How a Dad of Four Fits Training Into a Full Week
Chris Nicol coaches PSA tour players and raises four kids in Scotland. Asked what makes it work, he answers with his schedule and nothing else. Coach Brian walks him through the morning routine, the night reset workout and the water habit.
Chris Nicol coaches professional squash players in Scotland and has four kids at home. He trains at home or at the gym, and the day decides which. This episode covers how he keeps his own health running while the business and the family both need him.
Here is what he does and what it means for you. Listen to Episode 80 for the full conversation.
Who Chris Nicol Is
Chris coaches PSA tour players and also works with people who want better health. He picked up squash at 10 years old. At 16 he started lifting weights and using cardio machines, and he has been in a gym for most of his life since.
He is a dad of four and was getting married in August. His partner works and wants to start her own business. The two youngest kids are two and four.
Schedule First, Then Everything Else
Brian asked what is hardest about juggling all of it. Chris gave the same answer three times over.
"So schedule, schedule, schedule. You must have a diary, you must have your priorities written down, you must have a routine for the morning."
What goes in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Chris put family time in the same tier as the business, and he was blunt about the order.
"If you don't have a good home life, you ain't gonna have a good business life, and that is just a fact."
Brian has lived the other side of that. He described seasons where he tried to carry both and the balance did not hold.
Two Places to Train, So Training Always Happens
Chris keeps two options open. He has equipment at home and he has a gym, and his schedule picks the one that fits. A missed gym trip does not become a missed workout.
He built the home setup up over years. He tells anyone starting now to skip the equipment question entirely.
"If you don't have equipment at home, you can do bodyweight stuff, right? You don't need to have equipment."
The gym still earns its place. Chris uses the change of environment on purpose. Home is his reset. At the gym the session is the only thing on the list.
The Night Reset Workout
A hard day used to end on the couch at eight or nine at night. Chris now puts a light session there instead. He keeps it low to mid level so he is not wound up before bed. One kettlebell is enough.
Brian raised the same window from the other side. He trains between nine and three most days, because after that his kids come home. Reading to his daughter and running the bedtime routine can take 30 to 40 minutes. By then he is tired.
Chris made the case for training anyway.
"If someone's listened to this, right, and they've got kids and they feel absolutely exhausted after the bedtime routine, have a light workout, watch your energy change."
Brian's answer is that movement makes energy. Blood starts moving and oxygen gets where it needs to go. The endorphins follow.
Intention Is the Word He Kept Using
Brian admitted the time with his wife is the piece he wants to do better on. Chris circled back to one word.
"You have to be intentional with everything you do. Have intention to care about it. Right? Have intention to care about it because that's where the work's gonna be done when you care about it."
His other line on this is that you should still be dating your missus after you marry her.
Brian took it further. When the other person does not feel loved or seen, the relationship has problems. Health is usually the next thing to go. That is where the food choices and the alcohol and the sugar come in. Weight goes up, and the man in the mirror stops matching the man you think you are.
Water and Food a Family Can Run On
Chris's one nutrition habit is water. He drinks 1,700 ml twice a day, every day. He points to hydration for brain function, for muscle and for cardio function.
Breakfast is oats. He calls it porridge in Scotland and often adds eggs, plus brown bread with butter or peanut butter on toast.
The family keeps a folder of healthy meals on a shelf and adds to it. Meals rotate through fish, lamb, steak, beef, vegetables and rice. Each one carries protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates. They pay attention to micronutrients too.
Brian's version of the same idea is a blended shake. He builds it from a protein, a vegetable, a fruit, a liquid and sometimes a healthy fat. He has put as many as four cups of frozen broccoli in one. Frozen blends better and masks the flavor. A shake that size runs about 600 calories and holds him four to six hours. He sends his "Super Shake" guide to anyone who emails him at brian@brianparana.com.
Your Kids Are Copying You Already
Chris's two youngest are two and four. They watch him train and now do press ups and squats alongside him. Burpees come up less often.
His two-year-old brings him his water bottle and tells him to drink it. She drinks some of it herself.
Brian wrote down a line from another coach named Brad during a recent recording. The line was that your kids are 80 percent likely to become the you that you are right now. Model the water and the training and the meals, and they take those on too.
Ownership Was the Turn
Chris had a point two or three years ago where he paid for his own coaching. He was honest about what came before it.
"I was repeating the same thing like, this person's fault, this person's fault. I wasn't taking ownership. I didn't take ownership. As soon as I took ownership, everything changed."
His coach did not do the work for him. Chris says he was guided and then had to take the action himself. The habits got built after that decision.
Where to Start If You Are Out of Shape
Brian asked what Chris would tell a man who is out of shape and juggling kids and work. Chris said to prioritize yourself first, because a man in that spot is not doing it. Then he named one habit.
"Go for a walk. This is simple, right? Something simple. Go for a walk every day."
Brian has watched that work. In Episode 53 he covered Andy, who walked 10,000 steps a day through the 100 days of the Call To Rise and finished at a million steps. Andy lost 38 pounds. He walked with his wife, with his dog, with his kids, on his own and between meetings.
Brian's two markers for a man who wants belly fat to move are 10,000 steps or more and 1,800 calories or less in a day.
Common Mistakes Men Make Here
Waiting for a calm week. Chris got busier every year and built the equipment and the schedule anyway.
Treating home and gym as one choice. Two locations mean the day cannot cancel the session.
Skipping the workout because the day already went badly. That is the exact night Chris trains light.
Leaving your partner out of it. Chris's partner started training about a year ago and the meal folder is a shared file.
Assuming the kids are not watching. The two-year-old is already handing him his water bottle.
Who This Is For
This is for the man over 40 running a business or a demanding job with kids at home. His week has no clean block for training and his energy runs out before the day does. He does not need more information about what to eat.
It is not for the man who wants a plan that assumes a quiet calendar. Chris does not have one and neither does Brian.
Action Steps
- Write your priorities down and put a morning routine on the page.
- Pick two training locations so the day cannot cancel the session.
- Keep one kettlebell or a bodyweight circuit ready for a low-level night session.
- Set a water target you hit daily and let your kids see you hit it.
- Walk every day and build toward 10,000 steps.
- Start a shared meal folder with your partner and add to it.
Cross-episode links
- Episode 53: 38 lbs Lost in 100 Day Challenge
- Episode 87: How to Maximize Performance, Sports Nutrition Tips for Men Over 40
- Episode 70: 5 High-Protein Breakfasts for Kid-Filled Mornings, Training Days, and Travel Days
Call to Action
If you want a first step that fits a full week, the free Lose 3 lbs in 3 Days plan gives you three days of food and movement structure. Get it at thecalltorise.com/lose3lbsin3days.
When you want the schedule built for you, The Call To Rise is Coach Brian's 100 day program for driven men who want their health at the level their work is already at. What is included:
- An individualized meal plan
- An individualized training plan
- Weekly round table calls with the group
- 1:1 calls with Brian
- A client site holding every resource in one place
Most men lose 20 plus pounds. The guarantee is one sentence. Lose 20 or more pounds in the 100 days, or Brian keeps working with you until you do. Apply at thecalltorise.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a busy dad fit workouts into the week?
Chris Nicol keeps two options open. He trains at home or at the gym depending on what the schedule allows that day. Bodyweight work covers it when there is no equipment and no time to travel.
What is the first habit to start with if you are out of shape?
Chris says to go for a walk every day. Coach Brian builds on that with 10,000 steps a day. Andy walked to a million steps across 100 days and lost 38 pounds.
How much water does Chris Nicol drink?
He drinks 1,700 ml twice a day, every day. He points to hydration for brain function, for muscle and for cardio function.
Does training at night hurt your sleep?
Chris keeps night sessions low to mid level so he is not wound up before bed. One kettlebell or a bodyweight circuit is enough. He uses it as a reset after a hard day rather than a heavy session.
What does Chris Nicol eat in a normal day?
Breakfast is oats. He calls it porridge in Scotland and often adds eggs, plus brown bread with butter or peanut butter on toast. Later meals come from a family folder of healthy recipes covering fish, lamb, steak, beef, vegetables and rice.
How do you get your family involved in your health?
Chris and his partner keep a shared folder of healthy meals and add to it. She started training about a year ago. The two youngest kids are two and four and already do press ups and squats when they see him train.
What did Chris Nicol change to turn his health around?
He took ownership. He had been blaming other people for where he was, and two or three years ago he paid for his own coaching. The coach guided him and Chris did the work himself.
What is the Call To Rise program?
The Call To Rise is Coach Brian's 100 day fat loss program for driven men over 40. It runs on strength training, individualized nutrition and real accountability. Most men lose 20 plus pounds, and the guarantee is that Brian keeps working with you until you get there.
CEO l Head Body Tranformer
Brian Parana is a men’s health coach with 23+ years of experience helping busy professionals improve their body, energy, and day-to-day habits while still leading at work and at home. His coaching is built around practical nutrition, training, sleep, and accountability, with a plan tailored to the person in front of him.
Over the years, Brian has helped thousands of clients through his work as a personal trainer, CrossFit gym owner, and online coach. He has also coached an Olympic silver medalist, a 2-time Olympian, and a CrossFit World Champion.
Brian is the host of the Driven For Health Podcast, where he shares real-world strategies for men who want to feel strong again and stay consistent without making health a second job.
He’s also the creator of The Call To Rise, a 100-day fat loss experience for driven men who want to drop 20–30 pounds, boost energy, and rebuild confidence through strength training, personalized nutrition, and high-accountability coaching. Many men join because their blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar is heading the wrong direction, and they want a clear plan that fits real life.
Brian is married to his high school sweetheart, Amber, and they have four kids. Their family has traveled to all 50 states and 4 continents, with a goal to reach all seven.
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