https://deanmcmenamin.co.uk/dad-bod-debrief-v2/

Dean McMenamin Fitness, 18 Gordon Avenue, Glasgow (2026)

15/04/2026

"Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of the change"

I don't know who said that but it's something I keep seeing to be true over and over - lot's of the guys who come to work with me to get in better shape are in a position where they've had enough of listening to their own BS about not having time or life being too busy.

You can tell yourself these things up until a point.

And it's probably true - you are busy.

I get it. We're all busy.

But once you reach stage where you just won't tolerate what's looking back in the mirror, feeling uncomfortable in your clothes or your own skin, or your physical ability starting to limit keeping up with the kids or whatever...

That's when you start to MAKE TIME and stop waiting for 'life to calm down.'

It never does calm down.

We have the life we are willing to put up.

14/04/2026

Was out trail running with my mate Paul of PK Fitness on Saturday morning.

He's currently at peak training for the Edinburgh marathon.

And before this, I was only back up to around 1hr 10 mins and 12k of running since my bad knee injury in July last year (it's been a long road back).

Paul had actually been out earlier getting 5k in before I joined him, as he needed a lot more than me.

Even still, the early pace was a bit much for me and I had to tell him to calm it down a bit.

But it was a good change having him there to push me out my comfort zone.

There's some huge steep hills on this route that I always spend time on.

Flipflopping between running/fast hiking up hills.

And then some backwards uphill running too.

Because it's great for building your legs and that backwards action is good for the knees (especially if you ever get sore knees hiking downhills etc, usually the patella tendons just need to be stronger).

And not to mention how the hills hit those higher heart rates, and what that does for your overall fitness and physique.

Anyway, usually when I finish some of those hill reps I walk it out to recover for a minute or two.

But because Paul was there?

I kept a shuffle of a slow jog going, even though we were both breathing out our arses.

No high pace.

Just a slow jog that let us recover before we upped the gear again.

Which is harder, mentally, than just walking it out - which is exactly what I'd of done if I was doing my usual solo run.

So I'm quite proud of that effort.

And it's a good reminder that you can always do better.

No matter what you know, or what your experience is.

And it often takes having the right people around you, to push you outside your comfort zone and find that 1-2% extra you didn't realise you had in you.

I also believe principle can bleed into your everyday choices and week to week efforts too.

For example:

Yesterday, and every Monday, the guys on my Rebirth program and Inner Circle all post in the WhatsApp group, sharing their f**k ups and wins from the previous week, plus their workout and food habit targets for the week ahead.

When you see that kind of thing every Monday?

It makes you think about what you're doing.

Whether you need to pull your finger out.

Where, and how you can show up better for yourself.

So it bleeds into all your decision making.

And this, the kind of shape you get yourself into.

That's the lesson today - how can you get more people around you who will make you want to do better?

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check in with all the lads on the program today.

Dean

PS - We ended up racking up 15k and around 1hr 40 mins of running, considering all the big hill reps, it was a tough 15k.

In the last few K, Paul still had better pace in him than me, and he had to slow down a bit for me again, even though he'd already done 5k prior - mega impressive! But I'm not surprised, he's followed a proper progressive training plan for his marathon, and your body does amazing things with the right process.

PPS - Want to know how I help guys over 35 build a leaner stronger bodies? Get the free daily debrief emails at the link in my page bio.

14/04/2026

Those little dumbbells you have lying about are not heavy enough.

I get a lot of emails about building workouts around an old pair of 5kgs or 7.5kg dumbbells someone has kicking about the house.

And I'll never dismiss the intent to get fitter and stronger - this is awesome, but the tiny weights aren't.

After 30 your body starts losing strength and muscle every year. After 40 the pace of the fall off is greater, and even greater for your levels of power, and the loss of your bone density too.

After 50 you lose it all even faster.

That stiff back you get from picking stuff off the floor otle getting out of the car...

Those 'bad knees' that started creaking since turning 45?

It's not age. It's been accumulating for the past 5-10 years through a gradual decline in use.

But some people don't struggle with any of this, even in their 50s and 60s.

There are plenty of guys in their 50s out performing guys in their mid 30s, because they are way more physically active, and one part of that is some dedicated heavy strength training.

Your bones and muscles need to feel the sort of strain you get from moving something heavy.

Don't get me wrong, there's loads of benefits to training muscle endurance in the 25+ rep ranges. But the heavy work needs to be in there too.

Buy yourself the gift of heavy weight, whether it's dumbbells, kettlebells, whatever... It's an investment that pays back the ultimate dividends.

Or join a gym where you have access to all you need.

Your quality of life will thank you for it.

Dean.

13/04/2026

Whether you train at the gym or home the principles are the same.

Also, if you don't train at home at all I think you miss a huge opportunity to normalise fitness for your kids.

Anyway, if training at home with minimal kit, this is how I'd do it.

13/04/2026

A good message from the Jedi Simon Gwilliam as always.

12/04/2026

Working backwards against resistance = pain free knees.

Backwards sled dragging is the ultimate for building knees that can tolerate lots of activity, but it's not exactly convenient. If you do a bit of frequent running then every hill you come across is an opportunity to build stronger knees by running/walking up backwards.

This sterethens the patella tendons, building up tolerance to resistance. So if your knees struggle coming down hills on hikes? Or get annoyed on forward lungers or regular squats? These can help you change that.

I do this on most runs. Whether small hills or big hills. 5 minutes or 20 minutes. 1 set or 4 sets. It's time well spent. And your quads will know all about it too 🔥

Good running with big Paul 🤝

11/04/2026

Great to push the distance and pace today on the trails with my big mate Paul who I had to tell to slow down a few times - he's currently at peak training for the Edinburgh marathon and I'm at peak f**k all 😆

Loads of big long hill reps on this one too 🦵 🔥

08/04/2026

R.I.P Rob Orlando - Met him once when he came over to the UK running his Crossfit Strongman Seminars over a decade ago. One of the best weekends of training and learning about lifting heavy stuff I've taken part in.

07/04/2026

Beside industrialised food, two things that correlate in the rise of people getting fatter and sicker are:

1) Less sleep.

2) Chronic stress.

A stressed and sleep deprived brain makes you crave and drives you to eat more, whilst simultaneously making you want to conserve energy (by feeling demotivated, moving less, and avoiding physical exercise).

As long as you're depriving yourself of critical sleep and grinding through life you are always gonna be working against this.

My advice?

Set yourself some boundaries around screen time in the evenings.

I'm not saying don't ever watch the telly or have movie nights with the family.

Just don't be a f***y - quit doom scrolling. And stick to a sensible bedtime routine.

Or don't.

It's up to you, really.

Have a good un'.

Dean

06/04/2026

Very nearly abandoned my new year habit of hitting the local gym this year.

After some hectic work tasks and then a wee long weekend break away in the Highlands, I hadn't been for a couple of weeks (and it's only a 7 minute drive).

Of course I've still been training in the Batcave (garage gym) but that's my comfortable routine.

After that couple of weeks out from the gym, you get really good at talking yourself out of going back. And this is the same with any new habits or routine you're trying to form.

"I'm better sticking to what I was doing before"

"I'm so busy and this saves me time"

"I'll get back when things calm down a bit"

This is called brain chatter.

Or limiting beliefs.

You will always try to convince yourself out of change, or justify why you should leave it till later.

Sound familiar??

Part of getting your body in the shape you want it and finally feeling good about yourself is overcoming all those little internal objections.

Not being perfect.

But noticing when you're falling back to old patterns and starting to justify why, giving your head a wobble, and getting back to that routine you started, even if it's a smaller effort to simply hold the line and not let go of that change.

Anyway, here's me back at it with the new sled harness I picked up from factory weights at the weekend.

I'm still mega busy.

And still gonna do most of my training in the Batcave

But I'm committed to once-a-week sled work in the local Everlast gym to help with my leg/keep rehab 🦵

Plus for the social element of training whilst around lots of people doing the same things.

Have a good week 👊

03/04/2026

How to predict what sort of shape you'll get in this year

As of the 1st April, we entered the second quarter of 2026.

Mad how fast it goes by, right?

This is a great time to actually predict what kind of shape you might be in by the end of this year.

How?

Look back - Measure where you’ve come from January until now.

And X that progress by 4.

If you’ve been seen the positive changes in the mirror, getting leaner and strnger so far?

Well done, take yesterday off

You’re on track for a solid year.

But if you’ve stayed the same? (btw, nothing stays the same, you're either declining or improving).

Or if you've been filling out your t-shirts or jeans in the wrong places?

Listen mate… it’s not good.

Because you’re likely to see more of the same as we head into summer.

And what kind of headspace will that put you in when you're supposed to have fun with your family, or out on adventures during your summer break?

This isn't based on...

What you 'might do' later.

What you 'say' you'll do.

Or what will change when 'life calms down' or 'nothing's in the way'.

It's a prediction based on your actual behavioral patterns.

Which is usually a sound bet.

If that stings a bit?

I get it.

I've had times where I've took my eye off the ball, ate like a f***y, dragged my heels and drifted along whilst my body got soft, weaker and feeling a bit s**t.

No one's perfect.

And we can blame circumstances, being busy, family, or whatever...

But the question you have to ask yourself is:

Am I willing to settle for the condition I'm in and the direction I'm going?

If not, then you need to change something.

Because if you keep doing what you've been doing?

Come summer, you'll be further down that rabbit hole.

So consider this email an intervention from yer uncle Deano.

As for what you do differently?

That's up to you.

Obviously, I'm biased, so my Rebirth program would be smart move if you want the man in the mirror to up to 14lbs leaner, feeling stronger, and happy about your direction in the next 6 weeks.

If that's not for you, that's also cool.

I suggest you get some sort of plan, structure, and weekly accountably in pace for yourself over the next 12 weeks (which takes you into summer, btw).

This summer is just around corner.

But with the right structure, direction, accountability and effort...

You can achieve some BIG progress.

That's enough from me, time to get to work.

If you need some help getting on track? Shoot me a message, let's talk and see if my program's the right move for you.

Have a good weekend.

Dean

02/04/2026

If you want to look like a guy who's fit, stop training for the mirror and start training for the logbook.

I get it that you probably start because of things about yourself you don't like - If you've gotten too chubby, or feel weak, fragile, pathetic... It's natural that you want to change these things.

But the more you fixate on things you don't like, you'll easily be demotivated because those changes can take some time.

My advise?

Set some training and performance goals and let your physique handle itself.

Can't do 1 pull up yet? Make it your business to get to 1, then 5, then 10 rigid looking reps with great control - your back will look f**king ace.

Only pressing the 20kg dumbbells for 10 reps? Go on a journey to press the 30s and you'll have a better upper body.

Don't know how to deadlift yet? Learn, then get your RDL (Romanian deadlift) to at least your own bodyweight for sets of 10 - your whole backside will look and feel strong AF.

Carrying too much belly fat? Start hitting consistent days of your protein target and tracking your food portions for a couple weeks, you'll discover how to get leaner.

Struggle to be consistent with fitness? Your goal is to track and hit your first 100 workouts - this will make it a lifestyle.

I'm sure you get the idea.

When you have objectives you can track, measure, and see weekly shifts towards, progress is much more tangible and within your control.

Dean

Dean McMenamin Fitness

15/04/2026

14/04/2026

14/04/2026

13/04/2026

13/04/2026

12/04/2026

11/04/2026

08/04/2026

07/04/2026

06/04/2026

03/04/2026

02/04/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category