How to upgrade your dad Bod

When the term “father baud” got into the popular lexicon a few years ago, few of us could have predicted that it — and the debate around it — would be so long.

Tell us about the dual nature of the father’s body. When stories began to emerge that, according to the Daily News, “lethargy is a new miracle,” and solid bodies became less attractive, a new term simultaneously enabled those who have it – “See? I'm damn attractive! ”A super-close-knit shout that they could easily play. Look no further than Bodybuilding.com, such as From Dad Boda to Dat Boda and How to turn your body from dad to Rad.

Do you love it, do you hate it, or are you just a little disappointed when you look in the mirror, your father’s body remains … something.

And Brendan Fokken would like to talk to you about yours. Fokken is a fitness model and an IFBB professional in physique. Recently, he, along with Todd Abrams, a fitness entrepreneur and CEO of Icon Meals, created Dad Bod, Inc., a company whose goal is to exchange information about fitness, business, and all the places in life that they can intersect.

Fokken recently spoke with Bodybuilding.com about the growth of his father’s body culture and what he advises anyone who wants to improve their culture.

Seriously, what's so bad about father's body?

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against someone who is overweight or not working. They have their own reasons.

But I don’t like to promote the idea that a normal dad should be plump and soft, and that many or most women prefer this type of body. I just don't buy it. I am a dad and I work a lot every day. And the women I know, and the dads with whom I communicate, do not buy either.

We just want people to succeed, be healthy and happy, and pass it on to their children. We are all about learning the skills necessary to maintain ourselves at a higher level, because so many men do not have a role model to do for them. In our opinion, going beyond the “thinking of the pope” is not only about the body. It is about achieving success in the gym, nutrition, business, your marriage and personal relationships, and then examples in all these areas for your children and all who are watching you.

Of course, no one is perfect. But there are the bodies of the father, and there are the bad bodies of the father. Suppose I am not obese. My partner says they find me attractive, and I mostly believe them. Why should I lift weights and play sports?

In fact, it's all about longevity – to be there in the long term for your children and your partner. You are okay, but you, like everyone else, are capable of more: do more, be happier and healthier, more confident, fuller of energy and life.

But maybe I don't have time. What minimal effort can I put in and actually get something from this?

If you think that you do not have the time and effort, you already think about it incorrectly. You have time. You just need to prioritize.

I know it sounds rude, but I have worked with countless busy parents throughout my career, and I was inevitably able to show them how to do this work. First, let it stack slowly. Start at the gym a couple of days a week, doing a light full-body lift, and then add a little cardio.

Look at your food and cut only what you know is bad for you. Maybe even the worst! Then replace them with things that you know best. Just sharing or two can make a huge difference.

Think of it this way: you are the culmination of all good and bad in your life. All we are trying to do is tilt the scales in the direction of good, not evil, adding to the good when you can. Before you know it, you will create a sustainable lifestyle for yourself.

You do not need to be perfect. Just keep moving forward when you can, and great things will happen.

But focusing on yourself is selfish, right? I have a lot to do for other people.

In fact, you are the best investment you can make. When you invest in yourself, everyone wins. You will have more energy and be more aware of time. You will be more confident and able to work more and play more.

Your thinking will change, and you will be busy, and not just talking or thinking about it. You may not have so much idle time or screen time, but as your life changes, you will find yourself not miss it. Over time, it really gets easier, and pretty soon you'll be doing things without even thinking about them.

It sounds good, but it may be too late for me. Seriously: what progress can a person achieve at the age of 30-40 years after, say, a non-regular (or in general) recovery for many years?

You can make a lot of progress! Are you not dead? This year I’m 40 years old. At 35, I thought the sky was falling and the world would end. I thought, “Well, that's all. From here everything is down. ” Maybe you had a similar moment in your own life.

Then I made the choice to simply strive to keep moving forward, whatever happened. Even if I fell face to face! But guess what? I did not fail. Later that year I became a professional in my sport, received sponsorship and a lot of magazine covers, traveled the world and since then every year I have been improving my physique. I also became more successful in business, opened many new businesses, and became a new father at the age of 37, when I discovered what employment really means.

I am no different from you or anyone else. I just have my thoughts that I want, that I go after, and I am ready to be patient and work hard to achieve them.

This is all I am trying to teach: as soon as you make a choice to change your life, your body can and will follow. This is your mind, which you must convince.

I'm tired of all the hype about super-food. If a person is going to change only one thing in his diet in order to have the maximum effect on how he looks and feels like it should be?

I'm going to say, focus on whole, healthy products — not on one particular type of product, but on the full range of products that you find around the perimeter of a grocery store. Lean proteins, lots of vegetables, some fruits, some good fats. Only agree with these four clips, and you will have many opportunities to fit your body and your preferences.

Do not think that you should eat 10 meals per day, or just one meal per day, or some other extreme. Just know what you eat! If you have food that you know is out of control, or where thirst wins, fix it — and even just — to get started. When you begin to constantly engage in work in the gym, you will also notice that the thinking of “fuel for performance” begins to strengthen. It is wonderful!

I am not the one who recommends that anyone exclude anything from their diet. It's all about servings! As soon as you learn to be satisfied with something small, not big, you are on the right track.

In other words, if you want a random donut, that's fine! Do not think – enjoy it. Just know that if you have 10 of them, and this is the norm for you, all the time in the gym in the world will not be balanced.

But you shouldn't just take my word for it. It will take time to find what works best for you. If I had to say one thing, then strive to be consistent with time. Many small steps forward with time turn into large steps.

That and stay hydrated. Too many people don't.

Is it enough to do the same workout over and over again, or do I need to complicate everything?

This is one of those areas where people tend to think, especially when they start listening to people on the Internet.

Some people may stick to the same training protocol for several months and see the results. Seriously, they can! They simply change the weight and rest periods, and it works for them. Some change every week, and this is what works for them.

My personal opinion is that as long as you see the results, stick to what you are doing until you see the results. Then change it. I myself love diversity, so my workouts often change, but I also have a few exercises that I try to do, no matter what. Find what works for you and what you like to do.

At a certain point in your life, you just need to get off the couch and decide to move more – no matter how this movement looks. Another time, an hour or two at the gym may be exactly what you want. And this may change! So let it. Do what you like and take the time to get to know your body, and it will make this process even easier for you.

What is the best split for a busy guy? I am pretty sure that I cannot keep up with my brother.

It depends on how many days you are going to train. For people who have little time, I usually advise to lift the contours when you beat 2-3 parts of the body in the series, and then press HIIT at the end to get the maximum burn.

It makes you move, builds muscle, burns fat and quickly takes you inside and out.

For example, you can start with the full body training video that I created for Bodybuilding.com and break the 12-way circuit into smaller groups depending on the equipment that is free in your gym. It might look like this:

When you need to change the pace, you can apply the same treatment to my “Whole Body Transformation Chain”.

Your physique is on a completely different level than mine. Why should I trust you when it comes to my body?

I am no different from everyone else. I had a rough upbringing, and I was mentally strong when I was a child, but when it came to strength training, this was not something I just picked up and was good at it. I could not press 100 pounds when I entered high school, and I was ridiculed for it. So, I tried to get better at this.

I read and absorbed everything I could through high school to college. I started training others at the age of 21 and opened my first gym at 25 years old. After that, I built a successful training business, continuing to develop my body and knowledge.

I continued to grow, and today I received 14 different fitness certificates in addition to schooling and three in the field of nutrition. When I turned 30, I developed and oversaw a corporate wellness program for the largest company in my state. Then I branched into their 28 factories across the country and did the same.

While I was working at the company, I continued to train athletes on the side and was actively involved in the fitness industry and competitions. I have worked with many fitness companies as a sponsored athlete, I am an IFBB professional athlete, an IFBB professional judge, a speaker, a publicist and an expert in many publications. I decorated the covers of many magazines, and over the years I have been introduced to more than 300 of them.

Now I am a partner in several gyms, manage my line of Fokken Nuts nut oils, and also train top managers, competitors and celebrities.

To be clear, all this is not so easy. I struggle, I fail, but I keep moving forward. I'm not the best at something, but I'm good in many ways, and in things I'm not so good at, I continue to work on improving. You can do the same!

Bodybuilding.com All Access has over 50 expert-created plans, many of which are perfect for any dad who wants to renew his body. Some of our most popular conversion programs include: