Written by Menswear Style in Health & Fitness on the 4th August 2017

Ok busy dads; it’s your turn to get fit. But don’t worry you are certainly not alone. It can be very hectic managing work life with home life and being a busy parent - it’s tough doing all of this as well as taking care of number one. You may well have noticed your mid-30 spread has slowly but surely turned into a mid-40 spread and you haven’t been able to do anything about it. This change in body shape and fat percentage has been slowly creeping up over many years, and not noticing or observing and not making changes can be dangerous. However, with a few small changes here and there to your day to day living and weekly routine you can lower your body fat and increase your energy levels in no time at all.

High-summer is fast approaching and getting rid of that ‘dad bod’ will be a boost to your self-esteem as well as the health benefits you will receive. we are not saying pack in your job or stop taking the kids to sports practice, your hectic lifestyle can stay hectic if it so wishes; but these little and often changes can fit nicely in and around your life without you breaking stride. And yes, we’ve heard all the excuses under the sun about how you’re a dad now and this is what dads are supposed to look like, wrong! Dads are kings of their castles and no excuses below are going to stop you from flying the flag high for health and happiness.

“I’m too busy; I don’t think I can do it” 

To be honest with you, during your busy lifestyle, focusing on getting rid of your ‘dad bod’ at this stage is all down to attitude. You have to make that switch from accepting this is what you look like and feel like to wanting to look and feel better. Once you have set yourself a goal of making a change and you commit to it, you will be surprised when and where opportunities for change arise. For example, cycling to work is an easy switch to make especially if your employer is involved in the government Cyclescheme. It doesn’t affect anything around you and your working day continues as normal. Or even next time you drop your kids off at football practice, take your trainers with you. Rather than watching them in the car with the radio on, why not run, walk and jog your way around the pitch.

“I just don’t I have the time; don’t forget I am a dad” 

Nonsense, 1 hour is 4% of your day, 4%! Plus, we don’t even expect you to work out for 1 hour every day. We’re suggesting you work out for less than that 2 or 3 times a week. Rather than travelling to and from the gym, try short bursts of exercise at maximum effort at home or in the garden. Follow The Body Coach on social media for home workout ideas - these short bursts of exercise are at least as effective if not more so than sustained longer periods of exercise when trying to get rid of the ‘dad bod’. This technique is called high intensity interval training (HIIT), HIIT can make all the difference when looking to squeeze in that workout two or three times a week. These workouts can be done at as much intensity as you need, with your body weight as your resistance, meaning you don’t need to search for the perfect place to get motivated. Work this around your babies nap schedule, there are enough hours in the day for a 20 minute, high intensity workout, and that even includes your warm up.

"I find exercise tedious and boring" 

Ok, we are with you on this one, but the key here is to find something you enjoy. Anything we do that is boring is because it’s mundane and doesn’t challenge us. If you join an exercise class, or a sports team then immediately you are transported into a social event with other people - if you can do it with friends then even better. Variety is the spice of life, especially when us dads start to master something. If you are going to the gym already, ask your personal trainer or staff member to build a plan for you, you can guarantee there will be exercises there that you are not doing or haven’t tried yet. Your prefect ally to high intensity training in the house is the kettlebell. Not only does it allow you to fit in exercises around your busy schedule, but the use of kettlebells can get your heart rate up quicker than other types of training. They can get you burning up to 20 calories a minute, depending on what exercises you are doing and how much effort you are putting in. But the important thing here for busy dads is that this is equivalent to a cardio class or a running session, but over a shorter period of time. Adding two or three 15-20-minute kettlebell workouts to your weekly schedule will transform how you look, and just as importantly how you feel. Your sedentary lifestyle is then no more.

"I can’t afford a gym membership" 

If you don't want to be tied into a contract or can't visit regularly we'd recommend Pay As U Gym. However, you don’t actually need to go to the gym to burn fat and rid yourself of the ‘dad bod’. In fact, travelling there, showering and travelling back home again is just wasting your precious time right now. While your kids are in school or nursery you can be running and burning fat on the streets or at a park. If you take on the HIIT principles of sprinting for 10 seconds then jogging for 30 seconds then you could be done in 15 minutes. But if you have more time, running or cycling is free, and if you run with a friend to push each other then that’s even better. Also, the national Parkrun schemes happen at 9am every Saturday morning around Britain. Again, this timed 5k course is free, and it allows you to push a running stroller around with you. So, while your child is asleep or enjoying the scenic ride then you could be resistance training around a beautiful park or coastline all before 10am. We recommend the Thule Glide that we've been trialling over the past few weeks. The lightweight (only 9.9kg) materials, aerodynamic design and large suspension wheels are unrivalled to the running buggy competition. It also has height-adjustable handles allowing for both an effortless grip and a long stride suited to us tall guys. 

"My spare time is taken by my new baby" 

From one dad to another, trust us when we say getting to the gym for an hour or so, two or three times a week, is nearly impossible. But that’s ok; you can get creative and work around a newborn baby or energetic toddlers. You don’t even need to rely on equipment at this stage, your own body weight along with your babies body weight will provide all the weighted resistance you need. Wear your little one in a carrier around the house or the park and take the stairs whenever possible or do some squats. Plus, placing the focus on perfecting your form during each exercise is hard enough as it is. Again, the Thule Glide running buggy mentioned above will come in handy when its your little one's nap time. Even a 30 minute micro nap is enough jogging time to work up a sweat and improve stamina. 

“I don’t have the time or knowledge to cook healthy meals” 

Calories in vs calories out will play a massive part in getting rid of your ‘dad bod’. Reducing calories in by cooking healthy home cooked meals is the secret. Keeping hydrated throughout each day and cleaning up your family meals will change the new you. Try cooking with your partner and children because cooking homemade healthy food with actual ingredients is going to be your key to success when looking for a body change; plus, this way of cooking and eating will also bring your family up to speed on the way you should live. Try cookbooks such as Hemsley Hemsley who have plenty of quick meals, desserts and snacks made from healthy natural ingredients which taste amazing and are good for you. But if there's no persuading you to put a chef's hat on, a great alternative is to take up a clean eating meal delivery service such as Paleo Chef which have a great fat loss plan followed by international rugby stars and CrossFit trainers. 

We talk about high intensity interval training and review the new Thule Glide Running stroller in this article on How to Get Rid Of That ‘Dad Bod’.