Category: Health

How To Use DISGUST To Motivate Yourself!

The other day I had a coworker approach me. The conversation went along the lines of not having the motivation to Prioritize Physical Activity. Yes, the subject of Priortizing Physical Activity goes beyond these posts, it permeates my every day life. Often times its my relatives making similar comments or asking the same questions. This dates back to my younger years. So its not unusual for me to have these types of conversations outside of ACTIVE-DAD.com

To frame this conversation, the focus of the discussion was motivation. My colleague was seeking my help in motivating them to Prioritizing Physical Activity. They stated they needed me to help motivate them. In my mind I was thinking, if you need me to motivate you, then you haven’t hit the right level of disgust yet. I emphasize the “in my mind” part. An unfiltered conversation of this nature may not go well in the workplace, for obvious reasons.

Also in my mind was a quote from James Allen, “A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admiers in another. None but himself can alter his condition.”

Use Disgust as a tool

Now I know some Body PositiviERs may not agree, but there is a rock bottom for some of us. We would all like to think that we are just fantastic just the way we are, but from a health perspective, that may not be your truth.

Check out “Can You Promote Body Positivity AND Self Improvement?“.

Continue reading “How To Use DISGUST To Motivate Yourself!”

Spring ALWAYS Follows Winter. But Winters Are For Suckas!

Every year, without fail, the seasons change. Summer, fall, after winter then comes spring. Spring ALWAYS follows winter. This pattern isn’t going to change.

There are certain things in life that one man cannot change. How much control do you have over the changing of the seasons? Absolutely none. You can’t change the seasons. You’re just a spectator merely watching as things happen around you.

You can either be The Enthused Participant, The Punching Bag or the ACTIVE-DAD. Either way, it’s going to happen.

“Better is not something you wish; It’s something you become.”

Jim Rohn
Continue reading “Spring ALWAYS Follows Winter. But Winters Are For Suckas!”

Because I’m FAT and LAZY.

I have heard this more times than I care to count. Each time I hear it, I cringe, internally. Maybe you have even uttered this once or twice. Possibly trying to be funny, using humor to soften the blow of the truth. “Because I’m FAT and LAZY”. It is one thing to admit your shortcomings and own up to them, it’s another to find comfort in them.

Consider the tone and context of this conversation:

Continue reading “Because I’m FAT and LAZY.”

HEALTH IS A WEALTH MULTIPLIER

Prioritizing Physical Activity brings you Health. Health brings you Longevity. Longevity brings you Wealth.

If you have taken the steps to build wealth, you literally have the foundation for building health. What do I mean by that?

The concepts are identical.

Step by step, methodical discipline is needed for both.

Here’s how they align:

  1. Tracking your income is the same as knowing how much calories you are consuming.
  2. Tracking the income you spend is the same as knowing how much calories you burn (PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!).
  3. Making sure you save some of your income is the same as building up your loses to earn a cheat day.
  4. Consulting a credible professional or learning how to make wise investments is the same as getting a personal trainer/coach. 

You already have the tools! You just need to apply the same concept from your wallet to your waistline.

Continue reading “HEALTH IS A WEALTH MULTIPLIER”

Father Daughter Take A Walk Day

The saying goes “you cannot change all the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around.”

Whatever lens you may be viewing the world today, who you surround yourself with has become ever so important. There’s no doubt in my mind that you have given this tremendous thought, considering the current state of the nation.

Since all of us have pretty much been hunkered down for almost four months now, we’ve likely kept our physical contacts with the outside to a minimum and contact with our immediate family at an all-time high! HOPEFULLY!

That can get challenging after a while. So, today is as good as any other day to take a walk with your daughter. Heck, it’s National Father Daughter Take A Walk Day. Could you think of a better walking partner?

Continue reading “Father Daughter Take A Walk Day”

Sedentary Habits Are Learned. Prove Me Wrong!

Be Still! Sit down somewhere! No Running in the house! Stop being such a busybody!

I’m willing to bet you have yelled one of these go-to phrases at least once. My daughter might hear me utter these words several times in a day. The context is always important, but the truth of the matter is, we say these words more often than we think. We look at our kids and ask, “Where do they get all that energy?”.

That should be our first clue as to how we are all wired to GO! You don’t have to teach your kids how to be busy and rambunctious. They do that on their own.

Continue reading “Sedentary Habits Are Learned. Prove Me Wrong!”

The 3 Most Important Aspects Of Men’s Health

It’s OUR month fellas!

June is MEN’S HEALTH month! Once again, another year and another month to call ours. For far too long we have allowed ourselves to believe that our health was not important. As young boys, we grew up with a keen idea of what physical health was. We had a surface level understanding of what it looked like and likely aspired to what we knew.

Playing sports in our adolescence, we knew we had to stay active because NOBODY wanted to be the slowest person on the field of play. So we stuck to the fundamentals like running and jumping, which translated to pretty much every popular sport.

Personally, I admired the athletic abilities of Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, I ripped out muscle mag pictures of IFBB professional bodybuilder Nasser El Sonbaty ( didn’t know any better) and hung them on my wall, and I was forever impacted by the blazing speed of Olympic Gold Medal sprinter Michael Johnson and his gold cleats.

Continue reading “The 3 Most Important Aspects Of Men’s Health”

You Have All The Time You Need! 2 Paths to Prioritizing Physical Activity.

Time, is it on your side? It’s simply mathematics, er…. Elementary my dear dads! Well, according to George S. Clason (author of The Richest Man In Babylon) “As for time, all men have it in abundance.”. Words to remember when you are telling yourself, or whoever else you are trying to convince, “I just don’t have time”. I mean, who are you to argue with the late great Clason!

I get that comment all the time. I don’t argue. I don’t try to convince them otherwise, “because a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.”.

I am just full of useful quotes today! Keep reading and find out! 😉

Basic Dad Path A: Morning Duty

You wake up at 6:30 a.m. You take about 30 to 45 minutes to get ready for work (sometimes you shower, sometimes you’re just generous with the Deo). You get the kids ready, feed them (another 30 minutes), drop them off on your way to work. HOPEFULLY you get to drop them off at the one location, otherwise, drop off is a hot mess.  You make it to work between 8:15 – 8:30 a.m.

To Prioritize Physical Activity, Skip to Active-Dad SUPERCHARGED Path A

Continue reading “You Have All The Time You Need! 2 Paths to Prioritizing Physical Activity.”

Ask An Active-Dad: Expert Edition with Michael Ashford (Fit Dad Fitness)

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
Continue reading “Ask An Active-Dad: Expert Edition with Michael Ashford (Fit Dad Fitness)”

Shed Some Light | Mental Health Awareness Month

Remember when you could leave the house in the morning and go to work? Remember when you could drop your kids off at your trusted day care center, kiss them, hug them and wave bye? Remember when you could focus on, I mean REALLY focus, on work assignments?

The stress of physical isolation. The unintended consequences—think “cabin fever”—from nonstop interaction with immediate family members comes at a cost. There comes a time to break, before YOU break!

An Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll conducted March 25-30, 2020, found that 47% of those sheltering in place reported negative mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to coronavirus.

During National Mental Health Awareness Month listen to the wise words of modern-day philosopher Marshawn Lynch and “Take Care of Y’all Mentals.”

Policy of Honesty

I totally got caught up in the stress induced frenzy surrounding the shelter in place orders of my state. To be fair, like you, the stress was more tied to the uncertainty of what a shelter in place order meant to obtaining everyday provisions. In the beginning, establishments were slowly closing and it was unclear which ones would remain open. For a family of four, that’s stressful!

As men, we have a tendency to disregard the mental aspect of health and wellness. As dads, we are wired to put everyone else’s needs above ours, grin and bear it.

The stress may even drive us to unhealthy behaviors like drinking alcohol excessively, seeking to relax and relieve some stress. I count myself among those coping with stress in a unhealthy manner. There’s a better way.

Take A Mental Health Day

How do you take a Mental Health Day, when you’re stuck at home? Well, it may be less of a whole day, and more of a break in your day.

Break Out! But do it in a considerate way. Consider your wife’s schedule. Consider your child(ren)’s schedule. Work out your “Break Out” session ahead of time. Then—this is absolutely essential—be sure to extend the same time to you wife. Check out “How To Gain Support From Your Significant Other.”

If you can’t go very far, bring the break to you. I use resistance bands. Resistance bands are portable, versatile, lightweight and effective. If you have something firm to attach the band to, you can really maximize the variety of movements to get your muscles pumping. If you feel like stress eating or stress drinking, occupy your mind by moving your body!

Get Active

Prioritizing Physical Activity has never been more important for your mental health, than it is right now. You no longer have work to rely on for your adult interactions. No more water cooler talks with your co-workers. Besides, there’s no basketball, baseball or hockey to talk about.

There is no separation of work stress at work and home stress at home—being able to escape the home stress (at least momentarily) by going to work. Unhealthy behaviors are around every corner. Stress eating. Stress drinking. You have to take care of yourself, Dad.

For the sake of a clear head, to make clear professional work decisions and to give your family your best while you are around them, take a break, get your heart rate up, PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.