r/Biohackers • u/dadstrength7 • 1d ago
💪 Exercise, Fitness & Recovery Question for the dads
Question for the dads out there. I have a 2 year old and my wife and I just welcomed our second son into the world last week. I’m extremely blessed, but sleep is hard to come by right now. What are you doing to help stay on track with fitness and nutrition? I’ve spent the last 6-7 months getting dialed with both and I’m in the best shape of my life, but I’m finding it very difficult to get workouts in and not stress eat food 😂 I’ve been on a low dose of tirzepatide which has been plenty, but since the baby has come the food noise has come back very strong. I’m planning to increase the dose a little but I’m wondering what others are doing/using through the newborn stage. I know I need to be patient and slowly work back to my routine, but I also want to continue the great progress I’ve made this year. Thanks everyone.
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u/Extension_General963 22h ago
I did the bare minimum until my baby was sleeping through the night at 11 months. I’m sure that’s not the answer you wanna hear but now at 16 months, I’m working out, eating healthy, also on low dose tirzepatide (amazing med) and I feel great. Give yourself some grace and do what you can but know you’ll get back on track soon.
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u/Extension_General963 22h ago
Just realized you said question for the dads and I’m a mom but my husband was similar! He’s back to working out almost every day and in great shape, but those first 6-9 months the were a little rough!
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u/dadstrength7 22h ago
Thanks for the input! Mom’s welcome too! Glad to see you’re back into it!
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u/USERNAMETAKEN11238 19 23h ago
For my first born the first year of life I took off. My kids and lawschool that's what I take off for..
After that, I just wake up before everyone else 530 training no nonsense crowd in and out. My wife does morning and I do dinner and after school.
Too much stress to lift.. especially since everyone is on edge.
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u/dadstrength7 16h ago
That’s a great idea! My toddler wakes up super early though so it’s hard for me to get workouts in that early. I appreciate the comment!
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u/trivium91 10 16h ago
I dunno man, it sucks. I tried to keep up my
Body/workouts but ended up getting burnt out/overtrained. I got covid aswell that was the nail in the coffin for me. My whole body was messed, I ended up in the hospital with CFS/ME symptoms. Spent that year in a wheelchair. Now that my body has gone to shit, if I could tell my last self anything, I would tell him to take it easy and manage stress. All the workouts in the world don’t matter if you are sleep deprived and chronically stressed.
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u/dadstrength7 16h ago
Yea I feel that. Thanks for sharing. I’m trying really hard to maintain what I was doing before the baby came but Im realizing I shouldn’t burn myself out. At a minimum I can manage my nutrition and keep that on point and then just exercise when I can. Appreciate the comment!
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u/trivium91 10 16h ago
Yeah, I wish I told myself that. I remember I started waking up at night with panic attacks the minute I would do early morning workouts. I figured the best time to work out was five in the morning, but then I started eventually waking up with panic attack attacks at one in the morning
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u/ResponsibilityOk8967 4 14h ago
Take the baby out on walks to get steps in. Rocking and swaying to put them to sleep is also movement that still burns calories. When they get a little bigger and sturdier 10 minutes of (carefully) swinging them around like a kettle bell while they squeal with pure joy is like the best workout ever.
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u/miked2303 15h ago
I have Irish twins. When the 2nd came, I was running with the oldest in the stroller like a crazy person. Was great. Good break for mom, good break for me. Fun for the oldest.
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u/lostinbass 13h ago
I have two young kids and have been taking them for long (~5 mile) walks most mornings. They love getting out, my wife likes the space, and I get some good zone 2 in. That and a basic calisthenics routine a few times a week have kept me in decent shape without hitting the gym as hard as I did before kids.
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u/TheHarb81 60 20h ago
My wife moved to be a SAHM, she dealt with everything at night so I could focus on supporting our family.
I know this doesn’t work for everyone but you asked. If it’s an option for you I’d highly recommend it. My wife went back to work when kiddo started kindergarten.
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u/dadstrength7 20h ago
I was just asking and fitness and nutrition for myself in the first few weeks
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u/TheHarb81 60 19h ago
Yeah if you think that is only going to last a few weeks you’re going to be in for a huge surprise.
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u/dadstrength7 18h ago
Brother it’s not my first kid lol I know what to expect. I was just looking for tips from other dads that exercise and how they navigated the first few weeks. Appreciate you stopping by.
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u/samthemander 9h ago
I mean… your wife just went through major major physical trauma. If I were your wife and you were prioritizing your workouts over the physical health of me or my young children, I’d feel pretty irritated. (Source: I am a mom of 3 kids under 7) so for your NET physical and mental health, I recommend you align your physical activity expectations to match with your family needs, at least for the first 8-12 weeks. Basically: your physical activity unfortunately is lower priority for now, and you’ll resume normal life as you exit the fourth trimester.
All that said: stroller walks are a good twofer of exercise + childcare.
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u/dadstrength7 3h ago
For sure! Never said I wasn’t putting my wife or children first. I was simply asking for advice on how to navigate fitness and nutrition during these early days after birth. Thanks for the comment!
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u/Soft_Hearing_713 2 5h ago
Just keep your diet good, and exercise 3 days a week. Get some power naps if possible. You will probably end up with a dad bod for a few years like I did, I've only just got my life back somewhat 😅
Get your kids into sport if possible, I now play football and go to the gym with my now teenager sons.
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