How Training Makes Me a Better Dad
My son, Elijah, is five months old now. Ironically, my training and nutrition have been the most consistent they've been since I stopped competing in 2021.
I think there are two reasons why:
Sheer defiance against the “wait ‘till you have kids” naysayers.
Training makes me a better dad (and husband and business owner).
Before this phase, I wasn’t fully aware of how impactful my training was on my mental well-being. When I train, my patience, emotional flexibility, stress management, and the way I regulate my often chaotic brain all improve.
Adding a newborn (and a gym, an expanded team, and a bigger client book) to my life, I started to notice that I simply didn’t show up as the best version of myself if I hadn't trained.
Physical Benefits
After my first session back at the gym, the haze of emotional and physical fatigue lifted. I cleaned, did the washing, meal prepped, and had the house sorted in a couple of hours.
Since then, I’ve noticed that after training, I’m much more likely to get up and about with LJ than on days I don’t train.
Mental Health Benefits
Having a newborn and managing five businesses comes with a fair share of anxiety and restless energy. Training allows me to channel that energy into something productive so it doesn’t build into irritability.
Training and nutrition also give me back some control. I’ve spent the last 5+ years of my career building a “life by design.” I did mostly what I wanted, when I wanted, with very little friction. Turns out, babies don’t really care about your plans or schedules. This adjustment has probably been the toughest part about becoming a dad, but building structure around my training and nutrition has given me a home base to work from.
It feels like I’m winning. I’ve learned that as a parent, you pretty much never feel like you’re doing enough. If you’re working, you feel like you should be with your family; if you’re with your family, you feel like you should be working to provide for them. In both parenthood and business, there’s also always “something” – a fire to put out, a sickness, a challenge to face. Having something in life that is “show up, work, see progress, do it again” has been really important for me to find wins every day.
Finding My Why
I still want to be strong, jacked, and look good naked, but in the last five months, these have become more external metrics. The real reason to get up and train now is simply to show up better in my life.
To think I didn’t want kids
A few years ago, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted children. It seemed like a major obstacle to achieving my goals.
Turns out, it became a far more powerful reason than “to show them they were wrong” to go out and achieve those things.
Thanks for reading - if you’re a parent who feels similar, or maybe you’re worried having kids will derail your life plans - hit me in the DM’s @benscottstc - I’d love to hear your story.
