As we all know, ACTIVE-DADs come in all shapes and sizes. There is no “Perfect” starting point because the goal is to start where you are, RIGHT NOW, and aim to continuously improve.
If that means going from completely sedentary to joining the One Activity, One Day A Week Challenge (How Low Has Complacency Set Your Bar?), then YOU’RE WINING! The secret; The more you keep going, the more you keep WINNING. Along the way, you can adjust and discover new approaches.
But first thing’s first.
major time on major things
I’ve said it before in Health Is A Wealth Multiplier, but I’ll say it again, if you’ve figured out how to build wealth, you already have the tools to be an ACTIVE-DAD and lead a healthy life prioritizing what brings you the most value. On your journey, you are likely to share the road with others traveling in the same direction, albeit, often at different speeds and in different vehicles
I am stoked to introduce you to Barri Griffiths. He hosts an extremely successful and alluring podcast appropriately titled Wrestling With Real Estate, to which I was fortunate enough to grace an episode of. Prior to the podcast episode, I met Barri traveling down a similar road to financial independence.
On the road to wealth, there are an array of different vehicles being operated. But if you have sound fundamentals, the vehicle doesn’t matter. The fundamentals stay the same. Barri and I connected over how similar our rides are.
I’m speaking metaphorically of course. Because if you saw my actual car, you’d realize that there is absolutely nothing to admire about it. Faded red, with chipped paint on the hood; a missing driver side mirror; a passenger door that expresses a loud clicking sound when the hinge opens and closes. It’s a sight to behold, and it’s all ours (wifey included). But it’s free and clear—my three favorite words.
But I digress.
Back To The SUPERSTAR
Excluding our affinity for Physical Activity, Barri and I share a common interest in real estate investing. As a former WWE Professional Wrestler, Barri travels at an ACCELERATED speed when it comes to PRIORTIZING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.
Who wouldn’t want to get advice from a professional athlete, now DAD, about physical activity? Which is why he is perfect for this feature of Ask An Active-Dad, Expert Edition.
ACTIVE-DADs and Physical Activity Contemplators, I introduce to you BARRI GRIFFITHS!
- What is your physical fitness background? Did you play sports growing up? Were you Physically Active throughout your life or is this a fairly new passion that came along with your profession? I’ve always been into sports and physical fitness. When I was younger, I was obsessed with sports. I would play any sport I could. I played cricket, tennis, golf, rugby, basketball, but my main passion was soccer. I’d play soccer all day if I could. I dreamt of being a professional soccer player. Then as I got older, I got into lifting weights and fell in love with that. I enjoyed training so much I’d train every day and sometimes twice a day. This is what led me to being a professional wrestler.
- What EXACTLY is your profession and what does your daily schedule consist of? I was a Professional Wrestler for over ten years. I wrestled for the WWE on TV and Pay Per View. At that time, it would involve training for size, strength, stamina and aesthetics. So my training was very varied. I’d do a lot of bodybuilding type training mixed in with strength tending for size, aesthetics and strength. Then, I would do high intensity cardio for my stamina as this most matched what I did in the ring. I now work for Cirque Du Soleil, doing choreographed fight scenes on stage. Which isn’t as demanding as my wrestling career. I’ve since backed off a lot on my training. Focusing more on longevity and injury prevention.
- How big is your immediate family and how old are your children? I have a wife and a boy that is one year old.
- Are your kids physically active? If yes, how so? My son is only 1. But he’s very active! Haha. He’s not in any sports but both me and my wife love to be active. So I’m sure he’ll play many sports and probably be involved in some martial arts.
- Throughout your stages of fatherhood, what are some things you just could not do without to stay consistently active? For example, when your child was an infant, what did you use to keep you going? When your child became a toddler, a pre-schooler, etc. (For me, the B.O.B. stroller was essential, the Bjorn infant carrier and later the Deuter Hiking backpack.) Truthfully, I don’t know if I need anything. Me and my wife haven’t been working much during this pandemic so one of us is always free to watch my son.
- What motivates you to Prioritize Physical Activity? It’s something that I enjoy. So I think I prioritize it because it makes me happy. And it’s something I’ve always done and will always do.
- What has been your biggest challenges in Prioritizing Physical Activity? (If you can, break it down in stages of fatherhood) How did you overcome them? How do you suggest others overcome them? As I’m a fairly new dad, I haven’t had those issues yet. But as my family grows and kids get older, I’m sure time will be a huge issue. But I think it’s like you mentioned in the question it’s about prioritizing physical activity. I like the saying “If you want to do it, you’ll find a way, if not you’ll find an excuse.”. There’s always, ALWAYS a way. All you need is 5 minutes a day to do some sort of workout, and that’s something regardless of what we tell ourselves is always available.
- What is the biggest reason for your success in Prioritizing Physical Activity and why? Like I mentioned, I think I was lucky that I loved it. But I know this isn’t the case for everyone. But I think it’s important that people understand how important Physical Activity is. I think there’s another saying that goes something like “You can either make time for sickness or for health.”
- What impact has Physical Activity had on your life? It’s been the reason for all of my success. It took me from a small town in Wales to the bright lights of Las Vegas!
- What suggestions would you give to people who say they “don’t have time for physical activity” and how do they stay motivated? It’s a few things in my opinion. First, everyone has time, I don’t care what they say. It’s about decisions you make every day. What if you always took the stairs instead of escalators and elevators? What if you parked further away at the grocery store or at work so you had to walk further? What if you said no to desert more often? What if you limited your daily intake, or just made a more health conscious decision (wine instead of beer)? For me being fit is not about crazy diets and crazy workouts, it’s about the small decisions we make every day that compound over years and years. Then on top of this, you can get a LOT done at home with no weights and no equipment in ten minutes! And again, regardless of what you want to believe we all have ten minutes 3 times a week to workout at home.
- In your profession, what are some of the biggest and/or most common issues you have seen that could be prevented with Physical Activity? Everyone at my work is very physically active.
- How can people get in contact with you? I have a YouTube Chanel called wrestling with real estate. Here’s s link- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoZIanxPyOhKn3vTZsNI4WA
I also have a podcast on Apple, Spotify and podbean.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wwres-podcast/id1529809236
Visit my website at https://www.wrestlingwithrealestate.com/
And I’m on Instagram as https://instagram.com/barriwwre?igshid=y8k8u22ngo6i
The Royal Rumble
We’ve all fantasied about being a professional athlete. The one thing we all share as dads is the same amount of hours in the day. Whether you are a Professional Athlete and get paid for those hours to keep your body in tip top shape, to keep your fitness at peak levels, and to keep your ability to use and abuse your body physically, OR, just as important, you need your body to get up every day for a set amount of hours and secure a financial fortress for your family…it’s all the same!
Seriously, it is all the same. We all have these things in common; 24 hours in a day; A family to provide for; A family to protect.
The secret to Prioritizing Physical Activity is that there is NO secret! It starts with an idea! It starts with an inspiration!
From a Professional Wrestling Superstar like Barri Griffiths, to an Everyday Dad like Steve Galvez. The fundamentals remain, it’s not “if you could, you would”, it’s “if you can, you will”.
Start with HEALTH, end with WEALTH.
All Dads should be ACTIVE-DADS.
www.ACTIVE-DAD.com