Do you consider yourself to be a lazy dad? Maybe you were fit before you had kids and you let things slide when they were born. Maybe you’ve never really been fit, but you’d like to set a good example for your children. There are so many reasons you should get off the couch and start working out today. Not only will you begin to look better, you’ll be creating a healthier, happier lifestyle. You’ll live longer, fight off disease, and experience a plethora of other benefits that you just can’t get by doing anything else!
So, let’s take a look at some of the easiest ways for lazy dads to get fit:
Think Up A Strong Reason ‘Why’
The first thing you’re going to need is a strong reason why. This reason keeps you going when you don’t want to get up in the morning, or you just want to laze on the sofa after work. Do you want to get fit to set an example for your kids? This could definitely be a strong reason to start! After all, it doesn’t matter what you tell your kids, they’ll do what they see you doing. You can have any number of other reasons why. If a disease runs in your family, a reason could be minimizing your chances of experiencing it. Consider making a list and sticking it to the fridge or a mirror; a place you’ll see it every day.
When you have your reason why, you simply need to get into the habit of moving regularly. It should only take around 21 days of this before you’ve built a brand new habit!
Start Getting Active With Your Kids
Getting active with your kids can be a lot of fun. Kids have so much energy that keeping up with them can be tough if you’re not working on staying fit yourself! What can you start doing with your kids that helps you to stay active? Perhaps you could go on family hikes, go swimming together, or simply play a sport in the garden regularly. The more active you can stay with your kids, the fitter you’ll get automatically!
Commit To Two Or Three Intense Sessions A Week
Alongside enjoying different activities with your kids/family, commit to just two or three intense exercise sessions a week. Start with two if you’re not used to exercise currently. You can then build yourself up as you feel ready. You have to trust that after a few weeks/months, you’ll fall in love with the feeling exercise gives you, and the results you start to get. You won’t want to stop! Just pick 2 days a week you can do, and then stick with them. You may not feel like going sometimes, but once you get there, and especially once you get finished, you’ll feel amazing. You can make sure you have certain items to help you through your workout too. Pre-workout can help to give you a great energy boost, while accessories like SockwellSocks.com/Sockwell-Socks-For-men-s/112.htm can help with compression and keep you nice and dry when you wear them. Before you start buying even fancier gadgets, get into the habit first. You don’t want to kid yourself into thinking you’re more likely to work out because you’ve got loads of new gadgets to play with. If you’re not already in the habit and enjoying it, you might find that those gadgets go unused and end up being a waste of money. They’re often called ‘false starts’. People think they’ll go to the gym once they’ve bought an expensive pair of trainers or something similar, but this isn’t the case. Start going first, treat yourself after.
Get A Fitness Tracker
A fitness tracker is a great way to take a look at your overall fitness. You might be surprised at how little movement you actually do throughout the day. For somebody who has a sit-down job and doesn’t go to the gym, chances are, all you’ll get is a measly thousand or so steps per day. That’s nothing when we’re supposed to aim for 8000 steps at a minimum! A fitness tracker can encourage you to start walking more when you can. You can even turn on notifications so you get up and do some steps every hour. You can track calories burned, your heart rate, and even link the app with other apps like MyFitnessPal to really get your fitness journey on the road!
Make A Playlist That Makes You Want To Get Active
There’s nothing that makes you want to get active quite like a playlist full of motivational music. Whether you like dance or heavy rock doesn’t matter; use something like Spotify to put together your very own playlist and get pumped up!
Stop Drinking Your Calories
A really easy way to drop some excess calories, and likely sugar, as well as other things that aren’t great for your health out of your diet, is to stop drinking your calories. That’s right; no beer. Try not to drink alcohol in the house, except maybe one glass of wine with dinner. If you go out to drink and you know you’re going to be having at least a few, go for something better on the waistline, like gin and slimline tonic. Every time you have a beer, you may as well be eating a chocolate bar!
Remember, there are lots of calories in things you might not even think of. Cans of pop, tea/coffee with milk and sugar, and even juice all contain lots of carbs and calories.
Start Small With Your Meals
When it comes to changing your diet habits, start small. Find healthier recipes for your old favourites. For example, protein pasta with homemade sauce rather than regular pasta with a store bought sauce. Just do your best to make healthier choices, ensuring a diet that’s high in protein and plenty of nutrients! Allow the odd treat, but don’t tip the balance. Having a couple spread throughout the week is better than binging on the weekend!
Start implementing these tips and you should find getting fit a breeze!