2301: [Part 1] How to Stay Active When You Have A Family by Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness on Parenting Advice

[00:00:00] Now before we start, you might want to check out our other podcasts covering topics like personal

[00:00:04] development and minimalism, money, health, relationships, and more. So to optimize your life in other areas,

[00:00:12] just search for Optimal Living Daily in your podcast app. Now onto the show.

[00:00:17] This is Optimal Relationships Daily. How to Stay Active When You Have A Family

[00:00:22] Part 1 by Steve Kamb of NerdFitness.com

[00:00:27] Hello everybody, welcome back to the show. Glad to have you with us. I am your host Greg Audino.

[00:00:33] In today's episode of ORD we are doing our usual shift into parenting and

[00:00:37] reading a piece that will shine some light on how to help the whole family cultivate and nurture

[00:00:41] a healthy and active lifestyle. Now today's post is a bit longer than usual so I'm splitting it

[00:00:47] up into two. Half today, half tomorrow. This will give you guys something to look forward to

[00:00:52] and it'll be good for me too since my reading and comprehension skills topped out around

[00:00:58] 6th grade when I want to overload myself. But enough from me. Let's get right into part 1

[00:01:04] and start optimizing your life. How to Stay Active When You Have A Family

[00:01:12] Part 1 by Steve Kamb of NerdFitness.com

[00:01:16] Staying active can feel like an uphill battle. It seems like there's always something getting

[00:01:21] in the way of your routine, an emergency at work, an impending deadline at school,

[00:01:25] a friend in town to visit, or the next quest in your favorite RPG that won't stop calling your name.

[00:01:31] It can be hard enough dodging all of life's obstacles. But when you have a family,

[00:01:35] it's like playing the game of life on legendary difficulty. After all,

[00:01:39] it's easy to feel guilty after spending all day away from your loved ones while working

[00:01:43] and then asking for even more time away to focus on leveling up your life.

[00:01:47] You might be wondering, is it possible to stay active and healthy and spend tons of quality time

[00:01:53] with your family? As a parent, staying active and being healthy isn't just about you finding

[00:01:58] time to take care of business but about cultivating a mindset and habits to keep the whole family

[00:02:03] on track. It's about finding a way for you all to enjoy healthy habits. Today we're going to

[00:02:09] talk about how your family can spend some quality time together while being active together.

[00:02:14] Are you actually enjoying yourself? We often think of exercise as something to be endured

[00:02:20] rather than enjoyed. When fitness is looked at as a chore, it's a really tough habit to build.

[00:02:26] Factor in a few kitties, a loving husband or wife, and the inevitable unexpected surprises

[00:02:30] that come with a family, and it's easy to see how exercising gets moved to the bottom of the

[00:02:35] to-do list right above voluntary root canal. So we need to start with actually enjoying

[00:02:40] ourselves. It's one more day above the roses and that's a good day to be alive right? When looking

[00:02:46] to find ways to stay active with your family, always start from a point of fun and work your

[00:02:51] way backwards. What can I do that makes me happy and feel alive and also happens to get my heart

[00:02:57] racing? That's the theory behind the play out. Exercise doesn't have to feel like a chore. In

[00:03:03] fact, exercise can be fun, especially when you get your kids involved. Think about it,

[00:03:08] kids get to roll around in the mud, climb on stuff, make up imaginary games,

[00:03:12] the ground is lava, and they're having so much fun that they don't realize they're exhausted

[00:03:17] and breathing heavy and just had an awesome workout. So I hereby give you permission to act

[00:03:24] like a giant child. Take your kids for a hike one afternoon, even if it's into the woods

[00:03:29] in your backyard and you pretend to be explorers. Ever read Bridge to Terabithia?

[00:03:33] You'd be surprised what kids can create with their imagination. Create a game or a

[00:03:37] contest with them. The ground is lava, who can do the most cartwheels etc. Have fun with it.

[00:03:43] Just get outside and be active. It's the perfect time of year. Get dirty, roll down hills, jump in

[00:03:49] puddles, climb trees, just have some freaking fun with it. This is a chance to bond with your kids

[00:03:54] in a way that will both improve your life and their lives. Win-win, Zucka. Now let's say you

[00:04:01] still enjoy doing structured exercise but maybe life is too busy now that you have kids.

[00:04:05] We're going to look to an 80s TV star for help mug-iver it. With kids and families every minute

[00:04:12] counts we all know that eating right is 80 to 90 percent of the battle so that final 10 percent

[00:04:18] can come in any type of exercise you can fit in whenever you can fit it in.

[00:04:22] Things aren't going to go according to plan and you're not going to always have that perfect

[00:04:26] 60 minute window to get to the gym. So you need to become mug-iver and always have a plan B

[00:04:32] and a plan C for when things go wrong. It's funny but once you stop accepting and allowing yourself

[00:04:39] to use excuses as to why you're not exercising suddenly finding the time to get it done takes

[00:04:44] care of itself. What's that? You're busy from the time the kids wake up till the time they go

[00:04:48] to bed? Wake up just five minutes earlier and try the PLP challenge using a door frame pull-up

[00:04:54] bar so you don't even have to leave your bedroom. Your turn to watch the kids?

[00:04:58] Create contests and backyard Olympics tinfoil medals like in the office.

[00:05:03] Then you can inspire your kids with great feats of strength push-ups with a kid on your back

[00:05:08] or planks hikes with a kid riding piggyback whatever. Heck you can even do pull-ups while

[00:05:13] your kid is on the swing set or teach your kids to do handstands. Feeling crazy? Do pull-ups

[00:05:18] with your kid on your back. Hey if NF Rebel Bronwyn can do it why not you someday?

[00:05:24] Do something. I don't care what you do but it's vital for you to do something.

[00:05:29] I'm trying to play more music so my keyboard and guitar are right in the middle of my living room.

[00:05:34] Not surprisingly, I'm playing more music than I ever have in the past. Five minutes is enough

[00:05:38] time to do some push-ups or squats or hang out in a plank. Sure you might get funny looks

[00:05:43] from the other parent but wouldn't you much rather be known as that weird in shape parent

[00:05:48] that does push-ups than the really overweight unhealthy parent? Exercise is not all or nothing.

[00:05:54] It's not I need 60 minutes or why bother. It's do the best you can with what you have where you are.

[00:06:00] You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish. Become a diver and exercise anytime, anywhere.

[00:06:06] Your offspring will thank you for instilling that habit in them. To be continued.

[00:06:15] You just listened to part one of the post titled How to Stay Active When You Have a Family

[00:06:19] by Steve Cam of NerdFitness.com and I'll be back with my comments in just a sec.

[00:06:25] And a wonderful start if I do say so myself. So important to realize that this philosophy of fun

[00:06:31] intertwined with exercise not only motivates kids to take part when they are kids but also

[00:06:37] allows them to associate exercise with fun and good memories thus making it way more likely

[00:06:42] for them to look upon exercise favorably for the rest of their lives. So to me,

[00:06:46] this really feels like the mindset gift that keeps on giving if you will.

[00:06:52] Anyway, can't wait to hear more from Steve, truly the sign of a good storyteller here

[00:06:56] leaving us wanting more and we'll get more tomorrow from Steve in the rest of his article.

[00:07:01] So I will see you there for part two where your optimal life awaits.