Why I wanted to coach dads

I never really had a desire to coach dads.

Not specifically at least.

I coached many in my time as an in-person trainer, but being a dad was only part of their identity. Mostly, they were a human looking to get fit.

Even for most of wifey’s pregnancy, the desire didn’t strike.

Until it did.

Wifey didn’t want to find out the gender of the baby — she wanted the glorious moment of surprise.

I disagreed at first, and she told me I could find out — I just couldn’t tell her.

Good fuckin’ luck doing that, so I decided to not find out so I didn’t ruin it and get stabbed in the neck by my wife.

Fast forward to about 6 months in, and someone asked us whether we preferred a boy or girl.

It wasn’t the first time, but for some reason this time it stuck with me more.

Growing up with 4 sisters and no brothers, my gut always said I wanted a son.

I answered that, but also mentioned I would love being a girl dad. Boys are insane and constantly trying to kill themselves, I didn’t want to have to keep up with that.

Then I caught myself: I’m a goddamn fitness professional and I’m worried about a baby wearing me out?!

This was the catalyst for me taking my conditioning even more seriously than I already was.

I couldn’t let my energy gas tank get in the way of being the absolute best father for my child, boy or girl.

And I realized if my unborn child could inspire me to do more cardio — me, a person who always shit on cardio and avoided it like the plague until the knowledge of its benefits became too great to ignore — then what are other dads experiencing?

I would guess: the same.

Only most of them don’t know what to do for their strength training, conditioning, or nutrition. They’d need a plan, and I could provide that.

So I got to work, and along the way I talked to a bunch of friends who already had fatherhood experience.

They wanted the done-for-you plan that took the guesswork out, but something else popped up consistently too:

Community.

More so, the lack of community dads have available.

I experienced this after the birth of my daughter.

My wife had a postpartum women’s group with her midwives. Great idea I thought! Nothing like that for dads.

She also was on a mom’s app, a Tinder for moms essentially. What a fantastic idea! Nothing like that for dads.

When one of my good friends brought up that he felt isolated as a new dad, I knew that community was needed.

So that’s what made me want to coach dads.

I felt the push that becoming a father gave to my fitness, and I wanted to share my love and experience with other dads who want to defeat the dad bod.

I knew a community of supportive dads is needed, and there’s nothing like the fitness community — an inherently personal growth oriented task — to bring dads together to reach their fitness and fatherhood potential.

So The Lab was born, my community coaching for dads who want to feel confident and strong in their body, have energy to keep up (and sometimes outlast) your kids, and be a part of a community of fathers supporting each other through it all.