Training as a Father

The two most important jobs I have are being a father and a husband. Period. There are no “ifs” “ands” or “buts” about it. In order for me to show up as my best self to my wife and son, I have to prioritize training. Not only am I a better person, but I am able to handle challenging situations at home better when I train. If I don’t get in a training run, lift, or hard workout, I find myself more irritable and less patient. Now, why is this? Because training puts things into perspective. If I have a disagreement at home, or am challenged by any number of things that come up as a dad (dinnertime, bedtime, bathtime, you know the drill), the ability to say “I’m sorry” or be more patient becomes so much easier when you compare that to the hard threshold run, AMRAP, or HYROX workout I did in the morning.

You should also train as a father so you never need to say “no”. Now, I am not talking about saying no to your kid for things like icecream, staying up past their bedtime, or things that they generally shouldn’t do. I am talking about never needing to say no to the fun things in life. When my son says, “dad, let’s play red light green light”, I never want to say no because I may be overweight, my back hurts, I can’t sprint, or I’m too out of shape. As a dad, that would really hurt.

So, if you don’t have a reason to train and you’re a dad, then train so you can say “yes” for as long as you can to all of the incredible things you get to do with your son.