s not what you say but what you do that counts!
Dad’s it time to step up develop some mental strength, lead and be the heroes of your family and set the example of a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Dads (and men in general) are losing their masculinity. We’re are urged to get in touch with our “feminine” side at the expense of the traditional attributes that make us men “male.” Not only has “manliness” become a dirty word in a society of beta males and couch potatoes, but there’s actually less and less of it in the blood of too many American men and dads, with studies showing declines in average testosterone levels over the past 20 years.
Today’s men need a major adjustment of mental strength and alpha attitude and in working out, this will help in your overall personal performance.
As Howard Beale from the movie ‘Network’ said “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Before I begin on my rant I want to mention that I’ve been training for over 20 years, I’m a certified personal trainer, certified Lifestyle Fitness Coach, MMA Conditioning Coach and Fitness coach. I’ve climbed rock walls, mountains, practice martial arts and even survived an avalanche.
My rant comes from my personal experience and my recent observations…are you ready? Here goes…
Dads…put the pink dumbbells and back away from the salad bar. Guys…incase you haven’t noticed, we’re different from women. I know, I can hear you from here…”No sh*& Sherlock!”
We’ll then, let me ask…why are you training like a woman? In fact, I know a LOT of women that train twice as hard as men and the previous statement is by no means a slap against women. As a matter of fact, all of the female’s I know could smoke most of the dads reading this.
My point is dads need to start exercising and training like men!
I gotta tell you…I see it everyday I go to the gym. There they are…the guys on dawn patrol of the gym….the boot-campers! Hey, I am all in favor and support ANYONE who gets up early (or latter) and goes to the gym or does any other physically activity, but there comes a point where a guy’s gotta do what a guys gotta do…and that’s to lift! I don’t mean the combo dumbbell bicep curl, triceps extension, shoulder press. I mean compound movements, teeth gritting, groan guttering, sweat producing workouts!
Think about it, men are working out with women, eating like women and expecting to look like men. Many men are so focused on “losing weight” they forget that much of the weight they are losing is muscle!
Men are cutting their calories to such a dangerous level their metabolism starts to shut down. Then they add on cardio and if that doesn’t work, they reduce their calories even more. The only thing this accomplishes is reducing their muscle and decreasing their testosterone. This fact is discussed in detail in “The Testosterone Advantage Plan” : – check it out…you’ll be stunned! Another great book that emphasizes training like a man is The Alpha Male Challenge.” Both these books should be on every dad’s shelf.
OK, so by now you’re either still with me, or you have fumed off somewhere, in which case what I’m about to say won’t effect you.
Here are the 6 Mental Strength Tips for Men to Train like Men:
- Stop the Cardio: It’s been proven that you can get the same cardio benefits from lifting weights, H.I.T training or ‘turbulence training’ so get off the treadmill and H.I.T it. Oh yea…when you are lifting, please don’t read the newspaper between your sets!
- Perform Compound Exercises. These involving multiple joint action like, bench-press, squats, dead-lifts and other Olympic lifts. Again, this is NOT one and done. Perform multiple sets with minimum rest between sets.
- Become a Swinger…no not like that…like kettlebells or sandbags. By incorporating kettlebells and/or sandbags into your routine you’ll not only improve your strength, but your cardio endurance as well.
- Eat, Eat and Eat. Guys, it’s time to put some meat on those bones, and the best way it through a proper planned diet and nutrition program. I happen to like Precision Nutrition. It’s used by many pro and college level sports teams.
- Increase Your Fat Intake. This does not mean going out and eating more Big Mac’s. This means adding more Omega-3 and other “good fat”. Increasing your good fat intake has been proven to lower your LDL and raise your HDL…both of these are good things.
- Stretch. This may sound “girly”, but let me tell you guys, nothing will cause an injury quicker then inflexibility…believe me, I can attest to this from personal experience. If you’re too tight to stretch look for a good strength therapist, ART practitioner or message therapist.
Well I could go on, but I won’t. I’ve ranted enough and now I feel like I need a cigarette…just kidding, I don’t smoke. Oh yea, this brings up one more BIG thing guys, to improve your physical transformation…gotta cut back on booze, or better yet, cut it out while you’re in serious training.
I won’t get on that soapbox here, but let me tell, consuming alcohol will retard your body’s ability to shed fat….check it our for yourself.
Well I hope I’ve got you pissed off…in a good way that will cause you to step up and become the leader and hero of your family…the way you are meant to be.
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
