Father's Day Comes Early!!!

The past couple of weeks have been crazy for me. My workouts have suffered a bit as far as performance and consistency is concerned. It's all because of the various projects that I've been working on.

Nonetheless, my nutrition has been good and I still have been able to get my workouts in.

For example, Saturday afternoon, outside on the new deck I did the BRAND NEW FitAndBusyDad KETTLEBELL 300 workout. This workout combines some of the toughest kettlebell exercises in a high-rep timed workout format similar to the original 300 workout. I did...

-Turkish Get-Ups (or TGUs)
-Front Squats
-Snatches
-1 and 2-arm swings
-Windmills

It was pretty tough and I wanted to quit...but I didn't.

And it felt great!!!

You can get the KB 300, in addition to 7 other new FitAndBusyDad Workouts, in the new FitAndBusyDad 300 (& Beyond) workout manual that I released today.

From now until Wednesday at midnight I'm offering the FBD 300, the new Kettlebell Crusher workout and the much anticipated FitAndBusyDad Meal Plans Book for FREE when you get the complete FitAndBusyDad Workout Package!

=>Pick-up the FitAndBusyDad Father's Day Package with the 3 EXCLUSIVE BONUSES!!!

So now it's back to regular workouts trying in an effort in trying to add some meat to my frame.

I'll let you know tomorrow how I do with it all. It should be an interesting week!

Chris
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. Don't forget that my EARLY FATHER'S DAY PRESENT giveaway ends on Wednesday at midnight, so...

=>Grab your copy of the FitAndBusyDad Workouts today!!!

Video Friday!!! My DIY Project - I'm Building a Home Gym

I'm sitting at Darkhorse Espresso this morning enjoying my first (and only) espresso of the day.

It's been a hectic week because I've had several projects on the go and one major one is just coming to completion.

As a result, I haven't been able to get to the gym. Nonetheless, I still managed to get my workouts in yesterday and on Tuesday using kettlebells and the cool sandbag that my buddy Josh Henkin from Arizona gave me. (I'll have a video up of what I did with the sandbag next week).

Nutrition has been great as well. Because I've been working so much, Rozanne (my wife) offered to make "breakfast for dinner" last night. So we enjoyed a feast of pancakes, blueberries & farmer's sausages and pure maple syrup from our friend's farm! It can't get any better than that!

Anyway, one of my major projects has been turning my backyard into a livable and functional space for our family. Check out my NEW BLOG and see what I'm doing with my backyard...

=>The FitAndBusyDad DIY Backyard Home Gym Project: Episode 1

Have a great weekend, guys!!!

Make sure to check back on Monday for an early Father's Day Gift!!!

Chris

23 Rules for Living a FitAndBusyDad Life

We just finished another crazy weekend. AJ had a soccer tournament. We took the kids out on Saturday night to watch fireworks. Frankie had a huge birthday party yesterday.

Family life is fun...but it's tiring! My weekends seem to be busier than my work week!

Over the past 11 years, I've noticed some things. Observations, if you will. Things that I have had to learn the hard way, but eventually have led to a somewhat successful life. (Keep in mind that success is defined differently for different people. My definition of success is a little unconventional).

Over this time, I've compiled a list of 23 things that are now almost a manifesto on how I live my life. I haven't mastered life by any means. But these 23 "rules" are what have lead to me living a happy, healthy and somewhat sane life as a FitAndBusyDad to a beautiful family.

I'd like to share these things with you now...

23 Rules for Living a FitAndBusyDad Life

1. Train with intensity and don't waste your time with cardio if you want to lose weight and stay healthy.

2. Eat REAL food.

3. Your family comes first. Not money, not work, not unnecessary things.

4. Years 1 thru 5 are the MOST IMPORTANT in your child's life (developmentally). Make an effort to be there as much as you can and to build their self-esteem and character. These years will determine who they are as a person.

5. Always continue to learn and enrich your mind with good books, continuing education courses and seminars...try to spend at least 30mins per day reading (you should always try to have the answers to questions your kids will ask you).

6. Practice short term intermittent fasting...it is, by far, the best way for FitAndBusyDads to eat.

7. Make time for personal relationships - especially the relationship with your wife/spouse/partner. It's too easy to get caught up with family life/commitments...you'll need these relationships as life goes on and the kids get older.

8. Drink only water and organic tea & espresso limiting or eliminating unnaturally sweetened and preserved drinks & juices and alcohol consumption.

9. Eat the majority of your food from plants, but don't give up meat entirely if you don't have to.

10. Read to your kids so that they can learn to enjoy the benefits of reading.

11. Make sure your kids bare witness to you being active, they in turn, will be active themselves.

12. Master bodyweight exercises (chin-ups, push-ups, dips, pistols, lunges & squats) before picking up weights. Teach your kids these exercises too.

13. Master some form of deep breathing/mediation or stress relieving exercise that you can turn to when things start to get hectic...trust me, you'll need it.

14. Be conscious of everything you do because someone is always watching.

15. You are a role model to your kids, empower them and build their confidence through encouraging words and actions.

16. Walk everywhere or ride a bike for transportation. Conserve energy as much as possible.

17. Give your kids more time and less "things".

18. Train outside when you can and as often as you can.

19. Lift heavy things and get stronger. You want your kids to think you're Hercules or Superman.

20. Enjoy what you do for a living. If you're passionate about work and love what you do, the money will come.

21. Train when you are in the fasted state (don't eat 2-3 hours before training). There's something primal and intense about lifting/training when you're hungry.

22. Don't drink or eat anything from plastic containers. There's too much research out there on the dangers of this.

23. Smile more...it's old school thinking that smiling isn't "manly". This is the New School.

So what do you think? Did I miss anything?

Or even worse, did I completely get anything a**-backwards?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions and hear what some of your "rules for life" are!

Please leave a comment and let me know.

Chris
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. The SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT for today was the supposed to be the launch of my new blog over at FitAndBusyDadBLOG.com . I'm having some technical difficulties right now, but would love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.
=> Go To The NEW FitAndBusyDad Blog - www.FitAndBusyDadBLOG.com

Monday Deadlift Workout & Nutrition

***My NEW BLOG is now up and running at FitAndBusyDadBLOG.com. Please excuse the mess as it will be a constant work in progress. I'll be posting articles and videos there quite often, so please check it out HERE. I'll still be posting on this blog, but it will be more of my everyday stuff - mainly workouts & nutrition - just so I can stay accountable to you guys. So, make sure to bookmark both so that you get the most out of your FitAndBusyDad Experience***

I just got back from the gym and am about to break my 24hr fast.

I like fasting on my deadlift days because I always seem to be able to go heavier on no food. Huh?

Hey, I'm no rocket scientist so I won't bother explaining why. It just works, so I do it.

Nothing, obviously, to report on the nutrition front today other than a cup of green tea in the morning around 5:30am while I was sitting on the porch writing an article. And then a double espresso @ 2pm from my favorite cafe Dark Horse Espresso Bar on Queen East here in Toronto.

After that, I hit the gym for this workout...

Hang Clean - 5 @ 135; 5 @ 155
High Pull - 7 @ 165; 7 @ 175
Shrug Pull - 7 @ 225; 7 @ 245
Deadlift (mixed grip) - 5 @ 315 x 2
135lb Deadlifts - 1 x 25

Then I finished with some facepulls and some dips for fun...just 2 sets each with no rest in between.

I'm home now and just made myself a shake...

-1 cup organic coconut milk
-1 cup blueberries
-1 banana
-1 tsp maca powder
-1 tsp cocoa nibs
-1 scoop Vega vegetable protein
-water

Now I'm going to hit the road to pick-up Rozanne and the girls and then I'll take AJ to soccer practice. Maybe grab some gelato with her afterward. I'm packing some carrots & hummus for the drive.

CL
the F&BD

Day 4 Video And My Futrue Hollywood Star

I'm sitting at the car dealership this morning waiting for service to get done on my car.

It's been a fun morning. (Literally. I'm not being sarcastic this time.)

I got up at the usual 5am this morning to get some project work done. As I was finishing my first article of the morning, I hear the pitter-patter of feet running to the bathroom, giggling and then running back to her room. Then, tiptoeing in stealth, ninja-like fashion, I hear someone slowly creep down the stairs.

"It's my birthday today", she whispers.

"Are you sure", I say.

"Yes. I counted my sleeps and the sun is up and now it's morning, so today is my birthday. I'm 4 now, so you have to do everything I say today!"

So today is Frankie's (my #3 daughter) 4th birthday.

We affectionately call her "Sparkles" or "Frankie Goes To Hollywood" or "Frankie From NYC" or, her latest nickname "The Meal Ticket".

See, this kid's different. My oldest, AJ, seems to be the jock. My 2nd daughter Joey is somewhat shy, but is an intellectual marvel. Mikey, the baby, we can't quite figure out yet. But Frankie... well let's just say that she memorized the lyrics and dance moves to "Boom, Boom, POW" by the Black Eyed Peas 2 days after the song was released.

(****As an aside: I don't label my kids or pigeon hole them into certain roles in our family. My wife and I just believe in driving them towards their strengths and what they're comfortable with at any given point in time in their lives. AJ's shown a propensity to sport, Joey is picking up a 2nd language right now like she putting her socks on and well, Frankie...Frankie believes that they will re-do the movie High School Musical and cast her as "Gabriella". That just the way we roll in our house.)

Happy Birthday, Frankie!!!!

Here's the last installment of June's program for Busy Dads...





Have a great weekend and make sure you check back on Monday for a special announcement!

Chris, The FitandBusyDad

Day 3 Video of The Fat Loss Stimulus Package

Sorry guys, short post today. Frankie's got a bladder infection, so we're off to the doctor this morning. In the meantime, enjoy today's workout. This is Day 3 of our 4 day program.

I'll have the full program layout and the last video of the program tomorrow.



Have a great day!

Chris
The FitAndBusyDad

No More Back Pain, Better abs & a Perfect Golf Swing

A few years ago, I added an exercise to every client's warm-up that I thought was incredibly essential for their success. It was called "the Scorpion". What it involved was having my client lay on his/her front, extend one leg in the air (while they were squeezing their butt) and then rotate their leg across their body to touch the floor on the opposite side.

I thought this was cutting edge. I thought I was doing stuff that nobody else was doing and that it could have been the missing link in getting my clients mobile, injury free and free of back pain.

Boy, was I wrong.

In fact, after reading Dr. Stuart McGill's "Ultimate Back Fitness And Performance" and attending one of his seminars, I realized that what I was doing was not only wrong, but dangerous. Needless to say that I changed things right away.

What I learned is that the vertibrae & discs in your lumbar spine (your lower back) are only meant to take 2-3 degrees of rotation. More than that is excessive, creates sheer force and could potentially harm your lower back later on in life.

OK, so what does this all mean?

It means that...

-We need to focus more on bracing our abs and keeping our lower back as stable and rotation free as possible.

-We should be using our abs the way they were meant to be used - for stability and as ANTI-rotators - not as a means to bring our chest to our hips (as in a crunch or sit-up).

-We should be focusing more on rotating through our UPPER BACK and HIPS as opposed to our fragile lower backs.

-And that a poorly executed golf swing is a chiropractor's and orthopedic surgeon's wet dream
(See above: Felxion & Rotation is a recipe for disaster. Stick to gambling & basketball, Charles.)


The solution?

First, do ab exercises like planks, side planks, and hip bridges to keep our abs strong and stable.

Second, work on the mobility in our hips.

Third, focus on keeping our upper backs - and the muscles surrounding and supporting them - knot free and mobile so that our lower backs don't make up for it.

Here are a couple of exercises that you can do to keep your upper back loose and mobile...

This one uses a foam roller and is great for posture...



This one teaches you how to rotate through your upper back while keep your lower back stable...




If you do anything to keep your low back healthy, make sure to let me and everyone else know and leave a comment below.

Enjoy your day!

Chris
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. You can get rid of your low back pain, get ripped abs and get a better golf swing all with one program...

=>Get Started with FitAndBusyDad Workouts Today