The Athlete Dad: Why Fitness Is Not Optional
The short answer
Once you decide fitness is not optional, the same way being a husband or a dad is not optional, most of the juggling gets a lot less complicated. In episode 364, Jerred flies solo to break down how he has kept training consistent over 14 years and three kids.
Being a father and an athlete at the same time looks different at every stage. Infants, toddlers, and teenagers who need an Uber driver all pull on your time in different ways. Jerred has lived every one of those seasons, and this episode is about what actually kept his training on track through all of them.
Fitness Is as Non Negotiable as Being a Dad
You do not wake up and decide whether you are going to be a dad today. It is not optional. The shift Jerred describes is putting fitness in that same category.
When training is a maybe, every day becomes a negotiation. When it is a given, the only question is how and when it fits. That one decision removes most of the daily back and forth.
Ruthlessly Eliminate What Does Not Matter
If your priorities are family, fitness, faith, and finances, something else has to give. Usually that means:
- Netflix
- Scrolling
- Extra hobbies
- People asking for your time
None of those are evil. They just are not on the list. You cannot add training to a full plate without taking something off it, so be honest about what is eating your hours and cut it.
Minimum and Maximum Standards for Each Season
Jerred borrows this idea from the Air Force PT test. Instead of one rigid goal, set two numbers: the minimum you will always hit and the maximum you are shooting for in this season of life.
A dad with a newborn does not have the same week as a dad with teenagers. Toddlers and teenagers demand different things. Your standard should match the season you are in, not the one you had five years ago or the one you want five years from now.
Write it down. The agreements we make with ourselves are the easiest ones to break, because nobody else is holding us to them. Putting the standard on paper makes it a real commitment.
Putting Being a Dad First
Here is the other side of non negotiable. Sometimes your kid needs you, and the session does not happen. That is not failure. That is the priority list working the way it should.
Skip the session, show up for your kid, and do not spend the rest of the day beating yourself up about it. Your minimum standard is there so one missed day does not turn into a missed month.
Plan Tomorrow the Night Before
The time management that actually works is simple. Plan tomorrow the night before. Then go one step further and scan that plan for the obstacles that will wreck it.
The meeting that always runs long before school pickup. The practice that moved. The early flight. If you see the obstacle the night before, you can move the workout before it happens instead of losing it after.
Jerred also keeps a bare minimum fallback for the days when everything falls apart anyway: one piece of the MRF workout. It is small enough to always fit, and it keeps the streak alive. When a plan does break, learn from it and adjust the next one.
Forecast Your Habits Ten Years Out
Take what you do every day and project it ten years forward. The daily habits you have right now are a pretty accurate forecast of the dad you will be in a decade, for better or worse.
And do not expect a pat on the back for it. Neither of us deserves one for doing what we are supposed to do. The real reward is your kids watching you show up, day after day, and learning what that looks like.
Frequently asked questions
How do busy dads find time to work out?
Decide training is not optional, cut the things that do not serve your priorities, and plan tomorrow the night before. Then scan that plan for obstacles so you can move the workout before it gets squeezed out.
What is a minimum and maximum training standard?
It is a floor and a ceiling for your training in the current season of life. The minimum is what you always hit, even in a hard week. The maximum is what you aim for when life allows. Write both down and update them when your season changes.
Is it okay to skip a workout for my kids?
Yes. Putting your kids first sometimes means missing a session. Skip it without guilt, lean on your minimum standard, and get back to it tomorrow.
Train like an athlete. For life.
Programming built this way: hard when it counts, sustainable the rest of the time.
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