Search the Community

This is going to be part 1 of a multi-part series of challenges as I seek to become Superdad! I am already a dad with a 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son. We also have another son on the way, due at the end of August. Whenever I talk to friends who are about to have their first kid, I tell the dad to get in the best shape of his life before the kid comes because afterwards, he will get no sleep and the better shape you're in, the less sleep you'll need. I have no idea if that's scientifically true or not, but it's a good motivator for me to get in the best shape of my life by the end of the summer! But becoming a Superdad is not just about being in shape. There are several aspects of my life that I'd like to hone on my way to becoming Superdad, so I'm going to focus on a few each challenge. A Superdad Is Big and Strong Goal 1: Eat for Muscle to get big Following the path laid out in 7 Weeks to 10 Pounds of Muscle and keeping the mindset Staci wrote about here, I'm going to plan out what I eat each day in order to gain 4-5 pounds and then stick to the plan. In Staci's post, she starts off by saying we plan our workouts, why wouldn't we plan our meals? I've long heard/known that diet is more important than exercise when it comes to making changes in my physique. So, I'm going to bust out a spreadsheet and plan my meals. I figure I can add up all the calories and macros ahead of time and then just eat what's on my list! My side goal for this is not to add any inches to my belly while I bulk up elsewhere. Edit to add starting measurements: Weight: 158# (7-day avg) Belly: 35" Average BF = 20% Body Fat = 31.6# Lean Body Mass = 126.4# Goal 2: Overhead Press to get strong I'm going to need big broad shoulders if I want to carry the weight of my family, right?!? I'm working on Clean-to-fist Sandbag Overhead Presses, but following the workout protocol in the 7 Weeks book. I can currently do 4x5x70# and plan to work up to 5x5x85# by the end of the challenge. A Superdad Is Calm, Cool, and Collected Goal 3: Spend x minutes each day praying/meditating/unwinding I'll admit that can have a bit of a short fuse with my kids and I need to learn to be more easy-going around them. Part of that will mean learning to control my reactions to their behavior, but also just remembering that they're kids and they don't think/act like I do. I've included unwinding in this because I definitely find that a stressful day at work can lead to a bad attitude at home. I'm not sure how long I want to shoot for each day, but I'll probably start with 2-5 minutes and see if I can build from there. A Superdad Loves His Wife and Kids Goal 4: Read Super Husband, Super Dad and put the tips within into practice. The "put the tips into practice" part of this goal is a little nebulous, but that's because I haven't read the book yet. I've read the first few chapters and skimmed the table of contents, so I'm confident there will be some concrete applications I can put into place. PS I was very excited to see the superpower themed mini challenge!