Up until this point, Ask An Active-Dad has featured both Everyday Dads and Experts that are super motivating, and who I know on a personal level or have at least met at an event (Frank Clayton, Jr.). We all know dads out there living and breathing our mantra of “Prioritizing Physical Activity”. It’s refreshing and re-energizing to encounter them doing their thing.
Coronavirus News Fatigue is real, and while we may be “over” hearing about it, there are some lasting impacts. One reality is the inability to attend big conferences and network, face-to-face, like we once did. At least not for a little while longer. So, we turn to social media. That’s exactly what I did.
I am a certified personal trainer and the founder of Fit Dad Fitness, where I help equip fathers to live active, involved, healthy lives with their children, using fitness as the foundation to keeping families strong and together.
Michael Ashford
I would like to think that somewhere in this lifetime, between living in Florida, Arizona, California and now Maryland, I would have organically crossed paths with Michael Ashford and his beautiful family of four, in Colorado. It is a small world after all. However, I will settle with my intentional search for other dads committed to Physical Activity. Enter Michael Ashford’s Fit Dad Fitness! His mission of “equipping fathers to live an active, involved, healthy life with their children” speaks for itself.
Therefore, I will say no more…
I asked Mr. Fit Dad Fitness himself about his experience as an Everyday Active-Dad, with some EXPERT TIPS.
- 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 was always very active as a kid. My main sport was baseball. As I got older, I became a dedicated distance runner. It started in middle school track when I was one of the only boys who wanted to run the long-distance races. Once I got into high school, I was hooked on distance running. In high school, I was a varsity member of the cross-country team all four years and the track team for three years, and for a while was one of the top distance runners in the state of Kansas. After high school, I stayed active and participated in a lot of intramural sports in college. It wasn’t until about two years after my son was born that I found weight lifting and the gym. Once that happened, I shifted away from distance running and found a new passion for staying fit and active through resistance training.
- What EXACTLY is your profession and what does your daily schedule consist of? Well, full time, I am the Marketing Director at a software company in Denver, Colo. I actually graduated college with a degree in Mass Communications and Journalism, and I worked as a sports writer at a newspaper right out of college. However, when my wife and I got married, I left the long hours and low pay of the newspaper world and got into project management, and then eventually sales and marketing. I’ve been building and leading marketing teams at software companies for the last decade-plus. On the side, I am a certified personal trainer and the founder of Fit Dad Fitness, where I help equip fathers to live active, involved, healthy lives with their children, using fitness as the foundation to keeping families strong and together. I coach men all over the world through online training to help get them on a path to sustainable health and fitness so that they can be there for their families for as long as they can possibly effect.
- How big is your immediate family and how old are your children? My wife, Kimberly, and I have been married for nearly 13 years, and we have a son, Luke (9), and a daughter, Alexandra (7).
- Are your wife and kids physically active? If yes, how so? We definitely encourage our children to be active and try as many sports and activities as possible. Our daughter runs track, swims, dances, and she was just getting ready to start volleyball before all this virus stuff hit. My son is a basketball fanatic and would play year-round if he could. He also runs track, plays soccer, and participates in flag football. One of the things we love to do the most as a family is hike all of the incredible trails we have access to in Colorado. My wife and I call our kids our little mountain goats, because you get them up on a trail, and they are climbing rocks, jumping off boulders, and running all over the mountainsides.
- 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. When our children were younger, having a double-stroller was incredible. Rather than try to do too much, sometimes it was enough to just go for a walk in the evening after dinner as a family, and pushing two kids in a double-stroller was enough of a workout. As the kids got older, the saving grace for my wife and me when the kids were young was finding a gym that had childcare. That way, we could both workout at our own pace and not constantly worry about keeping an eye on the kids. The thing that has helped the most, though, has been having an understanding and supportive partner. My wife supports my health and fitness goals, and I support hers. When I go to get in a workout, my wife knows that’s time I need to take care of myself, and she takes care of the kids. And I do the same for her. When she goes to workout, I take care of the kids and make sure my wife is undisturbed.
- What motivates you to prioritize physical activity? I never want my body to be the thing that holds me back from experiencing life with my family well into old age. I want to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding and not need assistance. I want to hold my grandchildren and great-grandchildren in my arms and feel secure. I want to travel with my wife and never let my body limit where we can go and what we can do. As much as I can possibly affect, I want to be there for my family for as long as possible and establish a legacy of health and fitness that benefits the generations that come after me.
- 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? If I can be brutally honest, once I made the decision to commit to my health and fitness, I haven’t had any problems prioritizing it. I never looked back. I understood that I was making a complete lifestyle change, and I made the necessary changes to make it work. I stopped watching as much TV. I went to bed earlier, and I woke up earlier. I changed the makeup of my nutrition. I stopped going out as much with friends. The biggest thing for me was waking up earlier — before everyone else woke up — so that I could get my workout in when no one else expected or needed anything of me. It’s important for fathers to understand that taking time to work on yourself is not selfish, and there’s no reason to feel guilty about it. Being physically capable and fit allows you to show up for those you love even more.
- What is the biggest reason for your success in prioritizing physical activity and why? I didn’t set an end date. This was no 12-week program or race to get beach ready for the summer. I made the commitment that living a life of health, fitness, and wellness was simply going to be how I lived. Yes, it’s OK to have goals that you strive for, but it must be understood that prioritizing your health doesn’t stop when the scale reaches a certain point or you look a certain way in the mirror. Those things are simply incredible side-effects of a life lived where health and fitness are simply who you are and what you’re about.
- What impact has physical activity had on your life? It’s impossible to put it into words. Being active and healthy has, as I said before, created so many opportunities for me to experience incredible things because my body doesn’t hold me back. And it can be as simple as riding around on a scooter in the street with my daughter. That’s an incredible experience. It can also be as grand as standing on top of a 14,000-foot-tall mountain. I’ve hiked 8 of them so far. Or running an obstacle course race with my son. The impact is immeasurable other than the amazing memories and experiences I’ve created thanks to a body that is primed and trained for movement.
- What suggestions would you give to people who say they “don’t have time for physical activity” and how do they stay motivated? You know, I always bristle a bit when some 20-something fitness “bro” tells me “no excuses!” “Suck it up!” The truth is, as fathers, we have a seemingly endless list of excuses — some very, very real, and some perceived. We have enormous commitments and responsibilities to ourselves and our families. And oftentimes, it takes an outside perspective to help you see beyond those commitments and responsibilities to outline a way to rearrange and re-prioritize your life in such a way that you can fit it all in and not feel overwhelmed. If you don’t think you have time for physical activity or are lacking motivation, I suggest you hire a coach. We are trained to help you create the physical and mental space to fit in fitness, all the while keeping you motivated and on task. Because the truth is, we all have the time, but we don’t all have the same priorities. And if you don’t make your health and fitness an absolute priority, then you’re not ever going to be willing to take a look at the other ways you spend your time and begin to make changes. And that’s your decision. But when it comes to motivation, I would say this: What good is filling all of your time working yourself ragged and running around chasing your goals if you aren’t around to enjoy the fruits of your labor? If you develop heart disease or diabetes or some other debilitating chronic illness by the time you’re 50, you won’t be able to soak in all that you’ve pursued for so long. And that includes raising your family. This might sound harsh, but if you die from a heart attack at age 55 because of 30 years of stress, poor diet, and a lack of physical activity, does that make it worth it? To lose perhaps another 40 years of living life with the ones you love most? When you look at it with a legacy mindset, it’s not hard to find the time and the motivation to live a life of health and fitness.
- In your profession, what are some of the biggest and/or most common issues you have seen that could be prevented with physical activity? Because of how sedentary we’ve become as a society, it is taking a toll on how fathers are able to show up for their kids. Time and time again, guys come to me to lose weight and build muscle, but more than that, they want to be able to move better. They want to be able to easily get down on the floor with their kids and play with Legos. They want to be able to run around with their kids at the park. They want to be able to carry their kids up the stairs and not get winded.
- Could you explain your business and what it provides its customers? I am an online fitness coach and personal trainer. I support men on their fitness journeys by creating custom workout plans for my clients specific to their goals and their circumstances, as well as offering nutrition guidance.
- How can people get in contact with you? My website, FitDadFitness.com, is the hub of everything I do. You can always email me at michael@fitdadfitness.com, and you can find me on Instagram (@fitdadfitness), Facebook (@fitdadfitnesspage), and YouTube (search Fit Dad Fitness).
The thing that has helped the most, though, has been having an understanding and supportive partner. My wife supports my health and fitness goals, and I support hers.
Michael Ashford
The Cool Down
Wow! After those profound words of wisdom, if you are not pumped, psyched and chomping at the bit to either make some changes or continue on your path to Prioritize Physical Activity, I’m not sure what will get you there.
On this journey, there is no winning playbook. Your playbook may be written a bit differently. The X’s and O’s may be drawn up for different plays, but the fundamentals and the destination remain. Staying motivated, staying healthy, for you and your family.
Whether you are an EXPERT like Michael Ashford, or an Every dad Dad like Steve Galvez (check out Ask An Active-Dad: Every Day Dad Edition with Steve Galvez), let’s take it to the house together!
If you need help drawing up a play that works for you, look no further.
All dads should be ACTIVE-DADs.