March Madness Dad Fitness Style

I hope you are enjoying March Madness as much as me!

...and NO I am not talking about basketball.

I am talking about enjoying the start of the spring season with your family by getting out and being active, no matter where you live.

Spring is still a ways away here in Labrador, Canada, but any days above zero is good for me!

So this weekend my family and I headed down to our friends cabin for the night to enjoy the warm March temperatures, do some snowmobiling, snowshoeing and even a little ice fishing...but we didn't have much luck with the fish.


I had a few nibbles on my hook but the fish just weren't hungry I guess.

But everyone else sure was... so when we got back to the cabin I fired up the BBQ, opened up a cold beer and grilled everyone steaks and turkey sausage, Mmmmm...

Good Food, Good Times...That's what the Dad Fitness Lifestyle is all about!

Our 10 month old baby daughter Matea really enjoyed her FIRST snowmobile ride and also loved watching the Grey Jays land in Daddy's hand for a bite of cheese!

Stop eating like a bird to lose weight and start LIVING the Dad Fitness Lifestyle...

==> Get started with these short workouts TODAY!

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Processed People

I just stumbled upon this new documentary coming out called Processed People.

I am looking forward to seeing this and encourage you to check out the trailers for this film.

If you want to live a long and healthy life with your family you have to ask yourself are YOU Processed People?





Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Dad Fitness Cooking Video: The Popeye Omelet

For you busy dads who want a quick high protein meal after your short fat loss workouts that you can have for breakfast, lunch or even dinner...nothing beats the omelet.

It's fast, healthy and a budget friendly meal to feed your family during these tough economic times.

Plus your kids can get involved and add their own ingredients.

Check out this cooking video of me in the kitchen whipping up my Popeye Omelet.

Watch carefully as I share with you two SECRET tips to make you look like an expert in the kitchen.




Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

The Secret to Quick Workouts

I am going to have to make this post quick as I am only running on fumes today.....zzzz...

..oops almost drifted off there...

Our baby 10 month old daughter is in the painful process of teething and I was up most of the night with her last night.

I can't imagine how painful this must be for a baby as I have been having some pain with one of my wisdom teeth the last few weeks myself as well.

What's the point of getting wisdom teeth anyway!...I am wise enough

So after us watching lots of late night TV and with only a few hours of sleep for the both of us I still managed to get to the gym today when my wife came home for lunch.

The key to long-term consistency with your workout routine is sometimes you just have to go do your workout anyway without thinking if you feel up for it or not.

Once you start you will start to feel better and be glad that you did.

I usually get my Dad Fitness workouts done in about an hour but today I never had that much time so I supercharged my workouts with SUPERSETS.

By working opposite muscles back to back, such as chest and back without rest I saved time and had an intense workout and was finished my normal one hour workout in half the time!

Working opposite muscles in this way actually allows the opposing muscle to recover faster in between sets because the opposite muscle has to relax for the other to contract.

I was soaked after this 30 minute workout and even had to time to drop into the convenience store on the way home for a post-workout chocolate milk.

Here is what I did today.

A Incline Barbell Bench Press, 1 max set of 3-5 reps
B1 Flat DB Bench Press, no rest, 4 sets of 6-10 reps
B2 Bent Over DB Rows, 4 sets of 10 reps
C1 Rope Cable Upright Rows, no rest, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
C2 Hanging Leg Raises, 3 sets of 10-15 reps

So for days when you seemed too rushed to get a quick workout, take your normal workout and superset the exercises to get it done in half the time.

All 16 weeks of the Dad Fitness workout program use supersets to save time so you can be a super dad and get on with your day.

Get your super workouts here==>Short Fat Loss Workouts

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

The Best Way To Relieve Muscle Soreness

Ahhhh...f$%* that hurts!

That's how I felt this morning as I bent over to pickup my baby daughter off the floor this morning.

After getting back to the gym after a week off and doing my first lower body workout in almost 2 weeks yesterday my legs are pretty sore and stiff!

For the best way to relieve muscle soreness check out the video below.

We have all experienced this one time or another, muscle soreness or what the exercise geeks (me included) refer to as DOMS.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness...

This can occur whether you have been working out for years or are just starting to exercise.

Basically its the microscopic tearing of your muscle fibers that causes the inflammation and swelling of the muscles putting additional pressure around the surrounding joints.

But I bet what you really what to know is how to avoid it or even relieve muscle soreness when you do get it.

To prevent it, try not to do much too soon and ease into any exercise program wether its lifting weights, running or your favorite recreational sport. Whatever workout routine you are starting, just do half of the exercise volume to introduce your muscles to the exercises.

Warmup properly BEFORE you workout and stretch AFTER you workout to remove the lactic acid from your muscles and start the recovery process.

To help relieve it when you do over do it from doing too much or doing something new, get some "active rest" by going for a walk with your family or playing with your kids at the playground (lying on the couch watching 24 is not considered active rest!).

Also take rest days from your workouts which means don't work those sore muscles with heavy weight training until the soreness subsides.

Make sure you are eating high quality protein throughout the day to provide your body with the nutrients it needs for muscle repair and stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.

Vitamin C has been shown to aid in muscle recovery as well as hot saunas and deep tissue massage.

Getting lots of omega 3 fats in your diet through fish oils, mixed nuts and avocados will also help to scavenge free radicals and reduce inflammation in your muscles and throughout your entire body

These recovery tips all help...

But for the BEST way to relieve muscle soreness watch this quick video.






Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

I was 1300 feet underground!

Going down...1327ft!

I had a great workout yesterday. It was the first leg workout since I have been back to my new workout routine after my recovery week.

I will show you my workout later in this post as you gotta see what I did on Saturday...

On Saturday my wife and I, my parents and my cousin and her husband who are in from Newfoundland visiting, we all took a road trip to Churchill Falls to tour the the 2nd largest underground power station in the world!

The massive transmission towers that
bring power all the way to New York!

Churchill Falls is a small isolated Northern town of 700 people just 3 hours east of Labrador City, Labrador where we live.

Living in Labrador most of my life and being to Churchill a few times on fishing trips, this the first time I went and did the tour of this amazing underground hydroelectric plant.

The underground roadway

Here are some quick facts on the falls thanks to Wikipedia.

Project facts

• Churchill Falls power plant is the second largest hydroelectric plant in North America, with an installed capacity of 5,428 MW (7,279,000 hp).

• Churchill Falls was, at the time of its construction, the largest underground power station in the world. (The Robert-Bourassa power station in Quebec currently holds the record, both for installed capacity and volume of the main underground hall).

Left to right: Me, my wife Kathy, my parents
and my cousin and her husband on the power house floor

• The powerhouse is 972 ft (296 m) long, up to 81 ft (25 m) wide and 154 ft (47 m) high from the bottom to the top. The height would be equivalent to a 15-storey building or almost as long as three Canadian football fields (990 ft (300 m) and is hollowed from solid granite. To strengthen walls and ceiling, more than 11,000 rock bolts (steel rods 15 to 25 ft (5 to 8 m) long) were used in the three major chambers.

• To move the 2,300,000 cu yd (1,760,000 m³) of rock that was excavated from the underground caverns, it required 5,000,000 lb (2,300,000 kg). This material was used in roads, building the town site, and as dike material.

The emergency bus with the keys in the ignition
in case of emergency, creepy...

• The turbine wheels are cast of stainless steel and weigh 80 short tons (73 t) which is a world record for the largest stainless steel casting ever made.

• During construction, 730,000 short tons (660,000 t) of material, equipment and fuel were moved to the site.

• The natural catchment area for the Churchill River covers over 23,300 sq mi (60,000 km²).By diverting the water from the Ossokmanuan Reservoir the total catchment area became 27,700 sq mi (72,000 km²).
  

• Total natural drop of the water starting at Ashuanipi Lake and ending at Lake Melvilleis 1,735 ft (529 m). As a comparison, the water starting 30 km (19 mi) upriver until it enters the power plant drops over 1,000 ft (300 m).
  

• There is no big dam associated with this hydropower plant. There are 88 dikes to contain the reservoir, the longest is 6.1 km (3.8 mi) and the highest is 36 m (120 ft).

• The total length of all dikes is 64 km (40 mi) and contains 26,000,000 cu yd (20,000,000 m³) of embankment material.

• After five years of non-stop field work by approximately 6,300 workers and costing $950,000,000 (1970) construction culminated on December 6, 1971 when the first two generating units began delivering power, five months and three weeks ahead of schedule.

• Currently Churchill Falls makes almost 1% of the world's hydroelectric power.Newfoundland and Labrador recently announced a call to develop the Lower Churchill Project.
  

• This is, in fact, a number of small projects which includes a 2,000 MW (2,700,000 hp) dam at Gull Island, an 824 MW (1,105,000 hp) dam at Muskrat Falls, 1,000 MW (1,300,000 hp) upgrade to the existing facility at the Churchill Falls power plant. This would increase the present power production capability by an extra 4,000 MW (5,400,000 hp) for a total of 9,252 MW (12,407,000 hp) for the entire Churchill River hydroelectric complex.

The refuge bunker that has supplies for
50 people for 35 daysin case of emergency!
Has never been used thankfully...

It was an amazing tour and made me realize that you don't have to go on a far-away vacation with your family to find some interesting sites that just might be in your back yard.

...Oh, and if my legs weren't so sore I would have forgot to show you my lower body workout!

Max Effort Lower Body

Rack Deadlifts, 1 max set of 3-5 reps
Barbell Lunges, 4 sets of 10 reps
Good Mornings, 4 sets of 10 reps
Grip Rollers, 3 sets of 3 rounds each


Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

The Couch Workout

Today was my first day back in the gym after my recovery week from weight training.

I felt recharged mentally and physically to start a new Dad Fitness workout routine for another 8 weeks or so.

After my wife and I completed a 4 hour recertification for CPR this morning I headed off to the gym to ease back into training.

Word of advice: never go all out in your first few workouts back after a layoff!

If you do you will be sore and moving around like a zombie for the rest of the week.

Here is Day 1 of my new workout program.

Max Effort Upper Body

Incline Barbell Bench Press, 1 max set of 3- 5 reps
Flat DB Bench Press, 4 sets of 6-10 reps
One Arm DB Rows, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Rope Cable Upright Rows, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Hanging Leg Raises, 3 sets of 8-12 reps

I kept the weights conservative and had a good start back to the gym.

For you busy dads who find it hard to get off the couch and go workout.

Well, I got a solution just for you!

Give The Couch Workout a try.




Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Everything is Possible

Well my recovery week from my workouts couldn't have come at a better time.

I guess I was a little more overtrained than I thought as I haven't had a break from my workout program for almost 12 weeks, but I also got hit with a nasty flu bug,... stomach included...not nice!

So as I am starting to feel better I am looking forward to returning to the gym with my workouts.

I am currently putting together my new Dad Fitness workout routine and came across this motivating video, that shows you Everything is Possible if you set goals and work hard to achieve them.

After watching this video doing your 3 short workouts a week will certainly seem possible.


Enjoy!


Everything is Possible - Watch the best video clips here





Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Perfect Penne Pasta

Today I was planning on heading to the gym for one last workout before I take a week off from my workout routine.

But I seem to have caught a head cold the last few days and I am not really feeling 100%, sniff..sniff...cough..cough.. Seeing as my last workout was Thursday I won't head back to the gym until this Thursday.

Every 8 weeks I try to take a recovery week off from my intense workouts but I have now gone over 10 weeks without a break and I guess I am starting to wear myself down.

I will still try and remain active during this week but won't be doing my intense Dad Fitness weight training workouts.

I am not the only one in our house feeling under the weather as our 9 month old daughter has it as well. I feel bad for her as she keeps waking herself up during the night coughing. But at that age they recommend that you give them nothing, and let it take its course.

She's tough like her dad but we have a humidifier going in her room during the night to help her congestion.

Shirt reads: "There is Snowone Like Dad"

Despite us battling the sniffles we had our in-laws over for dinner last night and I made a delicious new recipe from the April issue of Men's Health Magazine.

Savory Seafood Penne

This turned out awesome as I even made the power side salad as well,
Arugula and Parmesan Salad

The only changes I made was I used Spring Mix instead of Arugula and garlic goat cheese instead of Gorgonzola as I could not find it at my local supermarket.

The whole meal was super easy to prepare and we all REALLY loved it. The pesto and garlic goat cheese gave it amazing flavor!

I upped the ingredients to make enough for 4 with a little leftovers.

Savory Seafood Penne

• 1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
• 2 bags of frozen cooked shrimp
• 1 small cub of garlic goat cheese crumbled
• 3 cups of baby spinach
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 2 tsp walnuts chopped 3 tsp of ready made pesto

1. Defrost shrimp under running water for 5 mins.
2. Cook pasta according to directions.
3. Transfer pasta to large bowl, add shrimp, cheese, spinach, tomato, walnuts and pesto.
4. Stir well to combined ingredients.

Another healthy meal in minutes for you and your family that will fill you up without filling you out!






Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

3 Tips To Lose Belly Fat

Are you frustrated with your weight loss results even though you have lost some fat around your middle and your spare truck tire is now the size of a bicycle tire?

For us busy dads its seems that fat loves to hang out around our belly.

Well it's time to issue your belly fat an eviction notice and get that fat burning furnace started again...

Basically what is happening when you plateau on a weight loss program is your body is adapting to the workouts and caloric intake.

Your body is smart and is catching on to your fat loss efforts. It's fat loss reserves are getting lower so it's panicking and holding on to whats left.

It's like when people who swim continue to be able to swim more laps and thinking that it is a good thing as they are doing more and improving their conditioning.

But what is happening is your body is burning less calories each time because you are IMPROVING your conditioning.

The harder your muscles and heart work to move your body the more calories you will burn even at rest.

Just visualize spinning a top as your metabolism...


You want to spin it really hard so it will continue to spin on its own when you let go of it.

Ok...enough analogies, I think you get the point!

So you will just need to kick things up a notch and cause a metabolic disturbance in your body so you keep losing fat.

Variety is the spice of life inside and outside the gym. Constantly challenging yourself improves your physical fitness as well as mental fitness.

We all know if you are bored with your current workout routine, you won't do it. So don't let your workouts get stale!

1. Change up your weight training workouts to exercises that you haven't been doing. Make sure to focus on exercises that work many muscles at once like squats, deadlifts and pushups. Use different rep ranges like 1-3, 4-6, 8-10 and 12-15 reps, different angles such as flat, incline and decline, and shorter rest periods, 30, 60, 90 seconds or no rest.

2. Stop slaving away on the treadmill for your cardio and use bodyweight exercises and barbell or dumbbell complexes where you superset without rest from one exercise to another. This will burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time because you are using all your bodies major muscles while increasing your heart rate.

3. As for your diet plan, don't drop your calories too low, too fast. This is a surefire way to lose lean muscle mass and slow down your metabolism. Take a closer look at your diet and track your caloric intake for a few days to make sure you are not taking in some hidden calories that you may not be aware of.

You can't trick basic biology. If you are burning up more calories than you are taking in, you WILL lose weight.

One simple tip for fast fat loss is to only eat starchy carbs like oatmeal, breads and brown rice within the 2 hour period AFTER your workout. That's when your body will use carbs for restoring energy instead of storing fat.

For the rest of your daily meals and snacks, eat only fruits and veggies for energy and fiber rich carbohydrates.

With a few little diet tweaks and adding some variety and intensity into your weight loss plan you should start losing that frustrating fat again.




Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Want to live longer? You need this nutrient

I found such a great article by Best Life Magazine on Omega 3 fats and our health I had to pass it on.

"A higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as salmon has been shown to positively affect ailments as diverse as stroke, allergies, dementia, and dyslexia."

Before you read it make sure to watch this quick video on the world's top expert in omega 3 research.




==>Click here to read the article about omega 3 fats



Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Blast Straps and Burgers For Busy Dads

Today was workout day for me, and I really look forward to my 3 Dad Fitness workouts a week.

My wife comes home for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursday so I can get out of the house for a break and head to my local gym for an hour. I also get a workout in on the weekends.

I must admit I absolutely love working out! I always have and especially now I found it to be a great stress reliever and a nice break in the middle of my long days as a stay at home dad.

I had a really great workout today as it was my Upper Body High Rep day in my current workout routine.

The Blast Straps are an awesome way to challenge your entire body no matter what exercises you are doing. You can use them for pushups, inverted rows, triceps, biceps, abs or pretty much any bodyweight exercise can be replicated with the blast straps.

I gotta tell you after using these for the first time awhile back doing pushups my abs were sore for 3 days afterward!

Blast Strap Pushups, 3 sets of 12 reps, 60 sec rest
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extensions, 4 sets of 5-10 reps
Pull-Ups, 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Preacher Curls, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Ab Circuit, Cross body mountain climbers and Planks, 2 rounds

You can get the Blast Straps here

Then it was back home for a post workout meal of my wife's tasty homemade chicken soup. Go here for the recipe ==>Mmmm Soup

For dinner today I took a recipe out of my favorite cookbook. Gourmet Nutrition

Sirloin Burgers

I took a couple pics to give you the recipe and a glimpse into this awesome healthy cookbook.

My version with a spinach salad

If you want to build the body you never thought you could have, start eating the meals you never thought you could eat! Get over 120 recipes and a no-nonsense nutrition plan that will show you how to make it all work.

Get Gourmet Nutrition today.

Sean Barker, CPT

PS -You can get the NEW "yet-to-be-released" Dad Fitness Maximum Muscle Home workouts for FREE when you download the Dad Fitness Lifestyle System

==>Click here to get your short home workouts

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Time to Spring Ahead

Just set the alarm and in the morning it will buzz until you’ve done 30 reps. Annoying? Maybe. Effective? Unquestionably!

Consider this your WAKE-UP call!

For those of you who hit the snooze button this morning, it's time to spring ahead, not fall back.

If you are like us and have a 9 month old in your house losing an hour sleep last night was nothing new!

Her sleeping patterns seem hit or miss lately, some nights she sleeps on through the night. Other nights...not so much.

Last night was not so much.

She went to bed at 8:30pm but was up at 11pm and despite mommy and daddys best efforts didn't settle back down until 2:30am.

Or what was actually 3:30am!

Today being the first day of daylights saving time, take a minute and look at what you can do in just 1 extra hour a day.

For you busy dads who seem to be stuck in the time vice where its seems you still can't find time to for your workout program, you now have no excuse.

Especially with the Dad Fitness workout routines, that only require 3 short workouts a week to lose that belly fat and get back in shape.

With 3 hours a week for your workouts, that still leaves you an extra 4 hours during the week to get started on those renovations your wife keeps bugging you about, or to read a new book, prepare your meals for the coming week and even more importantly get outside during the extra daylight and spend some extra time with your kids while you get some exercise and fresh air.

Increasing your exposure to sunlight also boost Vitamin D levels in your body, which helps us to build strong bones as well as low vitamin-D levels may increase the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, and prostate cancer.

Getting outdoors and being active with your family has to be the best stress reliever there is after those long workweeks in the darkness of winter.

Take advantage of natures alarm clock and you will have a spring in your step long before summer rolls around.





Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Lose Fat By Eating Pizza and Burgers

One thing I like to do when people say they can't eat healthy food that actually tastes good, is well...prove them wrong.

I then start by asking them what they normally eat during the day.

Pizza and burgers seem to be some family favorites.

Then I show them how to make the same unhealthy foods healthy. Or if I am really in the mood I will cook it for them, which really wins them over.

So Thursday evening I made some awesome little mini pizzas for my wife and I. For you busy dads who has kids old enough to eat solid foods, these will be a hit in your house.

The best part is they only take about 10 minutes to make!

Just take whole wheat tortilla shell, spoon on some tomato sauce, add some cooked extra lean ground beef or chicken, add some veggies and a little low fat cheese and bake for 10 mins at 400F.




Then Friday I had a great workout consisting of:

Max Effort Upper Body

Barbell Floor Press, 1 max set of 3-5 reps
Decline DB Press, 4 sets of 6-10 reps
Chest Supported Barbell Row, 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Bent Over Lateral Raise, 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Cable Crunch, 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Friday was also my older sisters birthday so we had her over for a birthday BBQ and I made my famous Perfect Burgers.

So here is a simple recipe to avoid the artery clogging fast food burger and make your own Perfect Burger thats tastes great without the burger belly!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef

Vegetable oil, for grates

4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and lightly grilled or toasted

Lettuce, tomato, onion,or other toppings, as desired

Evenly divide meat into 4 portions. With a light touch, gently form each one into a ball, then shape into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. With thumb, make a 1/4-inch-deep indentation in the center of each (this prevents burgers from getting rounded tops during grilling). Transfer to a plate; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 1 day.

Heat grill to high (it should be difficult to hold your hand above the grates). Moisten a folded paper towel with vegetable oil; grasp with tongs, and quickly wipe over the grates.

Generously season patties on both sides with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill; cover, and cook to desired doneness, 2 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Serve burgers on buns with desired toppings.

Staying fit with only 3 short workouts a week and eating pizza and burgers?

For you busy dads looking for workout routines and healthy eating, the Dad Fitness System allows you to have your cake and eat it too!

...and I did have a piece of birthday cake;-)


Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Dad Fitness Meal of the Day

Vegetarian dads look away!

Yesterday's Dad Fitness kitchen experiment, or what I like to call dinner, went pretty well.

After taking inventory with what we have left in our fridge, I used a pack of chicken breasts, 2 packs of local caribou sausage, some crushed tomatoes and veggies to come up with what I like to call.

Crockpot Chicken And Caribou Paella

I love getting local wild meat as its leaner and a lot higher in omega 3's because the animals get to graze in the wild and eat what nature intended them to eat, grass.

Unfortunately most supermarket meat is from cows stuffed full of drugs and corn. Not good for the cow, and not good for us!

I took a well know Spanish dish and gave it some Labrador flavor! My parents also dropped over and they loved it as well.

Crockpot Chicken And Caribou Paella

2 chicken breasts
grapeseed oil to coat both pans
6 caribou sausages, cut up in pieces ( or you can use turkey sausage)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a dash of oregano, sea salt and black pepper
half a box reduced-sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 orange bell peppers, cut into very thin bite-size strips
1 c. frozen corn
1 potato cubed
1 bag of instant brown rice

In a large skillet brown chicken pieces, in other pan brown sausage.

In a 5 quart crock pot place chicken pieces, sausage, and onion. Sprinkle with spices Pour broth and water over all. Add the tomatoes, sweet peppers, corn and potatoe

Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. , Serve over the hot rice.

Makes 6 servings*









Another great meal made at home that can keep you and your family full while living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

5 New Ways to Workout

The idea of these workout tips came to me while watching one of the classic episodes of Seinfeld, "The Bizarro Jerry" episode.

The concept behind this episode was of having a world made up of everyone's total opposite, which is based on the Bizarro World stories featured in the Superman comic books.

The Bizarro versions of Jerry, George, Kramer and Newman were called Kevin, Gene, Feldman and Vargas.

So if you are not getting results from your workouts, maybe it's time you do the opposite of what you see most people doing in the gym.

A lot of regular gym goers continue to look the same year after year despite how often they make an appearance and I am sure you don't want to look like "most" people, as over 60% of people today are obese.

For the first time, the number of overweight individuals around the world rivals the number who are underweight.

In fact a new word - "globesity" has now been coined to reflect the escalation of global obesity and the overweight!

Remember, Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Think about this quote for a second and ask yourself, does this quote apply to the way I workout?

If so, it's time to stop being a workout slave to your old school workout routines and time to break away from the crowd by doing the opposite of what they are doing.

The results just might surprise you.

1. Quality, not Quantity- Don't fall for the cardio confusion where you think the more time you punch on a cardio machine the more fat you burn. You don't need to spend hours working out everyday to get those rock hard abs or bulging biceps. The key to effective workouts is intensity. With shorter weight training and interval cardio workouts you spend less time working and more time burning fat. High intensity workouts elevate your metabolism up to 36 hours after your workout.

2. Mirror Muscles- Most guys love training the muscles they can see in the mirror like their chest and biceps. But 50% of your muscles are on the back of your body. Muscles of your upper and lower back, hamstrings and even your triceps on the back of your arm are often neglected in favor of pumping up those mirror muscles. This contributes to overuse and imbalances in the shoulders and spine making you more susceptible to shoulder and back injuries. Do more pulling than pushing when you are in the gym and you will really be glad with what you see in the mirror.

3. Bet on Low- Betting on high might be the smart choice in a game of poker, but for better workouts, go low. Instead of following the classic "3 sets of 10 reps" routine, go bizarro and do the opposite with "10 sets of 3". This will allow you to focus on the performance and quality of your repetitions instead of fatiguing your muscles with higher reps. Most people train to improve appearance; you should train to improve performance and your appearance will improve as a result.

4. Step Away From the Machine- You don't need to workout on expensive equipment that isolates small muscles and put your body in unnatural positions all while you sit down. When you perform an exercise using machines you force your body to follow the range of motion dictated by the machine, when it should be the other way around allowing your body to control your range of motion. Besides some cable movements. which are actually closer to free weight movements than machines, stick with barbells, dumbbells and bodyweight exercises so you build functional muscles that you can use in the real world.

5. Be Flexible- I am still amazed at how many people still don't pay proper attention to warming up before their workout and stretching at the end of their workout. If you want to have healthy joints and pain free flexibility, follow a proper warmup and cooldown. Get your body primed for training with dynamic movements like bodyweight squats and pushups, then help to lower your heart rate and relax your muscles with some stretches after your workout is over. This is not something that you can afford to ignore if you want a healthy body for many years to come.

Follow these 5 tips in your next workout and if anyone asks you "what your doing?" tell them the opposite!

Apparently you can learn a lot from comic books

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Healthy Homemade Enchilada Recipe

With no workout scheduled for today I am busy at home with our baby daughter.

Feeding her, changing her, putting her down for a nap, cooking and cleaning, repeat cycle until wife comes home...

Just another day living the Dad Fitness Lifestyle.

But I certainly know I had a workout yesterday as my hamstrings are sore as hell from all the leg work!

After we all had breakfast and my wife headed off to work I got started on prepping dinner while Matea was playing in her exersaucer in the kitchen.

On today's Dad Fitness Menu is Enchiladas. Made with wholesome and healthy ingredients that will rival any artery popping Enchiladas at your local Chilis, Fridays, Tuesdays or whatever they call some of these restaurants these days!

You can feel good about feeding your family REAL food that everyone will love and will keep you burning off that belly fat with your workouts.

Just be sure to keep the portions under control and have one Enchilada with a side salad.

That's the SECRET to eating good food and staying fit!

Here's the recipe.

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 whole wheat tortillas
• 2 cups low fat shredded cheese
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 1 can of black beans
  

*Feel free to add some diced bell peppers or chopped spinach if you want to increase the nutritional value. Your kids will never know;-) I was all out so I used what I had.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly browned and onion is tender.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to directions.
   
   Healthy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Heat oil in large 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese.
   

4. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.


5. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and olives.


6. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

Serves 6.





Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Weekend Workout Update

My patio deck is here somewhere?

Man, didn't we get dumped on this weekend here in Labrador. Close to 30 cm of snow fell on Friday and Saturday!

The guy living across the street wishing he lived down south!

Despite another winter blast this weekend I had a great afternoon workout today after getting to sleep in, (which for me is 8am) and having a power breakfast casserole that my wife wiped up.

It was tasty and nutritious, 8 omega 3 eggs, a couple potatoes, mushrooms, onions, spinach and cheese layered and baked in the oven for 45 mins.



Matea was with the in-laws for the night last night so my wife and I enjoyed a relaxed evening as we dropped out for a bite to eat and then we picked up a movie on the way home.

Ended up getting the new fright flick called Quarantine. It was a little too much in your face gore for me as I don't really have the stomach for these types of movies anymore.

I kept turning the volume down thinking Matea was upstairs asleep! Really strange to get used to her being out of the house.

My workout today was Day 2 of my new workout routine, mostly lower body and some grip work. Think I am going to be sore tomorrow as I might of overdid it a little!

Box Squats, 1 max set of 5 reps
Barbell Step Ups, 4 sets of 10 reps
Romanian Deadlifts, 4 sets of 8 reps
Plate Pinch Gripping for time, 3 sets
Band Pull Aparts, 1 set of 15

I managed to get through everything without much shoulder pain as it was lower body.

On the way home I dropped into the supermarket and picked up a rotisserie baked ham for dinner and a chocolate milk for my post workout drink.


The rotisserie chickens, roasts and hams are a great option for a quick meal for you and your family for those days when things get hectic or if you are just feeling a little to lazy to cook!


Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com