"Dad Strength Revolution: Inspiring Men to Embrace Fitness and Health on Father's Day and Beyond"
This Father’s Day we are featuring a few of the many Dad’s of Jolt Fitness who take “Dad Strength” to a new level. They are health leaders in their families and communities. By sharing their experiences we hope to spark and inspire other men to step outside their daily routines and add fitness and strength to their daily to do list. With overall rates of strength and fitness decreasing in Canada’s male population, it’s more important than ever for men to step up to the barbell for their health. Millennial men have been reported to be weaker than previous generations due to several factors. Sedentary lifestyles, increased screen time, poor dietary choices, and high stress levels are often cited as contributors to this trend. The decline in physical activity, such as fewer manual labor jobs and decreased participation in sports, has also played a role in the weakening of mental and physical health. Additionally, advancements in technology have made daily tasks easier and more automated, reducing the need for physical strength. To combat this trend, it is crucial for millennial men to prioritize regular strength training, adopt healthier eating habits, and find ways to reduce stress in order to improve their overall strength and well-being. Too many young men are reporting bodies that feel sixty years old, and too many sixty year olds are reporting they wish they started fitness thirty years earlier. It’s crucial to families and communities to have men that are resilient and harness the power of dad strength!
Physical fitness can significantly enhance your ability to lead within your family. By maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, you are setting a positive example for your loved ones to follow. Exercise helps reduce stress, improve mood, increase energy levels, and promote better sleep - all of which are essential for effective leadership within the family unit. Additionally, staying physically fit can boost your confidence, resilience, and overall wellbeing, qualities that are key in guiding and supporting your family members through life's challenges. Prioritizing fitness not only benefits your own health but also equips you with the strength and stamina needed to be a strong and capable leader for your family.
MATT CLEMENTS
Father & Paramedic
As much as working out in the gym is about physical "gainz", I think the biggest payoff is how training helps manage my mental health. Competence and mastery are important prerequisites for confidence and positivity. As I've trained at Jolt over the last few years, I've learned how to lift safely, and gained insights into how to structure a workout. I'm not a master yet, but I'm learning more and boosting my attitude every time I step on the floor at Jolt.
My wife tells me she notices a difference in my mental health when I've had a workout recently. I think we don't always notice these things in ourselves, but when we hear it from people in our lives that we trust, we have to believe it! I have a job that is physically and mentally demanding, and emotionally taxing (don't we all?). Working out helps build my physical resiliency, and gives me a healthy outlet for the mental and emotional strain. Doing a one-hour workout gives me a chance to set aside my other concerns and use the built-up stress to do something that will make me better able to face challenges in the future.
Other Men need to know:
It's not too late. While I've dabbled with working out since my teens, I really hadn't been consistent until I started at Jolt about three years ago. I think it's safe to say that I now have better strength and flexibility than I did 20 years ago.
You do have time. The staff at Jolt helped me start slow and build on small successes. Over time, this has helped me make some powerful changes.
Jolt can help get you to your goals (regardless of how big or small they may seem to you). Want to get stronger, faster, more powerful? Check. Want to fit into your clothes better? It'll happen. Want to get up a set of stairs with less effort? Done. Want to get some support improving your diet? They're experts. Need a place to de-stress and relax? This is it.
The staff at Jolt are experts at what they do. They can help you define your goals, craft a plan to achieve them, provide the classes and training sessions to help you work towards them, tailor your plan when you need to work around life challenges, and offer a perspective that might trigger you to add tools that you didn't realize were important to achieving your goals (yoga, mobility, nutrition).
Siggy is a fantastic leader. She has built a team of passionate coaches who take what they do seriously. Siggy ensures that they stay current with the latest exercise science and provides opportunities for them to expand their knowledge. You won't find a more committed, supportive group of coaches.
Jolt is a strong community partner that supports important local causes like Running Against Ruptures, Women of Worth, Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Huron, Tanner Steffler Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and more.
I feel better after a workout at Jolt than I do when I walk in. Every single time.
DARCY SIGURDSON
Father of 2 & Retired Business Owner
As you mature, it's clear that self-care is crucial to continue enjoying life's adventures. Preventing muscle loss through regular exercise enables you to stay active, pain-free, and energetic. I was hesitant to begin a fitness journey but now realize the immense benefits: fewer aches, improved cardiovascular health, and increased strength, empowering me to live life to the fullest.
I have noticed not only an increase in strength but also I have more stamina. My head is clearer and I sleep better. My mobility and flexibility has definitely improved as well.
The Jolt Online Training methods make it easy for me to follow the program and look forward to my workout. I think some Men may think they are too old to make a difference in their fitness level but I have found a vast improvement in my overall health.
“I am incredibly proud of my Dad for starting his fitness routine and making healthier nutrition choices. I am so grateful to have a Dad that I can rely on no matter physical challenges I bring his way.” -Coach Siggy
JEFF VAN SOEST
Father of 4 Boys & Farmer
Training has become a vital part of my life because I want to take care of myself better, lose weight, and reduce chronic knee pain from past injuries and wear and tear from work. Going to Jolt has a big impact on my life in multiple ways. It keeps me accountable for my diet, sleep, and challenges me in my fitness. Fitness also helps me manage stress, boosts my overall well-being, aids in quicker recovery from minor injuries, and supports weight management.
Men should understand two important things: Firstly, “Toughing it out” is not always the answer; staying fit is crucial for a good quality of life. Secondly, sleep plays a vital role as nobody can work hard round the clock. Insufficient sleep leads to making poor choices which greatly effects your work quality and relationships.
I am a person who doesn't like new things, new people or places but I knew I had to do something to change my health. The Jolt Team makes me feel comfortable when I go to the gym. It's part of what keeps me coming back. They are very understanding, they get to know you and hold you accountable. They push you to do your best!
DEREK DAVIS
Father of 2 & Business Owner
1. Why is training an important part of your lifestyle?
A little context...I'm a 46 year old man, going on 47. I am a successful small business owner with 8 employees that are all younger than myself, I have a beautiful and dedicated wife that has given me 2 wonderful kids that are now teenagers. Both kids are engaged in physically and mentally demanding competitive sports, that in turn demands physical and mental support from myself and my wife. A very busy time in my life indeed. I have decided I have to train in order keep myself strong so I can properly lead my employees... as well as protect, provide for and guide my family through whatever life throws at us. The training provides me with that strength, and the mental toughness needed to accomplish those tasks. I only really got in touch with the benefits of training at the age of 39 but I am very glad I did. I would not be the man I am today, had I not discovered the enjoyment of training along with the many health benefits it provides.
2. How does working out impact your life outside of the gym?
Working out keeps me fit to have fun with my family. I feel it gives me confidence to deal with the tough situations my business and life itself churns out on a daily basis, which in turn helps me provide the leadership and the ability to give sound advice when my kids are in need of it (and sometimes when they're not of course). I work hard and can "play" far harder, which of course is less healthy as we age. Working out with a hangover is never fun, I'll do it if I must, but I am far less apt to "play" too hard when I know I have training/a workout to do the next day.
3. What is the most important thing men should know about health and fitness?
I believe the most important thing to know about health and fitness is that nobody else cares if you’re healthy. As a matter of fact, I believe society as we know it currently, is geared to make you think it's ok to be weak and slowly become unhealthy, far more prematurely than is truly necessary. It's only YOU that can change the program for yourself and understand that if you want to be strong, healthy, fit, or have any knowledge about true nutrition, YOU have to do the work! Waiting until your sick and relying on our current medical system to prescribe you a pill that leads to more pills to reduce the side effects of the first pills, is a dangerous plan if you expect to truly enjoy life and the limited amount of time we have on this beautiful planet. Why not take action to become healthy and maintain that health. I want to enjoy my upcoming golden years, which will be almost impossible if I'm weak... I have to be strong, we all do.
I have had several important father figures in my life, and watched some of them slowly become weak to the point that they can no longer do the things that made life fun for them as they aged, almost like they just threw in the towel. I have decided to do my best to NOT let that happen to myself.
Siggy and her team at Jolt have helped keep me on the right path the past couple years. Providing motivation, support and education to help me (not only me, but my family also) with the goals listed above. They help keep me from under training , as well as over training. They have helped me through an injury and gotten me back to 100%.
Bottom line is ... Who wants to be known as weak? Not me.
Happy Father's Day!!!
