For those who may doubt the efficacy of working out with your kids, behold my version of the oft replicated 300 Workout...


Live as a Dad! Train like a Gladiator!



The 300 Workout was originally concieved by celebrity trainer Craig Ballantyne, who took a drove of soft actor types and turned them into "Spartans" with 300 greuling repititions.

This routine is designed for Dads in good shape who may still think they need to go to the gym for a mind blowing workout.

Say it..."I am Dadicus!"

Master Blaster Chinups x 15 (rest pause set)

Stack Attack Pushups x 20

Nipper Dips x 15

Rocket Squats x 10

Forward Lunge x 20

Slide Squats x 20

Dragon Twists x 10

Froggy Walk (Finisher) x length of room = 10 Reps

Log Curls x 20

Nipper Slingers x 20

Rainbow x 10

Elliptical Trainers x 20

Rolling Deck Squats x 15

Under Overs x 20

Caterpillar Drag x 20

Gravity Boots x 10 (each side) = 20 reps total

Floorblaster (Press only) x 10 (each side) = 20 reps total

Baseball Slide (Floorblaster) x 5 (each) = 10 reps total

Washing Machine (rock to both sides = 1 rep) x 15

Total Reps = 300
Total fun for kids = Massive
Total workout for you = Tremendous!

The Dadiator 300 workout is designed to be fun and safe. Please do not attempt any of these exercises unless you are of sound mind and body to do so. Don’t ever drink alchohol (or consume any other intoxicating substances) and lift your kids. Period.


The original 300 Workout.

Bicep Workout
Doorway Chinups
Perform as many reps as you can.

Log Curls
Perform 10 reps with each of your children in succession.

Doorway Chinup / Log Curl Ladder
Perform one rep of each exercise, then two of each, three, four, etc, until you cannot increase chinup reps.

Note. Do not attempt this routine right after dinner...

Goals

Dadiator: Develop muscles in the chest and shoulders.

Sidekick: Develop explosive "puddle jumping power" in the legs.

See video for setup and action.

Quickie Leg Routine

10x Sidekick Leg Press / Dadiator Donkey Kicks
Note. Try to kick a little higher with each consecutive donkey kick.
16x Nipper Slings with Sidekick on top. (See Kid Lifting for details).
10x Rocket Squats
1 Lunge lap across the room and back.
Repeat until dinner time.
Note. Don’t attempt after dinner!

Extend the Floorblaster into a full body exercise with another kettlebell takeoff, the "Getup."


DADIATOR GETUP


KETTLEBELL GETUP (or "Turkish Getup")

Difficulty Level: Red (Moderate)
Muscle Group: Pectoralae

As well as kid coaches can provide strength and encouragement with full body movements, they are also invaluable with spot training for specific muscle groups, which I like to call "Tot Training." Today we shall punish the pectorals!


In kettlebell training, this move is called a "Floor Attack," but Johnny, for whatever reason, prefers the term "Floor Blaster." This exercise works your pectorals and obliques through their most extended range of motion and will improve your followthrough when swinging at a softball or launching your coach into a lake or pool on a hot summer day.

Start with your non-lifting arm extended out to your side and the leg of your lifting side bent at the knee. Coach is attached to your arm and your lifting elbow is resting on the floor.



Press your kid/coach.

As you reach full arm extension, drive the foot of your bent leg into the floor and use your non lifting arm to prop yourself into a semi-seated position. Your finish should look like a baseball slide. Hold the finish for "One Mississippi" and then slowly descend to the floor, starting with a slow back curl and ending with the negative press.

A few safety notes...

Keep your eyes locked with your coach's throughout the entire range of motion so neither of you loses focus or balance. Also, when executing any sort of Dadiator press, make sure your coach grips tightly onto your lifting wrist and braces his belly against your upward thrust. He won't be as effective at barking orders with his wind knocked out.

Difficulty Level: Red (Moderate)

Goals

Dad: Work obliques, hip flexors, upper quads, and abdominals all in one bang.

Sidekick: Develop jump timing and coordination.



Movement

Lie on your back with your legs at a 90 degree bend. Hold sidekick above you with your hands on either side of his abdomen. His body should be parallel to yours.

Crunch upward and twist to one side until sidekick’s feet touch the floor.

Maintaining your crunch, complete the repitition by twisting to the other side until sidekick’s feet touch the floor again.

Complete 8-10 slow and steady repititions.



Tips

Involve sidekick in the movement by having him push off the floor on either side. Carry sidekick’s momentum in a slow and controlled arc.

As with all crunches, do not lead with your neck and shoulders, but pretend there’s a rope attached to the center of your sternum pulling you upward.

For an added challenge, combine this exercise with the Sling a Nipper Ab Ripper, completing your twist with a second sidekick atop your shins.



Safety


Have sidekick push against your wrists to cushion the impact of your hands on his belly.













Video: Dadiator One Take Wonder, Abatron

Muscle Group: Full Body
Difficulty Level: Green (Easy)


Soccer players, kick boxers, cyclists, and "Seinfeld" Elaine dancers take note. This will breathe life into your kicks strokes, and flails.

Movement

Have coach wrap around your leg and assume the “Please don’t go to work--take me with you!” position.

Grab onto a steady surface, like a doorjamb or a sign post, and bring your leg up--try to get to 90 degrees--hold for one Mississippi--then down slowly.

Goals

Dadiator: Develop whipcord power from your feet to your hands that will allow you to launch your acrobatic sidekick magnificently into a lake or pool on a hot summer day.

Sidekick: Enjoy a reduced gravity moon-jumping experience that might otherwise only be accessible at an amusement park or Space Camp.

Movement

Grasp sidekick securely beneath armpits.

Assume a mid-squat position while sidekick’s feet are on floor.

Look toward the ceiling and drive upward with your legs, keeping sidekick close to your body.

Continue the momentum with your arms and shoulders, finishing with sidekick at arms length.

Return to start position and repeat.

Attempt 8-12 precise repetitions, but stop immediately if either you sidekicks experience any kind of discomfort.







Tips

To involve sidekick in the action, have him dip his knees at the start position and drive his legs upward with yours.

Don’t lock out completely with your knees or elbows. Hyperextension of either can cause joint damage over the long haul.
















Safety

Tie a blanket around sidekick’s chest to cushion his armpits from liftoff. Squeeze into the blanket as you begin your lift. This will prevent your grip from sliding and straining his shoulders upward.

Also, it is very important to keep your eyes locked on sidekick whenever he’s above you. Both of you need to be absolutely present with one another to avoid the risk of a fall.

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS EXERCISE IF YOU ARE UNCLEAR OF THE INSTRUCTIONS OR IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT OF YOUR ABILITY TO PERFORM THE MOVE SAFELY.

Difficulty: Green (Easy)

Goals

Dadiator: Turn the tables and coach sidekick for a change.

Sidekick: Strengthen abdominal (laughing) muscles.



Movement

Have sidekick lie on a pad or soft surface facing up, with his head between your ankles.

Have sidekick grab your legs on either side of his ears and lift up his straightened legs, toes pointed, until his toes touch your outstretched hands.

Give his toes a gentle push and have him “catch” his legs before his feet touch the floor and raise them back up to your hands.

Repeat this motion until sidekick can no longer hold his legs straight with toes pointed.















Tips

Challenge sidekick by pushing his legs in a different direction each time he raises them.




















Safety

Encourage sidekick to keep his neck and shoulders relaxed. Tell him to pretend there’s a heavy sandbag across his chest keeping his shoulder blades on the floor.

Difficulty: Red (Moderate)

Goals

Dadiator: Improve ballsitic power in the hips and lower back.

Sidekick: Strengthen abdominals and bladder control.


Movement

Have sidekick sit on the floor with his legs straight in front of him, toes pointed.

Grasp firmly beneath his armpits. Tie a blanket beneath his armpits for padding for added comfort.

Drive with your legs and swing sidekick upward, keeping him close to your body.

When his shoulders reach the same height as yours, push him outward, away from your body.

As he begins to drop, pull him back toward you.

As he nears the floor, he must raise his legs 90 degrees to his body and scoot his feet along the floor between your legs. This is his “soft landing.”





Tips

Look upward and stick out your rear to keep your back from arching forward.

Also, this should be a swinging motion, not a lifting one. Too little momentum on the upswing may strain the fronts of your shoulders.
























Safety

On your upswing, make sure to finish with your arms away from your body. This will keep sidekick from arching dangerously at his peak.

Sidekick may prefer to wear footpads or thick socks to protect his feet from chafing on the ground if he loses form. (My sidekick opted out of protection because his feet were "too sweaty.")

Do not attempt this exercise if you are under the influence or unsure of your footing or ability to safely grasp your sidekick throughout the motion.

Difficulty Level: Black (Difficult)


Goals

Dadiator: Kids are not impressed with statistics about how much you can bench press, unless you communicate them in terms of farmyard animals. They are, however, impressed and delighted at being able to ride your back as you do pushups.

Sidekick: It’s never to early to trade pushups with Dad.

Movement

Perform a pushup ladder with sidekick, during which you...

Perform one pushup with sidekick on your back, then sidekick hope off and matches your one...

Two pushups with sidekick on back. Sidekick matches two...
Three--three, etc.

...until you are unable to add reps.

Note. Remind sidekick that he should only do the number he wants to do, and that it's okay to stop at any time and just keep count for Dad.





Tips

Do not flatten your palms completely to the floor as you do pushups. Pretend their is a pea, or similarly sized object, in the cup of your palm that you don’t want to crush. This pea-sized adjustment will help you avoid the innumerable hassles of carpal tunnel.

Alternately, use dumbells or pushup bars to keep your wrists in a neutral position.









Safety

Control your speed. "One Mississippi" as you push up, "Two Mississippi" as you let down. If sidekick decides at any point that he wants to get down, best to give him a steady, predictable rhythm to time his dismount.

Difficulty Level: Red (Moderate)

Goals

For Dad:

For Sidekick:

Movement

Start in a wide stance, hands in “sidekick armpit” position with sidekick on your right hip.

Instruct sidekick to stand up straight with his feet together.

Prime the motion by lifting sidekick to chest level and swinging over your left hip. Dip into a moderately deep squat and drive upward, pressing sidekick away from your body and allowing him to swing back to the other side.

Catch sidekick with your right hip and drive him out again.
One “swipe” on both sides is a single repitition. Repeat 8-10 times.




Tips

Allow your feet to pivot in the direction of your swipe. This will eliminate the strain of torsion on your knees.




























Safety

Don't attempt to do this exercise if you have any doubt about your ability to hang onto sidekick. Also, do not break eye contact with sidekick, particularly when he is farthest from your body.

Difficulty Level: Red (Moderate)


Goals

For Dadiator: Strengthen glutes and hamstrings, and stretch abdominals.

For Sidekick: Stretch and strengthen abdominals. Improve leg balance and strength.


Movement

Lie on the floor facing up, with your feet on an elevated surface.
Position sidekick so he’s standing on your hip bones, balancing with his hands flat on yours.

Have sidekick squat as you lower your hips and stand as you drive upward with your hamstrings.
Remind him to stay balanced. Support him with your hands.
Complete 8-10 slow and steady reps.






Tips

For an added challenge, at the top of your motion, have sidekick climb up your quads backward and reach out with his hands to stretch his abdominals. Remind him not to let his back sag and to keep his butt high.

P.S. He’ll laugh when you say “butt,” so be prepared to catch him.








Safety

Maintain eye contact with sidekick as he stretches. Also, don’t lace hands too tightly. If he does lose his balance, you’ll want to be able to move your hands quickly to catch him in whichever direction he falls.

I have seven small children, a full time job, and no extra time to devote to fitness, and I've talked to many young dads in the same bind (except for the seven kids part). So I set up this site as a wellspring of motivation and off-the-beaten-path ideas for staying in fighting shape, within the hours you already have, and in the company of the little ones you love. Whether you're a fitness fiend waylaid by a first child or a non gym guy just wanting the stamina to keep up, this site is for you.
Go Dadiator!


Muscle Group: Trapezius
Difficulty Level: Green (Easy)


Tackle Box Contents


One 25 foot length of rope = LINE


One sturdy plastic clothes hanger = HOOK


Two salad bowls = LAKE & BOAT


7 or so washclothes, toys, socks, etc. = FISHES


One sled-sized wool felt square (wool slides fast) = LEADER


1-7 (or so) kid sidekicks = BAIT




Objective: Move all your fishes from the LAKE to your BOAT as quickly as possible.



Setup

Find about a 15-20 foot run of uninterrupted slippery surface (harwood, vinyl, etc).

Position LEADER mat on one end with your sidekick lying face down on top of it. Hand sidekick the coathanger with the fishing LINE attached to the hook end.

Fill a salad bowl (LAKE) near sidekick with fake or real fish, depending on your cleanup commitment.

Have sidekick grab a fish, clutch or place on his mat, and hang onto hanger HOOK for dear life. This is his start position.

Meanwhile, position yourself and your BOAT at the other end of the rope.





Dadiator Movement
From a seated position, knees slightly bent, reel in your bait and fish by pulling hand over hand vigorously, with your back straight and your shoulders square, until shrieking sidekick has reached you. Contract your abdominals and concentrate the pulling force between your shoulder blades, as if you were performing a row.


Have child toss his fish in the BOAT, gather his LEADER and LINE, and sprint / cast himself back toward the lake, where he (or another sidekick) will grab another fish and get in position to be reeled in again.




Work Between "Sets"
While you wait for sidekick to get to the start, do pushups. If you’re wearing slippery socks, you can do fancy pike pushups, a more challenging compound movement.


SAFETY PRECAUTIONS: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS EXERCISE UNLESS YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND AND ARE PREPARED TO ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS

Don’t start reeling too fast or your child may lose his grip.

Wrap your hanger with tape so that if it does break its pieces won't fly into your child's face.

Have your child cover the hanger hook with his hand as he "casts" to the start point, or instruct him to run with the hook down as he might carry scissors "point down." This will prevent the possibilty of a hook related injury in the event of a fall.

Instruct children waiting their turn to sit "lakeside." Do not let them run near the rope as it's moving to avoid the possible hazards of tripping and rope burns.


Alternate Reeling Moves...





TECHNIQUE TIP:

Do not "haul" with your palms facing downward. Use a prone or neutral grip to avoid injury to your elbow joints and rotator cuffs.



Video: Dadiator One Take Wonders, Fishing Game

Great ballplayers have one thing in common, from slugger Babe to speedster Henderson. Train piston buttocks, or if you prefer, glutes (although I don’t, because the word “glute” sounds like an adhesive designed to suppress flatulence).


Muscle Group: Gluteus Giganticus
Difficulty Level: Red (Moderate)

I too aspire for locomotion on the ball field, and so I spend these winter days lunging like a crazed she-panther.


Lunges, unlike their oafish cousins squats, are elegant because they allow the possibility of actual forward motion. That said, lunging with dead weights feels as glamorous as pushing a Ford Festivaup a hill.

There are two ways to make lunges more interesting...


(A) Do them over a mug of hot tea. (This really adds pop to my legs).

or

(B) Do them with a kid coach.

Kid coaches breath life into lunge drudgery. Dumbbells don't yell “gdyap” when you traverse a felt square course, and they don’t “houwah” when you hurdle over the occasional obstacle (like a tiny red piano).

Dead weights don’t require that you keep your back perfectly straight when you dip your knee an inch from the ground. Kid coaches do. They are lunge-masters, and they may call you to action at a moments notice.

Example, tonight I took five kids on the light rail to the Hollidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis. All were bundled, but little Mark lost his gloves. He sat on my shoulders to see above the crowd and kept commanding me to “move, Daddy, move.” So I lunged up and down the line every few minutes, which pumped blood into my hands and warmed his. Clever chap. Dadiator the radiator!

SAFETY WARNING: LUNGE AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND DO NOT LUNGE WITH A CHILD WHILE INTOXICATED OR WHEN YOU ARE UNSURE OF YOUR FOOTING OR ABILITY.