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There is no strength like dad strength. It is quiet, patient, and persistent. Some would say stubborn, dammit. Dad strength rarely makes the highlight reel. It exists in the in-between spaces....The times when nobody—except maybe your kid—is watching.
The Dad Strength Podcast was created to support and encourage the best in dads like you. Authors, entrepreneurs, artists, and experts from all over share their wisdom with us. We discuss 360º health, doing work that matters, and—of course—fatherhood. These conversations are fun, informative, and always emphasize action and understanding.
The Dad Strength Podcast is hosted by Geoff Girvitz. Geoff is a father, fitness expert, and curious fellow. Based in Toronto, he has been featured in Vice, GQ, and multiple exercise publications. He is known for innovation and real-world success in the fitness industry. Now, Geoff is pointing a wide-angle lens at health and parenthood. Workouts and nutrition are just part of the program. He will be looking at relationships, critical thinking, motivation, and discipline. In short, anything you need to earn the mug that says “*World’s Greatest Dad.”*
“I want to be Mr. Rogers for men over 30,” says Geoff. “There is so much noise and confusion out there.” We *all* need a community devoted to the best we have inside of us. The Dad Strength Podcast is here to make the world a better place through our roles as fathers and as men.
Today on Dad Strength
What people get monstrously wrong about core training
Join the resistance
Oh man!
A book, a quote, a dad joke
What people get monstrously wrong about core training
This could be a very long write-up but let’s just focus on transferring core strength into better overall function I mean… Why are we doing this stuff in the first place?* It’s because life is better when:
Your low-back doesn’t hurt
You’re generally strong and physically adept
You don’t have the posture of Nosferatu at a 14-hour/day programming job
At least he can’t see his reflection in the monitor
The problem is when core exercises don’t connect to anything else you’re doing—and are just tacked onto workouts in a perfunctory way. You can take things a lot farther when you consider the kinds of postures you want to have during your most challenging moments of exercise and then reinforce them.
For example, we’ve all seen someone melt under too much weight in a squat or a deadlift. Or go from a beautiful, rhythmic running style to zombie lurch. These compensations don’t just look ghoulish, they’re also less efficient.
You can build up your resistance to fatigue by finding the kinds of postures you want to maintain and layering challenge onto them. This can be as simple as loaded farmer’s carries with nice, open shoulders or knee-raises while hanging from a bar. More complex options involve full range of motion. Here, I like exercise choices where the resistance pulls you out of a great position and you restore it. For example, loaded crunches on a stability ball, where you go from a big arch (supported by the ball) like the fellow below to just past neutral.
This was the best shot the internet had to offer
In each case, you have a clear sense of the positions you want to build strength in and then very intentionally reinforce them.
* Of course, if attaining visible abs is your dream, it’s mostly going to come down to nutrition in conjunction with the above
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Join the resistance
As a quick follow-up to last week’s post on Internal Family Systems, I want to remind you of this simple fact: there will be moments when you notice inner resistance. When there’s something that is good for you (whatever that means to you, personally) but you don’t want to take action. Rather than fighting yourself, just take a moment to get curious. What might be good about this resistance? What hidden benefits might it have?
You are free to put the boxing gloves back on afterwards and fight yourself into motion. But—just for a moment—stop fighting and see what’s underneath.
Oh man!
I was initially very hesitant to talk about Dad Strength. Masculinity is a messy topic—and a frequent site of culture war skirmishes. This is where self-appointed arbiters of masculinity want to put you on a continuum of what is or isn't manly. And then, in the same breath, claim that gender also a simple binary.
Or that being men being at the top of our social hierarchy is the natural order of things but also shout about how we're under siege and losing ground to women. They want it both ways.
Yet, when we step away from the grievance amplification tech of social media, my experience has been totally different. I have found people in real life to be incredibly supportive of our mission of creating a space where dads can bring their whole selves and take care of themselves so that they can be more present for the people in their lives.
It turns out that interest in this mission extends further than I realized. This past Saturday, I was very pleased to welcome CBC's The Nature of Things into our space at Bang Personal Training (this is the space I founded in 2008). I got some 1-1 interview time with the host, Anthony Morgan, which I really enjoyed. But the highlight was listening to this group of beautiful guys talk about fatherhood. Lots of insight. Real challenges too. But no grievance to be found; just appreciation and love.
This stuff can be tricky. That’s why we talk it out every Tuesday as a community.
To check things out visit dadstrength.com/calls
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What I’m reading
The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson
I’m always interested in conspiracy theories. As is British-American Journalist, Jon Ronson. So, when we hear incredible tales about CIA projects, it’s tough to know whether we’re hearing about true deadly initiatives or intense buffoonery. The answer, according to Ronson’s research, is both. It is frequently both.
The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won
YouTube is playing ads of deep-faked celebrities, like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Tyson hawking supplements for erectile dysfunction
And, in more wholesome news:
13 ‘Art Films’ Your Kids Will Actually Like
A Quote
“Our partners do not belong to us; they are only on loan, with an option to renew—or not. Knowing that we can lose them does not have to undermine commitment; rather, it mandates an active engagement that long-term couples often lose. The realization that our loved ones are forever elusive should jolt us out of complacency, in the most positive sense.”
― Esther Perel, The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity
A Dad joke
Two cats have a swimming race. The first cat is named One Two Three. The second cat, who is from France, is called Un Deux Trois. Which cat won?
One Two Three. That’s because Un Deux Trois cat sank.