You can see my oldest two sons and the location where I train (my garage :)). I usually train for about an hour and starts the workout around 6:30 am. My usual pre workout diet consists of an apple and 25-30g of whey + 5g creatine in a big glass of water. Post work out is usually 35-45 Whey in large fruit juice + 5 g creatine. I also take vit D 5000 UI daily. As a side note, vitamin D is doing wonder on a physical and psychological level. It took about 6 months to feel the incredible effect of that miracle vitamin, I will write more on that in another post.
Main purpose of that post was actually to reflect on parenthood. My kids are not "working out" on a consistent basis. They are extremely active, they play competitive soccer and handball and spend their time trying new sports on their own. They have a relatively good nutrition. They eat grain but not in large quantity and usually always whole grain, and we have very little dessert in the house other than yogurt and some ice cream (no cone). They also know that I don't eat any grain and they understand why, they also know that eating meat is necessary and good for you.
They know a lot about training and nutrition already. They know more about what really work than I did until I was probably 37. They see how I train, they hear me talk with my wife about nutrition and exercise, I spent time teaching them how to do a linear progression on squat, deadlift, power clean and press correctly and how to perform those lift correctly. We did some crossfit kid workout together.
They have right now all the tools to get the most out of their teenage years, critical years in strength devellopment and access at least for the begining to a more than willing coach (myself). Somehow I envy them, I never had that opportunity. All they need now is the fire inside.
My father started jogging at 30 years old cause he felt he was becoming fat. At 40 he was running marathons on a consistent basis. In winter we did a lot of cross country skiing togheter. Guess where I was excelling in sports, long cardio activity.
at 16 I was 5'11" and 135#, all I wanted was to be big. I started lifting weights at 14 which means that those two years where mostly useless. In 1987 there was no internet and I had to take my info from the library, it was time consuming and most of all it was difficult to get feedback from people that had tried it. Looking back at it, the only things that really work is when I trained at university. First time, I had access to a squat rack and oly bar. I had read that heavy squat where good for you and that you had to eat a lot.
So I ate a lot of crap and did heavy squats 3 times a week. Not really in a linear fashion but always trying to lift heavier. The rest of my routine was normal BB stuff and no real emphasis on bench press or press. It worked, my body weight exploded from 145 to 210 and I was squatting "4 plates on each side" (405) for 4 or 5 rep in about two years. Imagine what could have been the results if I would for example been on starting strength on a clean diet + GOMAD for the first 9 months.
After university, I got married and went back to a normal globo gym and stopped squatting. My body weight stabilised around 190-200 and squat strenght degraded until I started crossfit in early 2009 at 35 years old. From there I learned so much and now I am glad to pass all that info to my kids so that they don't waste like me, their most important years in the dark.
I have no intention to force them doing anything. I hope to influence them and guide them if they need but the motivation has to come from within. If the example I give them every day of my life can ignite and nourish that motivation inside them, I will have accomplish one of my objective as a parent. Giving my childs the tools and the need for a lifestyle that will benefit them until they die.
I am talking about training but I also try to apply that analogy to all other aspect of life. My dedication to my wife and family, to my work, to my commitments, to the importance of educating yourself. The workout analogy is a powerfull example of how important making sure they have the right knowledge can have a powerfull and extremely positive impact on the rest of their lives.
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