The Only 5 Fit-fluencers Dads Need To Follow

The internet, as we know, is full of charlatans, snake-oil salesmen and catfishermen. 

So where does a time-poor Dad go in search of smart, sensible training advice?

Instagram is amongst the best & worst of this new digital age. It’s an absolute rabbit-hole of information, mis-information and pictures of scantily-clad chartreuses. Or maybe that’s just my feed…

Well, lurking, like a diamonds in the rough, in this den of digital iniquity are a few value-providers, knocking out free info for the likes of you and I.

And luckily for you, I’ve spent the hours digging around, watching the memes, ogling the buff bodies, so that you don’t have to.

So without any further or unnecessary ado, here are My Top 5 Fit-fluencers for Dads.

1. Mark ‘Smelly’ Bell – @marksmellybell

Mark Bell or ‘Smelly’ as he’s affectionately known is a reformed hardcore powerlifter (and much more besides) and now invitation-only gym owner (Super Power Gym) and weight-lifting inventor. 

Aside from his entrepreneurial chops, for as long as I’ve been following him (around 3 or 4 years), he’s been re-modelling his entire body and life, shedding hundreds of pounds to go from lumbering iron-tossing giant to jacked movement athlete.

Central to his remarkable transformation has been his adoption of daily 10 minute walks and his complete focus on a diet based around protein & fat only, which works on the principle that good fat is better than carbs and protein gives the ultimate satiety.

2. Jason Khalipia @jasonkhalipa

Jason Khalipa won the CrossFit Games and the unofficial title of ‘World’s Fittest Man’ in 2009.

He runs a CrossFit gym (or ‘box’) or several of them. And coaches gym owners to be more successful.

His Instagram feed mostly features daily workouts either from his gym or that he does after BJJ training or just in his own time. They are: short (15 minutes or less), mostly using little-to-no equipment (sometimes he tosses in dumbbells, a barbell or a cardio machine), and incredibly simple.

Oh, and they tend to do a pretty good number on you, too.

3. Kevin Torres – Dadbod WOD @dadbodwod

Maybe it’s all the ‘dadbod’ hashtags knocking about my Instagram feed but ‘Dadbod WOD’ turned up on the search page and I was instantly attracted by both the concept and the simplicity of the workouts.

Similar in spirit to Jason Khalipa above, these workouts feature nothing but a pair of dumbbells, an urban brick background and a regular (but very fit) person, Kevin Torres, doing couplet (two exercises super-setted) or triplet (three exercises) workouts for 10-15 minutes.

A guy after my own heart. In fact, his style of training is very similar to the workouts outlined here: https://superfitdad.com.au/11-dumbbell-workouts/

Find more ‘Dadbod WODs’ here: https://www.forgingelitefathers.com/

4. David Sinclair – @davidsinclairphd

David Sinclair is an Australian Harvard professor (I know, right), who happens to be one of the world’s leading experts on age-ing (or rather, anti-ageing) and longevity.

His instagram is a veritable treasure-trove of the surfaced tips, hacks and recommendations from his research.

In common, with Smelly Bell above, he preaches for the layman with his core recommendations being common-sense based and easily-digestible. 

Being a scientist, he also goes deeper for those whose brains can handle it.

He also looks ridiculously young for his age, which suggests, at least, he knows his onions. Or that he knows that everything on Instagram must be true.

5. Dr Andy Galpin – @drandygalpin

I first heard Andy Galpin on neuroscience behemoth Andrew Huberman’s ‘Huberman Lab’ podcast, breaking down strength training into such simple, straight-forward nuggets that I immediately sent it to five friends who are newer to the game than I am.

Since then, his Instagram has become an essential tool for learning and also cutting through much of the noise surrounding strength and fitness.

He’s a professor, scientist and PhD and seems focused purely on truth and dispelling myths, as opposed to hype and hubris.

Summary

So there we have it. My (current) Top 5 Fit-fluencers for Dads.

There are probably a few others I could mention but these guys offer the best bang-for-buck in my opinion. All preach simplicity and free thinking, although there are obviously levels to this stuff once the PhDs enter the room (or lab).

That’s usually my cue to leave. Or stick around and enjoy being the dumbest person in the room.

[Note: as always, this is not exercise advice. Please ensure you are fit & ready or have medical sign-off to try any of these workouts on any of these sites.]

Stay strong,

SFD