> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://savepointdad.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Dad Fitness: Where the Hell Is the Time Supposed to Come From? - URL: https://savepointdad.com/dad-fitness-where-the-hell-is-the-time-supposed-to-come-from/ - Published: 2026-09-10T13:45:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-10T13:45:11.000Z - Description: Working out as a dad isn’t really about finding time. It’s figuring out whose time you’re taking and why doing something healthy can somehow make you feel selfish. - Author: SavePoint Dad - Tags: Fitness Before kids, deciding to work out was pretty straight forward. “I should probably work out” and that was it. There wasn't a shared calendar to check and I didn't need to check to see if my small but loud as hell human had ballet, a birthday party, or some mysterious school event I apparently should have known about for three weeks. I feel dumb thinking I used to say I was “too busy” because apparently, I had no fucking idea what that phrase meant. Working out as a dad is completely different because finding time to exercise as a parent isn't really about finding an empty hour hidden somewhere in your schedule. It's figuring out whose hour you're taking. **Every Workout Takes Time from Something Else** Technically, there are a shitload of hours in the week when you can exercise, which is why people love saying everyone has the same 24 hours. That is technically correct but annoying as hell. Once you have kids, most of your day already belongs to someone or something else. Work gets a giant piece, your kids get a giant piece, your marriage deserves a piece, household shit gets another piece, and somewhere toward the bottom of the list you need to fit in working out and also your own free time. You can work out early, but you're taking time from sleep. You can exercise after work, but you're taking family time. You can wait until the kids go to bed, except that's also when you might finally sit next to your wife and have a conversation without being rudely interrupted by those damn kids. **Why Dad Fitness Comes With So Much Damn Guilt** Exercise is objectively good for us, but it can feel selfish after having kids. I want to stay strong enough to pick up my kids, throw them at the wall when needed, and be fit enough that playing with them doesn’t mean laying on the couch while they run around. I want them to see exercise as a normal part of life rather than a punishment which honestly, I still see it as. This is especially brutal when you’re a new dad. That is when I felt most guilty. Your wife hasn't slept, you're exhausted, the baby apparently operates on a schedule that makes no damn sense, and now you're going to leave the house to work on your abs lol. Even saying it out loud sounds terrible. **I Need Clearance** There are days when scheduling a workout feels like I'm requesting authorization for a military strike. Before mentioning it, I mentally review the day: what's happening after work, what time we're eating, or whether my wife mentioned something yesterday that I ignored because I was thinking about video games. “Hey, I was thinking about working out later. Is that okay?” “Why are you asking me like that?” “I just need clearance.” “Clearance from who?” “You. You're Field Operations.” The funny part is my wife doesn’t give me shit about working out (most of the time). The pressure is internal because I know that my choices affect her. **Stop Waiting for the Perfect Workout** I wrote before about why the [fitness industry wasn't designed for parents](https://savepointdad.com/the-fitness-industry-wasnt-designed-for-parents/), and one of the biggest problems is how much fitness advice assumes our biggest and only problem is laziness. Just wake up earlier, then meal prep, then an hour cardio, then lift weights, but don’t forget to sleep eight hours. I literally have never slept eight hours in my life. One of the biggest changes I've had to make is accepting that the workout I squeeze in is better than not doing any at all. A workout doesn't need to be 90 minutes. Thirty or hell even 15 minutes is enough. You know you have told yourself since you can’t complete a full one, you might as well skip it. The mistake is building your fitness plan around your imaginary perfect schedule instead of your real one. Imaginary me sleeps eight hours, never gets sick, never has last minute meetings, and apparently lives with children who calmly follow schedules. That shit is not realistic. **The 5 AM Club Is Not the Only Answer** I love working out early, but I hate the way early workouts get presented as the morally superior answer to finding time to exercise with kids. Congratulations on having kids who stay asleep. Some of us live with tiny people who can sense the exact moment we're enjoying silence and immediately appear in the hallway asking what we're doing. The best time for dads to exercise is whatever time we can fit it in. Maybe that's before everyone wakes up, during lunch, right after work, or after bedtime. For me, the answer changes depending on the day. Side note, I once read a book called the 5 AM Club. It’s a story about how much people’s lives improved once they started waking up at 5 AM. They got fit, found love, their house was clean, etc. It is quite literally the dumbest thing I have ever read in my life. Avoid it at all costs. **Your Kids Need You, But You Still Need You** I don't want my kids growing up believing being a grownup means abandoning every hobby or part of yourself that existed before becoming a parent. I want them to see me exercise, spend time with them, love their mom, occasionally do things for myself, and constantly fuck up the balance between all of those things. Because that's probably the real answer to how parents balance fitness and family: you don't lol. The goal isn't to become the dad who never misses a workout. It's also not to become the dad who sacrifices everything about himself and quietly resents everyone for it. Somewhere between those two extremes is just a good simple dad. Maybe you lift two days instead of five, run around the neighborhood instead of driving to the gym, or even skip the workout because your kid wants you. The hardest part of working out as a dad was never finding thirty minutes. It's knowing you're allowed to use thirty minutes on yourself. Thanks for reading SavePointDad. If this one felt familiar, subscribe so you don't miss the next post, and follow SavePointDad on social for more dad life, fitness, gaming, and whatever other shit I'm trying to figure out as I go.