The Dad Strength Podcast

Mattie Leon is a singer/songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario. In the wholesome episode to date, Leon describes the transition from touring musician to fatherhood and why a good story doesn't always need a dramatic arc. Here, we learn about his (great) relationship with his dad and how a song that makes grown men cry became the seed of this episode.

You can listen to more music at https://www.mattieleon.com or follow Mattie Leon on Instagram @mattieleonmusic

Father's Wedding Speech performed by Mattie Leon; written by Mattie Leon, Michael Leon, and Nelson Sobral; produced by Mark Howard; used with permission from Castlemore Records

Title music by Daniel Ross, additional music by Jeremy Glenn. Edited by Jeremy Glenn

Alex Manley is published poet and journalist, a senior editor at AskMen, and the author of The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for a 21st-Century Definition of Manhood

In this episode, Manley's helps us question and deconstruct outdated rules for masculinity and build—in their place—opportunities for a more modern vision of what it is to be a man. Manley's view—informed by their position at AskMen—speaks directly to the gaps we're currently feeling and offers, in their place, a considered and thoughtful view. If you are a parent to young men, you will want to hear this one.

Website
Instagram
Facebook

Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford and Jeremy Glenn
Edited by Jeremy Glenn 

Jeremy Frisch is a father of three and the owner and director of Achieve Performance Training in Clinton, Massachusetts. Here, he focuses on youth athletic development, physical education, and physical literacy.

If you parent or coach young athletes, you’re going to want to listen to this one. Frisch shares some important insights on how to get the most out of kids through creative problem solving and play. Please listen and share this with anyone who wants their kids to enjoy a positive experience with movement, exercise, or sport.

Links

Article: 15 Things to Remember If You Love Your Child-Athlete

Achieve Performance Training

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

In this episode, Geoff Girvitz shares two methods for focus that helped him work with—instead of against—ADHD. Here, you’ll learn about the art of pre-loading, where you can more precisely harness whatever levels of motivation you have in order to set yourself up for success. Geoff also shares tools for working with internal cues—”the calls coming from inside the house” so that you can be more tuned into to your body’s needs AND use those signals to create reliable habits.

The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production

Title music by Daniel Ross
Additional music by Mike Ford

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Carol George about attachment styles.

Dr. George is a professor of psychology and has an incredible body of work including the Adult Attachment Style interview. She teaches courses in development and attachment, co-directs a master’s-degree program in infant mental health, and she trains and consults on how researchers and clinicians use the attachment assessment.

Links

The Adult Attachment Projective

Parenting Inside Out

Circle of Security parenting classes

The Willow Centre

Dr. George has has graciously offered to answer emails. Please contact [email protected] for her details

“The care of the self is a practice of freedom." 

—Michel Foucault 

We’re back for some thoughts on self-care for men—and dads in particular. We talk about why men aren’t stock cars—and how differences in our own lives can inform how we interface with the world. 

We also discuss why the first act of real self-care is just using or appreciating what you’ve got.

Jump into conversations with other dads—for free by visiting dadstrength.com

Dom Matteo is a “coach of coaches” as a Coaching Masterclass instructor for Precision Nutrition. He is a father of two who has also applied his deep knowledge of nutrition and strength training to a 20 year competitive rugby career. In this episode, we discuss parenting a child with OCD, tips on being a master coach, and the unsexy reality of athletic development.

Links
LinkedIn

An incredible display of grit

Dom’s physical transformation

Coaching Masterclass program

Coaching with Dom

Pain is complex, often frustrating, and often hard to pin down with pure biomechanics. Greg Lehman is a “movement optimist” who takes a broader view of research and practice to help clients. He has also taught his course, Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain Science, over 100 times and in more than 40 countries. He has also published over 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers on manual therapy and exercise biomechanics. In his spare time, he skateboards and works on sticking his backflip.

In this interview, we discuss pain science, what we know—and don’t know—about pain and injuries and how to age semi-gracefully.

Links

Website

Course: Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain

Instagram

Monitoring the athlete training response

Polarized training for endurance athletes

The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production

Title music by Daniel Ross

Additional music by Mike Ford

Motivation is a funny thing. We are forever finding ways to inspire and rev ourselves up. But what happens when you let go of those strategies? What are you left with? And is it truly less motivation? Or does another framework emerge? I dig into this question as I share my thoughts on a month of NOT motivating myself. 

The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network production

Title music by Daniel Ross

Additional music by Mike Ford

Rich Thaw is a Montreal-based strength and conditioning coach—and father of one. We riff on coaching and parenting. Rich also shares some programming tips for building athleticism at any age.

Links

Rich Thaw Instagram

Empowr Instagram

Website

Exercise library

Do Hard Things

Rich’s Choose Your Own Adventure Protocol

Choose 1 of each:

Cardio: 500 meter row; 250 meter ski erg; 400 meter run; 100 feet on Jacob’s Ladder

Lower body: 20 squats; 10 walking lunges (per leg); 20 deadlifts

Upper body: 15 push-press; 20 push-ups; 3-5 pull-ups; 10 dumbbells rows (per side)

Perform 3 sets for time.

Week 1: Take your time (but hurry up)

Week 2: Beat last week’s time at all costs

Week 3: Beat last week’s time at all costs OR battle someone else on their combo

The Dad Strength Podcast is an Unlearning Network Production

Title music by Daniel Ross