“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is right fucking now” -Chris Moore

I get it. 

You’re watching all of Efren’s videos, saying to yourself “Yeah, that guy is tough. His job demands physical fitness and he makes time for it. He has to. He’s serious about health and fitness. The dude is a beast. Just look at how much—and how often—he works out?!?!” (If you don’t know what we’re talking about, he’s the dude in 80% of our Instagram videos.)

Yeah, I get it.

But here’s the thing: for me, as a father of four who works part-time nights and weekends, the primary day-time caregiver, I’m telling you a fit lifestyle is within reach for every man—and every father. You can do it. You can start today. And you can start small.

I’d like to give you three simple things that you can do tomorrow to improve your health and then I’ll take some time to expand on how you can reach your bigger goals. So here you go:

1. Get up ten minutes earlier. Use that time in the morning to start a routine of basic body resistance exercises. Push-Ups and sit-ups are two of my favorites.

2. Drink water. Say no to that third beer. Grab a water instead. If you crave something with a bit more bite, try mineral water (I love San Pellegrino).

3. Pursue a passion that has a fitness component to it. Did you know that even NASCAR drivers adhere to rigorous workout regimens? And who wouldn’t want to drive 200+ MPH for a living?!?! Life is more than living vicariously through athletes on television. Get off the sidelines and play the sport to the best of your abilities.

Who You Want to Be

Let’s remember the root reasons why we want to be physically fit and let those motivate us in our pursuit of a fit lifestyle.

Nobody wants a heart attack before 60. Everybody wants to be able to walk his daughter down the wedding aisle. Absolutely we want to be able to keep up with our kids physically so that we can participate with them and just plain be with them. So how do we make sure these things happen? The answer is simple: start small.

Take on one of the three simple starts I mentioned. I’ll tell you now: track and record your activity. It’s the best way to make sure you’re actually doing what you need to do.

Consider adding one more rep every single day or adding ten reps every week. Find a method for improving that works for you. If you can’t do a push-up, make it your goal to be able to and start by modifying the movement so that it’s doable in the beginning.

Another variation is to tie an exercise to a particular spot in your home or office. For example, every time you pass the water cooler, do three lunges. Track your progress.

When you simply make small changes—and remember, we aren’t talking about massive mindshifts or behavioral changes here—you’ll begin to notice changes in your daily attitude, energy level, and overall health. We are designed as humans to be active, so it comes as no surprise that these changes happen.

I challenge you today to start small and make a change. Don’t do it for you. Do it for your family.