This week's topic: Don't replace tried and true exercises that are proven to work best with exercises that only provide novelty instead of results.

The Friday Reflex is a roughly 10- to 15-minute episode each Friday of my thoughts on a particular idea or issue that's been on my mind lately. It's short but — I hope — powerful.

If you want to follow along with my daily workouts, check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

If you want to catch the live or recorded video, check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fitdadfitnesspage or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fitdadfitness.

It's another powerful and emotional episode of the Fit Dad Fitness Podcast this week, as I welcome Mark Turnipseed (https://www.instagram.com/markaturnipseed/) to the show.

Mark runs the health company Integrity Endurance through his Trials to Triathlon blog (https://www.trialstotriathlon.com/), where he details his journey to sobriety and his fight to overcome addictions to drugs and alcohol. A father of two, Mark has found competing in triathlons and using his experiences to inspire and give back to kids who face the same struggles he faced in dealing with addictions stemming from childhood trauma.

This is one incredibly vulnerable and moving interview that you'll want to listen the entire way through.

Please, if this episode connects with you in any way, I would greatly appreciate it if you shared it on social media and also left a rating and review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts.

This week's topic: Studies show that using heat therapy like a sauna post-workout can lead to increased muscle growth and endurance.

The Friday Reflex is a roughly 10- to 15-minute episode each Friday of my thoughts on a particular idea or issue that's been on my mind lately. It's short but — I hope — powerful.

If you want to follow along with my daily workouts, check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

If you want to catch the live or recorded video, check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fitdadfitnesspage or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fitdadfitness.

In this week's solo episode of the Fit Dad Fitness Podcast, I outline how true, life-changing, long-lasting motivation to get fit and healthy comes when you set aside shame and instead become convicted by your situation.

Here’s the podcast episode that I reference in this episode, from Pastor John Leach: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/built-for-purpose-week-3-pastor-john-leach/id175872678?i=1000428322429 

If you like this episode, please share it on social media and tag me. Let me know what you thought of the message and the idea. And don't forget to leave those ratings and reviews on Apple Podcasts!

Check out barbellapparel.com/fitdadfitness and use the code MASH15 at checkout for 15% off your order.

Be sure to check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

This week's topic: I got asked this week on another podcast what I thought was the No. 1 exercise men should be doing, regardless of whether or not they have access to a gym or not. I dive deep into the answer on this episode of the Friday Reflex.

The Friday Reflex is a roughly 10- to 15-minute episode each Friday of my thoughts on a particular idea or issue that's been on my mind lately. It's short but — I hope — powerful.

If you want to follow along with my daily workouts, check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

If you want to catch the live or recorded video, check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fitdadfitnesspage or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fitdadfitness.

My guest this week, Erik Bartell, is a husband and new dad, as well as a combat veteran, a personal trainer at one of New York City's most elite gyms, and the Executive Director of a non-profit.

Erik's outlook on facing challenges and discomfort head on stem from his upbringing in which he was raised by a single mother in Chicago as they dealt with poverty and homelessness.

He used that situation as motivation to eventually go on to college, then the military, to where he is now as the Executive Director of the Fit Ops Foundation (https://fitops.org/), an organization dedicated to helping veterans establish a life post-military as fitness professionals.

Buckle up, because Erik brings so much truth and perspective in this episode. Give him a follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/erik.bartell/.

Be sure to check out this week's spotlight partner of the Fit Dad Fitness Podcast, Lambs, which makes underwear and other clothing accessories for men made from fabric designed to block EMF and radiation to protect your "boys." You can get 15% off your order when you use the code "FITDAD" at https://getlambs.com/.

Thanks for listening to the Fit Dad Fitness Podcast. Please share this episode on social media, and if you want to go a step further, leave a review and rating on Apple Podcasts. For all things Fit Dad Fitness, go to FitDadFitness.com.

This week's topic: Answering a question from Twitter — Do I need to lean out first or work on building muscle first for the best size and muscle results in the end? 

Here is the blog post I referenced in this episode: https://www.fitdadfitness.com/blog/2018/9/24/im-killing-myself-with-cardio-and-diet-why-am-i-not-losing-weight?rq=cardio

The Friday Reflex is a roughly 10- to 15-minute episode each Friday of my thoughts on a particular idea or issue that's been on my mind lately. It's short but — I hope — powerful.

If you want to follow along with my daily workouts, check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

If you want to catch the live or recorded video, check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fitdadfitnesspage or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fitdadfitness.

Not much to say about this week's episode other than this: I have spent nearly two years pouring my heart into writing my book, The Involved Man, and on today's episode, I want to give you a preview of what I've come up with.

Today's episode is a reading of the Introduction and Chapter 1 of The Involved Man.

I would be forever grateful if you shared your thoughts about today's episode with me. Email me at [email protected]. Have a great week!

This week's topic: Parenting is more about working through your own issues than directly teaching your children how to handle theirs. 

The Friday Reflex is a roughly 10- to 15-minute episode each Friday of my thoughts on a particular idea or issue that's been on my mind lately. It's short but — I hope — powerful.

If you want to follow along with my daily workouts, check out The Daily Fit Dad, my membership site where you can get access to all of my own personal daily workouts for just $5 a month. Go to https://www.fitdadfitness.com/dailyfitdad to learn more and sign up!

If you want to catch the live or recorded video, check it out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fitdadfitnesspage or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fitdadfitness.

Donald Gross was living like the majority of American men in early 2018.

Fast food was a staple of his diet. Sugary drinks — in particular sweet tea — were his go-to. He rarely exercised, but he also didn't think much about it. He went about his life not realizing the effects his habits were having on his body, even when he eventually weighed over 200 pounds despite just being 5 foot, 8 inches tall.

It wasn't until his yearly physical with his doctor that a simple moment at the end of his check-up snapped him into reality.

After that visit with his doctor, Donald set about changing his lifestyle. But he didn't do it in drastic ways. No overly restrictive diets. No shred workout plans. Just simple daily changes to replace unhealthy habits with healthier ones.

And this father of three eventually transformed himself so dramatically that Men's Health magazine came calling in early 2019 to feature his transformation (read it here: https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/a25750546/man-weight-loss-transformation-9-months/).

On this episode, Donald and I go back and discuss how he overcame years of bad habits and set himself and his family on a path to health.

For all things Fit Dad Fitness, go to www.FitDadFitness.com. Please share this episode, and if you feel up for it, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to let others know what you think of the show.