Yesterday, I mentioned how the unique challenges of parenthood demand you adopt a different approach and attitude towards training, lest your efforts be doomed to failure.
Now I am going to expand upon that point:
Training didn’t exactly “rule” my life before I became a father, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t probably the most important thing I did outside of work.
By that I mean, anything I planned had to fit in alongside my training regime and not the other way around. This meant saying “no” a fair amount, especially during my ambulance years when time and energy were at a premium due to my bonkers shift patterns.
It also influenced the choices I made about stuff like where and for how long I went on holiday (they’d be short if there wasn’t easy access to a gym or else delayed until a planned rest week).
All of this allowed me to follow what can fairly be described as complex and demanding programmes, and get results commensurate with that.
Then Connie was born, giving me an extra “non-negotiable” in the form of parenting to balance alongside the two (training and work) I’d hitherto been accustomed to.
In practice, this meant cutting back slightly on the number of sessions I’d do in the gym (from four to mostly two and sometimes three), and eliminating complex programming altogether (e.g. percentage-based loading) in favour of a flexible approach where progress is measured over months and years instead of weeks.
In some ways, it was a return to my roots; training in the style of the great bodybuilders and athletes of the pre-steroid era like Reg Park and Tommy Kono. Full body workouts, centred around barbell variations of the primary movement patterns, done a handful of times per week, only increasing the load when I was truly dominating any given weight.
Moreover, being restricted on gym time meant I had to lean into weighted vest work and running to keep my weekly training volume up. And the realisation that I needed all this cardio to mitigate the very real risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke before I got to walk Connie down the aisle was plenty enough motivation to stick at it (something I had never managed to do with cardio prior to becoming a father).
Anyway.
If you are a parent who is struggling to get (or stay) strong and in shape despite your best efforts, one possible cause is that you’re still trying to train in broadly the same way you did in the “before times”.
In that case, I suggest we work together for the next eight weeks to sort it out.
I’ll spin you up a balanced, sustainable training regime (based on what you tell me) and we’ll have catch up calls once a fortnight for the duration so I can tweak what you’re doing (if needed) and tell you how to overcome issues that nuke your ability to stay on the straight and narrow.
Ultimately, the idea is you will have something you can follow (with minor alterations, which I will show you how to make) long after we have parted ways if that is your wish, and, of course, to have made some progress towards your most important goal.
(Take note: “Some” is the operative word in that last sentence. Eight weeks is nowhere near long enough to make big strides in strength, performance, or aesthetic appeal unless you use methods that are by definition totally unsustainable and probably rather dangerous).
The price?
£370 (with options to pay in two or four equal instalments).
It’s up to you whether or not you think that’s “worth it” given the stakes.
If you’d like to apply, leave your details on the below-linked page, and I’ll get back to you personally and promptly:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/parent/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman