Sometimes I feel my heart actually hurt.
It actually, truly does ache. This September will be the FIRST year that BOTH of my kids will be in school full time. Since they've been born, I've been used to them knocking on my door, climbing through my office window, shooting me with nerf guns while being interviewed and spending amazing times with my kids.
You've likely seen my fishing videos on Instagram with my son as well, like this one (NOTE: My son has the BEST laugh in the world).
I've found ways to do things WITH my kids rather than being super productive and sending them to day care or running to Starbucks everyday.
I am glad I chose that way and glad my wife helped me understand how fast time passes. She is right.
Here is footage of our recent morning workout together.....
[youtube width="640" height="360"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG_V05mpQa0[/youtube]
It's great to spend time together. Your kids see what you do, how you do it and they learn from your ways.
Being strong inspires them to be strong. Everything you do teaches your kids the way to be, because they don't know, it is up to you to show them how.
Eat crappy foods, gossip behind people's backs, being lazy, etc - ALL these things can teach them how to live.
Or, you can eat strong & healthy foods, take them to farmers markets to buy healthy foods, show them how to support local farmers, be kind to people, don't gossip about others, make healthy lifestyle habits and more.
This young generation has the ability to grow up weak and lost or they can grow into strong, healthy, self sufficient men and women.
The choice is up to US, as parents.
I'd love to hear your feedback / comments on helping your kids and this younger generation to grow up strong AND with great ethics.
Live The Code 365
--Z--
Being raised without a father most of my life reading something like this confirms my belief there is great fathers and men that care to show the children of the world should behave. With that said my mother showed ( still does) the strength and compassion an creativness it takes to raise a child I love her for all the sacrifices she made for me
BIG Mike, you have learned some powerful lessons from your Mother, it is evident with your dedication to the training and life success since the day I met you.
Make sure you pass those lessons on!
Great post…I find this balance (work, getting things done, training) to be the hardest to walk. The time really does go too fast: my girls are entering 4th grade and 1st grade. Thanks for the reminder to find ways to incorporate time doing work WITH them.
Wow! Love this post. It really hit home. I’m a NJ strength coach at the Peddie School. I have a 3 1/2 year old boy and were having a girl any day now. My favorite days are when my joins us for dynamic stretch and he jogs back and forth with us. He has the biggest smile and the best laugh while doing so. I love it! I can’t wait to have both my kids in the gym learning healthy habits daily. Fat parents make fat kids. We need to lead by example. Great words zach.
The earliest memory j have from my childhood was of my Dad coming home from the Korean War, I was 3 years old. He had fought in WW II before I was born.
He did his best to be there for us kids.
I treasure every minute I got to spend with him while he was alive.
Thanks Zach! A good reminder for me & all dads out there. Our little ones are sponges for information & experiences. We shape our kids with things we DO & DONT DO.
Man I love spending time with kid & does time fly so quick.
You da man!
Love this post. I always say at my house, warriors raise warriors. If you want your child to be Strong it starts with you and your choices, lead the right life and your children will likely follow.
Jason, agreed, my brotha. NO doubt.
My 7 month old daughter watches me most mornings with laughs and smiles as daddy looks silly doing his mobility routines. As soon as rumble roller comes out she crawls over and trys to join in. Time is precious with ur kid!
Nice post Z. Great reminder to do more things WITH my girls and still be productive in teaching/coaching…hard to find the balance….but the time does go TOO fast so I gotta figure it out!
Pritch – time goes too fast, brotha, don’t fear letting go of some work for more family time!
I was lucky to spend the first eight years of my boy’s lives at home with them. My little buddies! We would go for walks in the woods and listen to birds and pick up fish bones on the beach. They thought they had found dinosaur bones. I played it up and would clean and mount their findings.
Even though I was home all day with them when it came to training I did it at home. They would watch me lift and train outside. Even when it was 100 or -10 degrees. Now that they are older and I have my own gym they come with me. At times it may seem boring until I start training. They love slinging the steel. Every Sunday I travel to train with our state’s best olympic lifting coach. My 9yo is learning technique so he asked to go. Next Tuesday his olympic lifting shoes will be here. My youngest is not jealous one bit because he knows once he is 9 he gets his. A right of passage that is lost in our world.
Zach this is awesome! My wife and I do not do a lot without our boys. Often playing with the boys rather than sitting with the adults because they will soon not need us around all the time. They may even want us to leave the house. We have to make the most of our time NOW!
Happy 4th!
Powerful message. I also had an awesome opportunity to spend every day with my 2 kids. I am a college wrestling coach so I raised my kids at my school in the gym and wrestling room. Summer time is the best for me because my kids are out of school and my wrestlers are home for the summer so its me and my kids every day.
Zack , I am so glad you said all those things. The true knowledge and teachings starts at home . Unfortunately for me I had an absent parent and another that only cared about them self and not the children they were supposed to raise. I had to learn everything entirely on my own . It’s been a hard journey that I still fight everyday to become a better Mike, because I know in the end I’ll become the man I want to be while achieving my goals.
Zack your site is great it inspires me and I must say finding this site online has helped me out tremendously . It’s more than just lifting weights it’s about leading from the front like you say in your blog post.
Have a great 4th of July . Thank you.