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Being a dad is tough, but don’t let the mother hear you say that! If you are the sole breadwinner in the house while the mother is taking time off from work to look after your newborn, you can find that time to get any form of exercise in is as difficult as getting out of the house for anything other than rushing to the store at 2 am to get formula! And the tight budget you are operating under means that you can’t even justify going to the gym three nights a week, and why would you even want to? Chances are you are exhausted from getting up in the night and then getting up in the morning. It’s like Vietnam, instead of looking for Charlie in the jungle you’re looking for the pacifier in the dark! We’ve all been there, BUT… I am here to say that we can exercise. It’s just how we go about doing it. You can do little cheats and corner cutting at points, but the first thing is to get rid of the idea that you are going to exercise for an hour, you don’t have the time! The important thing to remember is that you are now in the exercise where you can mindset, which, believe it or not, is a great way to keep in shape, because you are just primed for exercise, instead of having to build yourself up for doing that deadlift!

The next thing to realize is that weights are out! The only weight you will be lifting is your pride and joy, and you won’t want to do a goblet squat with your baby! I’ve learned the hard way and nearly had a heart attack in the process. It’s all about using your body weight, and it’s all about stealing moments to exercise. A minute here and there. While the water is boiling for a feed, which takes about a minute, how many press ups can you do in that time? The next time you boil the water, you can try to break your record. It is much easier to use your bodyweight as a measure of exercise because going to the gym in a tired state can mean an increase of injury or making an existing one worse. There is the Waconia Family Chiropractic Center that works with families and athletes to help with existing injuries if you are unsure about what damage you are doing to your body, but the important thing if you do have an injury is to make sure you aren’t overdoing it! It is tempting to try and push for the burn wherever you can, but you’re not the most important person in the room anymore, remember that.

The other point to mention is to go for exercises that actually do something for your whole body. There is no point in doing some small exercise that only exercises some small muscle in the small of your back. Compound exercises are the thing to do. Squats, press ups, hip thrusts, lunges, and the dreaded burpees. These are the name of the game now. So why are you reading this anymore? Go!