\u2018I\u2019m a 40-year-old with two kids and two businesses,\u2019 he says. \u2018I\u2019m working my arse off, and so is my wife. I\u2019m not an influencer who has a three-hour morning routine and swans around for the rest of the day saying, \u201cWe all have the same 24 hours.\u201d I live in the real world. I get it.\u2019<\/p>\n
His approach is built for men occupying that same real world: men with jobs, families and responsibilities who want to become stronger and fitter, but don\u2019t have unlimited time or a purpose-built all singing, all dancing gym at the bottom of the garden.<\/p>\n
The good news? Adhering to Glen’s simple principles doesn’t require either. Here are the rules he recommends.<\/p>\n
Glen’s 7 Training Principles for Busy Dads1. Stop Trying to Optimise Everything<\/p>\n
According to Glen, one of the biggest obstacles busy men face is the search for the \u2018perfect\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n
\u2018I think the optimisation bros are ruining it for everyone,\u2019 he says. \u2018They\u2019re making it feel like success is so far away \u2013 that I have to have an AI mattress and a tracker on my wrist and everything at the right temperature.\u2019<\/p>\n
His alternative is far less complicated: \u2018Just get it done. Done is better than perfect.\u2019<\/p>\n
That means just doing your best to sleep for seven hours as consistently as you can without agonising over temperature data; training regularly without waiting for the perfect time of day and choosing an approach you can sustain day-to-day rather than one that looks optimal on paper.<\/p>\n
Sustainable beats optimal when optimal isn\u2019t sustainable.<\/p>\n
2. Begin with What You Enjoy<\/p>\n
When a new client comes to Glen, his first question isn\u2019t about their one-rep max, resting heart rate or preferred training split. It\u2019s simply: what do you enjoy?<\/p>\n
\u2018If we can build it off something you enjoy, you\u2019re never going to need motivation to do it,\u2019 he says. \u2018You\u2019re just going to look forward to doing it.\u2019<\/p>\n
If you hate running<\/a>, don\u2019t run. Walk instead. If you love cycling, place more emphasis on cycling. If kettlebells leave you cold but you enjoy using a barbell<\/a>, build your training around the barbell.<\/p>\n \u2018Find the thing you enjoy,\u2019 says Glen. \u2018Then the motivation comes from watching progress happen, which will be an inevitability of consistency.\u2019<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean every second of every workout needs to be joyous. Training should still challenge you. But if the entire process feels like a punishment, your chances of doing it consistently are slim.<\/p>\n Glen’s message is simple: don’t rob yourself of the opportunity to find the version of fitness that (at least most of the time) is fun.<\/p>\n 3. Make Every Piece of Kit Earn Its Space<\/p>\n Home training<\/a> doesn\u2019t have to mean owning a \u2018home gym\u2019. Glen trained in his living room for years. I’m Men’s Health’s Fitness Director and my own gym used to consist of a collection of sandbags and kettlebells stored in the back of a van.<\/p>\n You don’t need a lot, but everything has to have a purpose.<\/p>\n \u2018The rule for me is that everything has to earn its space twice,\u2019 says Glen. \u2018You can\u2019t have single-use equipment. It must be able to do multiple things or train multiple muscle groups.\u2019<\/p>\n When floor space is at a premium, a huge machine designed for a single exercise makes very little sense. Glen instead recommends versatile tools such as kettlebells<\/a>, sandbags and maces, alongside a pull-up bar.<\/p>\n \u2018With a chin-up bar<\/a> and a kettlebell, you can do every single thing in your body,\u2019 he says. \u2018With one kettlebell, you can train your entire body for years without really running into any big problems.\u2019<\/p>\n Even when a fixed weight begins to feel light, you can manipulate your rest periods, increase time under tension<\/a> or use exercises that place you at a mechanical disadvantage before buying anything heavier.<\/p>\n If your budget stretches to it, Glen recommends adjustable equipment. One well-made adjustable kettlebell<\/a> can take you from light warm-up drills to genuinely challenging strength work without swallowing up the entire spare room.<\/p>\n BowFlex Bowflex SelectTech 840 Adjustable Kettlebell For busy dads, Glen recommends four full-body sessions<\/a> each week. Three of those sessions can last just 20 minutes, with the fourth being a longer workout performed when family life allows.<\/p>\n \u2018Four days a week is the majority,\u2019 he explains. \u2018You still have three days off, but it switches your mindset when it comes to your sleep patterns, your eating patterns and your training patterns.\u2019<\/p>\n Why four? Because it’s over half the week. It means you’re engaged in some form of exercise ‘more often than not’.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no need to cram six exercises into each of those shorter sessions, either. Glen prefers to choose just one or two big, high-return movements and perform them well.<\/p>\n \u2018The workout might be one sandbag, and my job is to pick it up off the floor and squat it once every 30 seconds for 20 minutes,\u2019 he says. \u2018Or it might be a kettlebell squat on minute one and a press on minute two, alternated for 20 minutes.\u2019<\/p>\n The exact movements can change, but the framework remains the same: big exercises, minimal kit and a hard stop at 20 minutes.<\/p>\n \u2018At the end of 20 minutes, you\u2019ve had a ferociously good workout,\u2019 he says. \u2018It\u2019s taken almost no time, almost no space and almost no equipment. If you do that four times a week, I guarantee you get stronger.\u2019<\/p>\n 5. Programme Time to Play<\/p>\n Despite his stripped-back approach, Glen doesn\u2019t believe every minute of training has to be ruthlessly productive. In fact, he encourages clients to programme \u2018playtime\u2019 into their sessions.<\/p>\n That might mean learning to swing a mace, practising juggling between strength sets or experimenting with an unfamiliar movement.<\/p>\n \u2018You have this opportunity to explore a new movement pattern or a new implement,\u2019 he says. \u2018There\u2019s joy in that because your brain goes, \u201cNew thing, new thing.\u201d You get those good feelings, but you can still train hard as well. It hasn\u2019t just felt like a slog.\u2019<\/p>\n Giving play a defined time limit (Glen recommends around 10 minutes) means it doesn\u2019t feel like a distraction from your \u2018real\u2019 workout. Glen often places it at the beginning of a session, allowing it to double as a warm-up.<\/p>\n \u2018Before a big pressing day, open up your shoulders with a mace, play around with a flow rope or do a bit of juggling,\u2019 he says. \u2018It replaces your warm-up and teaches you something.\u2019<\/p>\n Ten minutes may not sound like much, but repeated several times each week, it quickly adds up.<\/p>\n \u2018Three months after starting that practice, you have a new skill,\u2019 Glen says. \u2018If you do it for ten minutes, two to four times a week, you\u2019re going to become proficient with that new training tool.\u2019<\/p>\n 6. Build a Body That Can Do More<\/p>\n This playful approach also feeds into Glen\u2019s broader belief that training should prepare you for life outside the gym.<\/p>\n He is a particular advocate of sandbags<\/a>, clubs and maces because they develop qualities often neglected by conventional strength training, including rotation, throwing, balance and the ability to produce force from awkward positions.<\/p>\n \u2018I wish I\u2019d started using sandbags earlier,\u2019 he says. \u2018Every rep is a wrestle. It requires you to balance through your feet and engage all the way to your fingertips. There\u2019s no part of the body that isn\u2019t involved.\u2019<\/p>\n Sandbags can be carried slowly, lifted heavily or thrown explosively. More importantly, they refuse to follow a perfectly fixed path. You\u2019re forced to adjust, brace and remain strong in positions that traditional gym exercises may allow you to avoid.<\/p>\n \u2018I think sandbags make a functional human,\u2019 says Glen. \u2018It\u2019s not just about show muscles. They allow you to be strong and move well, and that\u2019s a massive unlock for every stage of your life.\u2019<\/p>\n The goal isn\u2019t simply to look like somebody who trains. It\u2019s to become the dad who can run around the playground, carry awkward objects and throw himself into life rather than watching it all from the sidelines.<\/p>\n 7. Make Fitness a Family Affair<\/p>\n Finally, Glen believes that getting fit as a busy parent requires some cooperation at home.<\/p>\n \u2018Fitness is a family affair,\u2019 he says. \u2018That doesn\u2019t mean everyone has to be your cheerleader. It means somebody needs to help facilitate it happening.\u2019<\/p>\n During the week, that may mean finding space for a handful of 20-minute workouts. At the weekend, Glen and his wife take turns creating time for one another to train for longer.<\/p>\n He also involves his children whenever possible. Home training gives them a chance to see exercise as a normal part of adult life rather than something their parents merely tell them they should be doing.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s monkey see, monkey do,\u2019 Glen says. \u2018Not \u201cdo as I tell you\u201d, but \u201cdo as I do\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n And that, ultimately, is the framework: find something you enjoy, keep the equipment and workouts simple, train more often than you don\u2019t, and make the whole thing work within your life. Not the imaginary life where every day begins at 5am with breathwork and a cold plunge. The one you\u2019re already living.<\/p>\n Try Glen’s Go-To Full-Body Workout<\/p>\n Want to put Glen\u2019s framework into practice? This full body sandbag circuit delivers a full-body workout in just under 20 minutes, using a single sandbag and a pull-up bar \u2013 although the latter can be replaced with a side plank.<\/p>\n \u2018It take almost no time, almost no space and almost no equipment,\u2019 says Glen. \u2018If you do that four times a week, I guarantee you get stronger.\u2019<\/p>\n The Workout<\/p>\n Warm-up thoroughly and then complete the following: <\/p>\n Work through the following five exercises, performing each for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest. Complete three rounds in total, for 15 minutes of work.<\/p>\n A. Sandbag to shoulder x 40 secondsB. Sandbag burpee x 40 secondsC. Sandbag squat x 40 secondsD. Sandbag ground-to-overhead x 40 secondsE. Sandbag seated knee tuck x 40 seconds<\/p>\n Choose a sandbag weight that allows you to keep moving with good form throughout each 40-second interval. You should be working hard, but this isn\u2019t the time to grind out increasingly ugly reps. Pace the first round, push harder during the second and empty the tank on your final pass.<\/p>\n The Finisher<\/p>\n Finish with one of the following:<\/p>\n One-minute dead hang from a pull-up bar; orA 30-second side plank on each side<\/p>\n Immediately follow this with a one-minute plank.<\/p>\n A few minutes of mobility, 15 minutes of full-body sandbag work and two minutes of trunk and grip training. One bag, less than 20 minutes and no commute required.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.<\/p>\n Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? CLICK HERE<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app.<\/p>\n![\"Bowflex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789637928-1769533298-bowflex-adjustable-kettlebell-68efa1550757f.jpg\" "\\"Bowflex")
<\/a>BowFlex Bowflex SelectTech 840 Adjustable Kettlebell4. Keep Your Workouts Short and Full-Body<\/p>\n![\"kori](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789692257_720_a0458edc-7621-4ee9-b810-f61ea8e958c2.jpg\" "\\"kori")