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Other/Mixed Training as a Parent

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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So concerning but how easily will your daughter pay attention to Dad rather than a "trainer"?

Unfortunately the PT is much younger and better looking than me. And he has a certificate! So at the moment my daughter is content with her program, such as it is. But I have time on my side so it will be interesting to see how the answer to your question evolves over the coming months/years
 
Have an 11.5 month old here.

Things that have changed:

I'm more dedicated to my training. I get up at 5 am, 4 days a week to do so.

I'm also less dedicated as well. I will change the alarm and sleep in if needed.

Really have to look hard at training smarter and really leaving a meaningful amount of fuel in the tank.

I have given up my washboard abs aspersions. I am focusing more on nutrition but I don't care about the dad bod as much. It's a body of honour now.
 
I have an unusual situation.

My wife and I had to take in my disabled mother-in-law and her two boys 5 and 7, because dad wasn't around to pay the rent. It was our house or the streets.

One day my wife and I were enjoying the intimacy of being a childless-couple and boom: insta-kids.

My job made finding a time to train awkward anyway. When I took on these kids, my training took a major blow. When I come home from work, I'm immediately greeted with a crisis that I have to handle right now. Then it's family meal time, and there I am with a full stomach, which usually kills my aspirations to train.

I would say the toughest challenge is following a program. Programs demand routine and the boys are always throwing a wrench into my routine.

But I am blessed with the fact that the boys have a fascination with my "Taco Bells". Little boys DEMAND attention from older men and want to emulate them. Turns out I'm "it". So when I work out, they want to work out (it's actually pretty adorable). It inevitably turns into roughhousing, which is disguised as a workout with lots of crawling, rolling, squatting, pressing, jumping, etc.

Funny thing about kids is that they can be cocky and think they can beat you up if they have to. As a parent, sometimes you have to communicate that won't work. Exercising in front of them is actually a good way to humble them. The little punks gain some respect when they try to pick up 24kg and see me snatch it with ease.
 
As another recent empty-nester, the training time is indeed easier to find. Except, when my son & grandson come over, then my grandson wants to play with my toys......I keep telling him not yet. I will end up buying smaller ones from him in a few years, he is only 4 now.

On the flip side, as a recent empty-nester, I can say that training time is certainly easier to find in the later stages of life!

Enjoy having the little ones to the fullest... it does pass quickly. Sounds like you're doing well.
 
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My training as a parent has followed the path of most of the others here. Frequency is reduced. Duration is reduced. But the last 6 months have started being more fun for me and my daughter Josie (AKA: Tiny Overlord). She will be 4 years old in 3 months. And she is getting even more interested in lifting weights. I have a picture of her deadlifting (technically a Reeves Deadlift) a homemade bar when she was about 2 years old.

The photo above was a few months back. After she did some kettlebell lifting with me (she has her own 5lb KB), she wanted to do some one hand deadlifting. So she grabbed the 10lb KB and did a few singles in very good form. She also did a Dinnie Lift with two kettlebell, one held in each hand.

I obviously don't want her to hurt herself, so I limit how much I will "allow" her to try to lift most of the time. But in reality, I think that young kids aren't strong enough to be able to hurt themselves easily.
 
I obviously don't want her to hurt herself, so I limit how much I will "allow" her to try to lift most of the time. But in reality, I think that young kids aren't strong enough to be able to hurt themselves easily.

I'm not so sure, I caught my 7 YO boy doing one handed DL's with a 32 kg bell the other day. He got upset when I made him stop because he hadn't finished his workout. If he does it again I'll try to get a pic but I really don't want to encourage him, the bloody thing weighs more than he does.
 
It took me a while to find a balance of working out+having a kiddo. My son is 3.5, and the way I work out now is pretty simple: I am up early, and if he's up too, I give him breakfast, get him dressed, we play, then while he's playing or watching TV I work out. If I get up before him, I do as much as I can before he's up and then do the rest after we do our morning routine. It works out well for us because my wife is a stay at home mom, so I get some morning bonding time with our son while she gets to sleep in a bit, and I slowly take care of the morning routine stuff like making coffee, unpacking the dishwasher, etc, between sets.
 
@bencrush I follow your blog and I aspire to be a strong example to my boys as you are to your Tiny Overloard(awesome) Josie. I am adapting my training now so it is not such a drastic change when they arrive. My wife is six months pregnant.

A Dinnie Lifting toddler awesome. Her respect for the weight, and your fathering is inspiring.
 
@bencrush , the picture of your child made me smile.
I bought my then 2 year old son a similar 2kg kettlebell almost a year ago. We were in the supermarket, we made fun of the baby weight kettlebells, and boom, he wanted it. :)
He's done a lot of farmer walk the first day. Then a few (squatty) swings a bit later, watching me doing my S&S session. Kids are copying what we do. I think "kettlebell" was one of his first words, along with "pivo".
Nice blog by the way.
 
I tried to get a pic of my boy lifting the 32kg today with my ancient mobile phone and I couldn't get a shot of him in the act to save my life. Either the phone would take the picture after he'd put it back down or it would take it when he was moving and just photograph a blur.

So I got another camera out & it wasn't much better, the poor little guy must have done over 30 reps to get a few half decent pics. I kept trying to stop him but he was insistent that I kept trying to get a good pic. His form was out the window by the time we succeeded.

His face doesn't normally look much like it does in the pics, that's his determined face.

boy1.jpeg Boy2.jpeg Boy3.jpeg
 
So easy a child could do it....

IMG_6479.JPG

Here's my 4 year old doing a near perfect (and instinctive) Third World Squat. We could all learn a lot from our kids if we know what to look for. My 12 year old daughter probably did this all the time but I didn't recognize its importance at that time. Now that I do, neither of my kids are ever going to forget how to stay mobile and flexible and strong. I can do this move pretty well and I tested myself against my in-laws at Xmas. Only my yoga instructor sister-in-law could do it, no big surprise there. How quickly we lose this ability and our kids can serve as a reminder to us. Same goes with the rest of the Original Strength school of thought.
 
I started to do S&S full-time when my son was close to being 2.

I would push the table of the living room to make a gate, tell him that I was about to train and that behind the table was my territory for the next 20 to 30 minutes.I told him it is dangerous to be around when I swing and getup the "heavy" kettlebells. He got the message. He would sometimes watch me, sometimes play in his bedroom. Often, he would even match my training (squatting during the goblet squat, lie down when I would start the getup, etc). He never crossed the table.

One day, I saw him do a getup by himself in the kitchen. He was 2 years and one month.
Getup Viktor.JPG
Children mimic what we do...
 
Great thread guys. Source of constant challenge for me. My psychology and my work require that i train. My wife is exceptionally tolerant. I was able to so Gtg deadlifts and ring work in the back when baby was...a baby. Now shes moving and we are perpetually snowed in so im trying to get back to kb work. Hard when little one is fast and bipedal and interested in what im doing and comoletely fearless. I try to do whatever she is doing. We have lots of family dance parties in the morning. Her favourite is for me to hold her and dance with her....including dives and tosses and all sorts of bumps and twirls. Like a little 25 lb medicine ball. Then theres crawling....and when she plays at the playground, i boulder it....when she runs on the beach.....i crawl or monkey-shuffle after her. She is surprisingly interested in lifting for her age. At 13 months she picked up two 2.5 lb plates and farmer walked them across the living room floor. She regularly tries to deadlift my 28k and 32k bells....a ways to go. As its an ever moving target i have been resorting to ab wheels and grippers since quick and safe and because Pavel. She has started trying to close my CoC #1 with two hands. Again, a ways to go but it is so damned cute watching her whole body tremble with the tension. Its different....and probably the hardest part of parenting for me since i seem to go downhill mentally quick if im not moving enough but it sure keeps you from stagnation!

Glad to find this thread....figured im not the only one. Keep beating myself up over it.
 
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