“The old ones say we Spartans are descended from Hercules himself” – Dilios

Fight Against the Dad Bod: The 300 DadWOD Challenge

I think we all remember the “300” movie—a film depicting the battle at the “hot gates”. 300 Spartans against hundreds of thousands of Persian soldiers. The Adonis’ portrayed the Spartans as incredibly “jacked” men with six packs fighting in underwear. A romanticized version of the spartan warrior. Never-the-less the physiques shown on-screen sparked an endless amount of “300” workout programs—programs detailing grueling workouts to spark spartan level results in no time.

You’re Not a Spartan

The Spartans were no strangers to some hard training and they had a leg up on us. They trained FULL TIME!! That isn’t the case for the average father. The only thing we truly do full-time is raise kids. Because of this we find many challenges in our fitness plans. We need to find a way to train and complete our daddy duties.

Now, we can go ahead and pop in the P90X DVD and get our sweat on; but once your child sees you’ve turned off his cartoons, you’re in for a world of hurt. Also, P90X is limited on when you can complete the workouts. You’ll be pulled away from your hardcore TV training several times by a child who needs apple juice, a diaper change, fruit snacks or just wants to say “hi”.

Change Your Mindset

Our mindset on training has to change in order to continue our fitness goals with kids. You can choose to live a sedentary life or you can move whenever and however you can. In all reality, your training must now be characterized by shorter bursts throughout your day. In total, your entire life is now training.

The 300 Dad Bod Challenge

In come the 300 Dad Bod challenges. They are simple to complex exercises done as you complete your fatherly tasks. There is no time limit or required number of reps in each set—just a required total reps by the end of the day. 100 push-ups may sound daunting, but when you split them up in sets of 15, 10, 8, 6 and so on mixed into your morning routine with the kids, they become more reasonable. Here is an example of my typical 300 workout:

• 100 x burpees
• 100 x lunges
• 3 minute plank

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As I get the boys ready for the morning, I competed 15-20 reps of the burpees and lunges. Sometimes, completing only 5 or 8, or WHATEVER…. your kids will break up the workout for you. ALL THAT MATTERS is that you complete the 100 reps and a total of 3 minutes on a plank.

Your Baby isn’t a Dumbbell

Now, I know its cute when we see fathers doing push ups with kids on their backs. I’ve posted some exercises while using a willing tot as resistance; however, I will tell you one thing, kids do not want to cooperate with you. You’ve probably already figured this out. They will smack you in the face, run away, throw a bottle at your head, or just scream uncontrollably while you try to use them as a baby sandbag. I know, I know, it’s super cute, but your baby isn’t a dumbbell. Now, if your kids want to jump in… then have at it. But kids are very unpredictable; therefore, the 300 challenges do not require your kids to act as resistance but just as spectators. They still get the benefit in seeing what an active father looks like.

A Supplement to your Training

Now, these workouts aren’t necessarily a replacement for some gym sessions (in the garage or local box); but, they are a great supplement to your training. They will help your overall fitness on days you can’t make it to the gym. If the 300 challenge is all you can do, well, it’s better than sitting on the couch… much better. Remember, your kids won’t be little tots forever, one day you can return to your hour long gym sessions. So, enjoy your kids now. Be with them as much as possible. No one said you couldn’t get strong in the process.

Stay tuned for weekly challenges. Feel free to post a time-lapse video of you completing a 300 Dad Bod workout on our Facebook page—and tag us! We’d love to see you in action!