See the following articles...

Dadiator, The Video: Produced by Troy Melhus. Minneapolis Star Tribune on the web 20 April.2008.

Moran, Sarah "How I Got This Body: The Dadiator." Minneapolis Star Tribune on the web 20 April.2008.

Otis, Sheff "Seven under Seven." Williams College Alumni Review on the web March.2008.

MN Parent: "Real Parents: Deirdre and Sheff Otis." MN Parent Magazine on the web September.2008.

Families That PLAY Together, STAY Together
3 “Dadiator” Workshops held at the SweatShop

Studies show families are not spending enough time together AND that parents with young children find it difficult to make time for their own fitness and exercise. The SweatShop wants to help the public resolve both issues.

Sheff Otis, father of 7 and creator of the “Dadiator” of dadiator-workout.com and Colleen Atkinson, mother of 4 and Group Fitness Director at the SweatShop have combined forces to deliver 3 workshops this winter to turbo-charge how we play with our kids and get fit. “In the insane early years, if we want to maintain the stamina to keep up with our children and pull ourselves out of our soft-bellied slumps, we need to get creative,” notes Otis, who has been known to write the weight of each of his 7 kids on their foreheads and use them for his weight training.

Each Workshop is $19.50 per parent and child and is designed to introduce ways for parents to play together with their children and get a workout done at the same time. Kids ages 3 and up are welcome. Atkinson states, “Many of the exercises come from traditional core strengthening routines like kettlebell and medicine ball training, only the kids are the weight equipment. How nice to have your little one giggling and smiling back at you while bench pressing them. This workshop will bring new meaning to dynamic workout.

WHAT: 3 Workshops designed to bring families together and increase fitness and health

WHEN: Saturday, January 24 1:30 – 2:30
Saturday, February 21 1:30 – 2:30
Saturday, March 21 1:30 – 2:30

WHERE: SweatShop Health Club
167 Snelling Avenue North
Saint Paul, MN 55104

Go to www.sweatshopfitness.com for more details.

Video: The Dadiator Workout

Welcome to dadiator-workout.com, a resource for young dads wanting to get back on the fitness boat!


How was work today? Are the babies in bed? How’s Momma?
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to ask. Have you exercised yet?

I don’t blame you at all if your answer is an emphatic 'no.'

We dads have more important things to do than battling traffic to hit the gym on the way home from work, or spending narrow slivers of post kid-bedtime liberty pumping iron in a dank basement. Personally, there are many other things I’d rather do with my free time. You?

This site is a spur for young dads (or moms) seeking fitness alternatives that go beyond the gym and into our family lives and daily routines. For moms (or dads) Dadiator workshops, meetups, and other events constitute having one's cake and eating it too. (a) Moms (or dads) get a well deserved break from the kids knowing that (b) their spouses and kids are enjoying quality time and getting in fighting shape.

Several of my exercise strategies hinge on structuring work and home environments to facilitate quick bursts of activity throughout the day, but the heart of the Dadiator Workout is simply finding ways to turbo-charge how we already play with our kids.

In these insane early childhood years, if we want to maintain the stamina to keep up with our sidekicks and the strength to haul laundry baskets, unscrew caps, and juggle our heaviest priorities, we dads need to get creative!

Go Dadiators!


Easy.............Hard............Expert Only