From Exhausted Dad to Fit and Present Father

The Moment I Knew Something Had to Change

It was a Sunday afternoon, and my youngest — she was four at the time — wanted me to chase her around the garden. Twenty minutes later I was leaning against the fence, genuinely out of breath, while she looked up at me with those big eyes asking "why are you stopping, Daddy?"

That was it. That was the moment.

I was 42 years old, carrying an extra twenty pounds I'd accumulated over years of "I'll sort it out later," and I was letting my kids see a version of me that I wasn't proud of. I wasn't just out of shape physically — I was exhausted all the time, stressed at work, snapping at the family more than I should, and generally running on fumes.

The Problem With Most Fitness Advice

I tried. I really did. I signed up for a gym membership, downloaded a few apps, and attempted a couple of programmes that looked good online. The problem? They were designed for single guys with three hours a day and zero responsibilities.

"Train six days a week." I've got a job and two kids.

"Meal prep eight containers every Sunday." My Sunday is for family time, not cooking military rations.

"Wake up at 4am." I'm already knackered by 9pm, mate.

None of it was designed for actual dads with actual lives. And so I did what most dads do — I gave up, went back to the biscuit tin, and told myself I'd "start properly" next month.

What Actually Worked

Eventually, I stopped looking for the perfect programme and started experimenting. I stripped everything back and asked a simple question: what's the minimum effective dose of exercise and nutrition that will actually fit into my life as a dad?

Turns out, it's not that complicated — it was just never explained to me in a way that fit my situation.

• Three to four 30-45 minute workouts a week, mostly at home
• Eating more protein and stopping the mindless evening snacking
• Getting to bed thirty minutes earlier instead of doom-scrolling
• Making fitness something I did with my kids, not instead of them

Over six months, I lost 20lbs. My energy went through the roof. I stopped snapping at the family. I started waking up at 5:30am — voluntarily — because I actually wanted to train. And I started keeping up with my kids in the garden.

Why I Started Writing

Once it started working, I couldn't stop talking about it. I was messaging friends, posting on social media, boring my wife with workout updates. Eventually she said: "You should just write this down somewhere."

So I did. I started the Jon Hodgson newsletter as a place to share everything I was learning — the workouts, the nutrition hacks, the mindset shifts, the honest takes on balancing fatherhood with taking care of yourself. It was supposed to be a hobby. But within a few months, thousands of dads had subscribed, and I was getting emails every week from men saying things like "this is the first fitness content that's ever actually made sense to me."

That kept me going. That's still what keeps me going.

What You'll Find Here

Everything on this site is for dads specifically. Not generic fitness content with "dad" bolted on at the end — actual advice that takes into account that you've got kids, a job, a partner, and probably not much spare time or energy.

I write about:

• Getting fit at home — because most dads don't need a gym, they need a plan
• Building muscle after 40 — because your body responds differently now and most advice ignores that
• Realistic nutrition — because you eat dinner with your family, not from tupperware
• Fatherhood and family life — because being fit is about more than how you look
• Mindset and routine — because finding time and staying motivated is half the battle

If any of that sounds useful, join the newsletter. It's free, it goes out weekly, and I promise I'll never bore you with bro-science or influencer nonsense.

I'm just a dad who figured some stuff out and wants to share it.

— Jon