Feb. 28, 2026
Life Lessons from a Dad of 4: Juggling Family and Business - 80
Father of 4, Coach Chris Nicol shares his expertise on managing health and wellness while balancing the demands of a busy life.
As a seasoned squash performance coach and health mentor, Chris discusses how he successfully manages his responsibilities as a father of four, a coach, and a soon-to-be husband.
Listeners will gain insights into practical routines that can be integrated into daily life, regardless of how hectic it may be.
Chris emphasizes the importance of morning rituals, family involvement in fitness, and maintaining hydration and balanced nutrition for sustained energy.
He also shares his personal journey of overcoming health challenges by taking ownership of his habits and making consistent, small changes. This episode is ideal for business owners, entrepreneurs, and driven men who are looking to improve their health and productivity.
Chris provides actionable tips for starting with simple exercises and walks, which can lead to significant health improvements over time. His approach focuses on consistency and awareness, encouraging listeners to model healthy behaviors for their families.
Chris Nicol's experience as a professional coach and health advocate offers valuable guidance for anyone seeking to enhance their well-being without compromising their family or work commitments.
Tune in to learn how to build sustainable habits and improve your health, even with a busy schedule.
The Call To Rise is a 100-day Fat Loss Transformation Experience designed for driven men ready to get back to a healthy body, boost their energy, and lead as a powerful man. If you are struggling with some form of chronic illness such as high blood pressure, cholesterol or even Type 2 Diabetes - this program is designed for you too. Through a proven system of strength training, personalized nutrition, and radical accountability, you’ll drop 20–30 pounds and rebuild confidence from the inside out and even improve chronic illness issues. It’s more than a fitness program, it’s an body transformation experience with a Brotherhood of like-minded men committed to showing up, leveling up, and leading in a body they are excited about. This is your wake-up call to rise. www.thecalltorise.com
Want help applying this to your own health, weight, energy, or lab numbers?
Coach Brian Parana offers Health Hot Seat coaching segments for men who want a clear next step with nutrition, fitness, weight loss, blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C, or daily consistency.
Learn more about The Call To Rise, a 100-day coaching program for driven men over 40 who want to lose weight, improve their health, and rebuild confidence:
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Disclaimer: This podcast is for education and coaching support only. It is not medical advice. Always work with your physician before changing medication, treatment, or medical care.
- Welcome to Driven for Health podcast episode 80. I'm Coach Brian Prana and today I'm bringing another very busy coach and Chris brings a wealth of experience and knowledge especially around when it comes to racket sports, squash. He's he coaches professional PSA tour players. those are professional squash associations and and helps them obviously in squash but also around health and I was on his podcast just a little while ago.
- We had a wonderful conversation about nutrition and I hope to bring that episode to our show because it's relevant whether it's for a squash player specifically or just any type of exercise and activity. It's relevant because sport nutrition is transcends you doing an exercise, an activity for a certain amount of time, whether you're swinging a racket or running or shooting a ball or something like that.
- Now, it's so relatable and that's why I had to have him on my show as well. He's kind of in the same journey a little bit. He's got a full-time career coaching. He's got keeps himself fit as you can see in the video. and he is a dad of four. Okay, so he's juggling all the things with this lady and trying to keep things on track.
- And that's what I want to talk about today is how do you balance it? How do you manage this? And everyone does it subtly different, but there are definite commonalities and say breadcrumbs that guys and other really busy people are leaving behind. So, let's let's go pick some of those up and see what he's doing to take care of himself and maybe it can translate into you.
- So, Chris Nichols, welcome to the show. Really happy to have you. >> Yeah, thank you for that, Brian. A great introduction. Grateful to be here. Grateful for another opportunity to speak and uh you know, make a positive impact on some lives. Right. >> Oh, of course. Of course. You're working with a lot of guys that listen to this podcast.
- That's why I had to bring you on. So, so let's set the stage about who Chris is. Talk about the kids and the family and the business so that they have context to how busy things actually are for you. >> Yeah. So, as uh Brian said, first and foremost, family, four kids, wife to be soon in August this year, getting married. >> Uh business obviously health performance, squash performance.
- Um, keep myself healthy, that's also a priority. Uh, daily habits priority. These are all things that are done on, you know, they need to be done well every day, right? You have to take care of your family. You have to look after yourself. You have to look after your business. You have to look after >> priorities, right? So, priorities is a key thing, right? And for me, it started back for me when I was >> for certainly health uh started back for me when I was 10 years old.
- But I've been on a journey, right? Because >> yeah, certainly we've >> all got our own journey. We've all got we're ups and downs. We got hard to deal with. And these are the things. This is the thing, right? You can all come back from something, right? Wherever you're at right now, there's a comeback point that's coming for you.
- So just just just work with it just now, right? So I was 10 years old and I got into squash, got into health. You know, squash was something I picked up at a really young age. Then I moved on to 16 year old. got into gyms, started using weights, started playing about with cardio machines, started using, you know, cross trainers, bikes, treadmills, all that sort of stuff.
- Got into it quite heavily, done it for, you know, getting in the gym for most of my life. uh got to a point probably actually two 3 years ago where I also invested in myself to get myself better >> again because it was necessary >> to because as I was saying that there's always a comeback point right and once you get past these places that you think you're not going to get past it gives you a lesson >> and you can teach all of them >> exactly So you can teach these lessons to your clients, which I'm doing.
- I'm I'm teaching experience. I'm also teaching my education um to squash players and also people looking for better health. >> Yeah, definitely. Now, what are the biggest things that you're juggling at this point? Because you you named a a number of things going on in your life, but what ends up being the biggest challenge juggling them all for you? So, schedule, schedule, schedule.
- >> Yeah. >> You must have a diary. You must have your priorities written down. You must have a routine for the morning. There you go. Morning routine. That sets the day up specifically for you. What you need to do in the morning will set your tone for the day every day. Um, family time is also important.
- Yes, we have businesses. If you don't have a home, a good home life, you ain't going to have a good business life. And that is just a fact. Yeah, very much so. I've experienced that off and on in different seasons of my life of challenges of trying to juggle both and it it doesn't work so well. >> Not at all. >> So, you need to have the good home life to have a good business life to have a good >> mindset. It all comes into play.
- >> A lot of guys that listen in, they do have kids. So, what what is your home life routine like? Let's jump into some of that. How do you spend time with your your family? >> Yeah, so we we like to take the kids out and do experiences with the kids. We like to go out for meals. We like to take them to kids places.
- We we're very big into animals here. We obviously have a cat and a dog as well. So we go to zoos quite a lot. We go to um recently my teenager was out at the cinema for the first time. She was 12. Yeah, 12. So she was at the cinema for the first time with her mom. I watch the two younger ones while the the older ones are out at the cinema.
- So that we we work it together as well, right? Because my partner is also she works but she also has aspirations to start her own business as well. >> Okay. >> So in a different realm of course nothing like what I'm doing but she has her own skills her own thing she wants to do as well. So that's the thing right. >> Yeah definitely >> this thing exactly.
- >> Mhm. Let's just say it's like a mirror image, right? Because if you you support them, they'll support you. And it just works that way. >> Yeah, definitely. I'm going through that right now. My wife is actively growing her travel advisor. And this map behind us, we've been to a bunch of places and we want to go to a bunch more and she sends people on bucket list trips and they can be somewhat difficult and and challenging to put together in a sense.
- Hey, I want to go to I want to go up and down the the boot of Italy. So, we'll start in Milan and Venice and down to Rome and Sicily and Mafia Coast and back on up. And she'll be able to string that together for them and and create a really wonderful experience for a lot of stuff.
- But it takes a little time and energy and of course and who's going to feed the kids tonight. So, there has to be a handoff and that experience and teamwork can really help. Absolutely. Make it work very well. >> Uh so, excellent. Excellent. Now what is some of the mindset shifts that you have around this you had that comeback point maybe you can go in a little bit about what that experience was how it impacted you and what were some of the the shifts in how you thought I think now from the way you thought then >> yeah so I'm going to be brutally honest right
- because >> honesty is the best policy >> for for for for for me I I was using some excuses that were probably holding me back, right? >> Well, they were holding me back. >> I mean, >> what's one >> what's one excuse? >> What's one? So, I was repeating the same thing like, oh, 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, right? So everything started to shift and momentum started to work because I took ownership for what needed to be changed because I yes I had a co I actually had my own coach to invested in myself as well but he didn't do it for me he guided me and I had to do the action okay so >> right >> number one was for me was taking ownership of what where I was at that point >> right and then after that it was building all the things and the habit
- It's everything that had to change to get to this point now where I am, which is a million times better. And I have my life in a good place, but I'm always looking to improve, right? You've got to have the mentality of always looking to improve because it's a journey and it just doesn't stop. It's never done.
- It's never done. >> No. Life is a journey. I've talked about it a lot on the podcast and it's an evolution. And it's you're evolving every step of the way to deal and manage with the change that is coming your way. And if you don't accept change, then you will get left behind because it is going to change on you.
- >> Talking about managing time, some of the actual practical challenges. So, you have a morning routine, you have family time, but what's like the the actual practical strategies that you're able to fit in a workout and then fit in time with your lady? >> Absolutely. So, working outwise, I either work out at home depending on my schedule or I go to the gym depending on my schedule. So, I have two options.
- It's a flexible options. I give myself flexibility. >> So, I have equipment at home. If you don't have equipment at home, you can do body weight stuff, right? You don't need to have equipment. If you're at a starting point, you're listening to this podcast right now, you want to start exercising because you think, "Why am I not doing enough? >> Do some body weight stuff at home.
- Start Start at that point." >> That's what That's what I did. I just built up my equipment. I just built up my obviously my schedule built up as well cuz I'm a lot busier now than I was before. >> Mhm. I think going to the gym also is good because that gives you that difference of between yes a home workout a gym workout is different environment right different environment >> right >> right home is home is is a place of calm a place of you know reset but also I use home as a reset for fitness as well right so if I find I've
- had a stressful day and I wanted to go and sit down at 8 o'clock 9 o'clock at night I think Oh, I'll just have a workout, right? Because that's going to reset me for the night. >> Not majorly, not too much cuz you don't want to be hyped up before you go to bed, but like a mid a low to midlevel workout, like a body weight, for example, or a kettle bell workout.
- You only need one kettle bell, right? >> Yeah. >> So, that's how my workouts would go in regards to my relationship and dating cuz you should still be dating your misses even though you marry her, right? I >> Yeah. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. Yeah. We need to to to do a little better on that one cuz the time with everything is is so challenging.
- >> It's challenging. Oh, I I absolutely agree. It's challenging because you have to be intentional. There's there what it is, right? That's that word, intentional. >> You have to be intentional with with everything you do. Have intention to care about it. >> Right. Have intention to care about it because that's where the work's going to be done when you care about it.
- >> Yeah. Very much so. And and there's obviously varying levels of care at different times, but the undertone of the caring is that that other person feels loved, that they feel accepted, that they feel seen. And when you don't >> have that in your relationship, you have problems >> very much so. >> Yeah. >> Things don't go well, >> they do not.
- >> And your health usually is a consequence. And that's where you start making not so good food choices or alcohol or sugar. You you eat over consume and then you start gaining weight and then you start breaking that identity of who you are and what you visibly see of yourself in the mirror which then can turn into a snowball effect and take you way off course.
- Now what for you can break down some of this stuff what what time of the day do you really enjoy working out? So for me, I am usually a morning person or afternoon person. Evening I will do occasionally. If I have to have a tight squeeze schedule, I'll do an evening workout. But if I can get it in in the morning, I I prefer the morning or afternoon.
- >> Yeah, definitely. I would agree. For me, I'm usually going to be working out between 9 and 3:00 is the general time frame. I mean, if I don't get it in, then it's unlikely to happen because >> kids come home. The only other time I can do that is after hours, but I read to my daughter and that can take 30, 40 minutes sometimes, spending time with them, getting the whole bedtime routine with kids, right? It's >> it goes on and and then at that point I'm tired >> and that ends up being the best time for me to actually move my body to be able
- to be focused on the the task at hand. So, okay, >> that's where I was talking about the reset, right? If you if you if you for example here's 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.
- >> Oh, yeah. Watch the energy change. >> Yep. Movement is energy. And soon as you start moving, get that blood pumping through your body, it will deliver the the blood, the red blood cells, the oxygen, the things that you need to get the endorphins going as well. Everyone will say that they always feel a lot better after they get done working out.
- And it's so important in this process for managing your own health here. So, excellent, excellent, excellent. Now, well, let's say nutritionwise, what is one go-to thing that you do that really helps make it easier to stay fit in shape, energy for all the things that you're doing? So, for me, I drink 1,700 ms times two daily every day.
- Water intake, hydration, oxygen, especially for the brain, especially for the muscle, especially for the cardio function. Now, just to obviously he lives in the UK. Where are you from? Scotland. >> Yeah. Go for it. Go for it. hydrated and he time in his day for these certain important things with intention for him. How about food? What's some of the favorite thing that you you like to eat that keeps you healthy fit? So, if we could go for breakfast, I mean, uh the staples for me for
- breakfast is if you got like oatmeal, like oats or we call it porridge in Scotland. >> Yeah, oats. >> Um sometimes, uh eggs and depends how I like them. I like them scrambled or an omelette or fresh >> fried in a pan or boiled. >> Um I'll also have carbs in the morning like some brown bread with butter or peanut butter and toast in the morning as well. Yep.
- >> Even meal. It'll depend what we we also have, right? We also have a a folder with with healthy meals in it. So, this is a family thing as well, right? >> So, my partner never used to be big in the gym, but now she goes, she's been going there for about a year and a bit, >> and she's doing well. Um, so we've got a folder of healthy meals up on the top of the shelf up there that we go to and use.
- We add to it as well. >> So meals can be varied. Fish, uh, lamb, steaks, beef, vegetables, um, rices, um, >> all these sorts of things. >> Right. Right. healthy, you know, we also we also make sure it has the protein, it has the fats, it has and healthy fats, should I say, and the carbohydrates also micronutrients.
- We add that in as well, just because that's how we want to go about it in the family as well. >> Absolutely. >> That's excellent. >> My kids just just let let's add this in as well, right? My kids now do when I do my home workouts. My two youngsters are two and four and they're starting to copy me already, right? They copy what I'm doing. They do press ups.
- >> They do squats. They do burpees. Not as much of burpees, but >> Yeah. >> And all body weight stuff, right? But they're copying what I'm doing because they're seeing me doing it. That's what it's about as well, right? >> Yep. I love that. And I was just on a podcast with another gentleman. Brad is his name.
- He's actually gonna be a future guest. on our show, but he has this gym equipment called Swing Sesh, which is a backyard, typical equipment you'd have in the backyard, but it's designed for workout in mine, which it'll be a cool episode here in the next uh episodes or so. But one thing he said that caught my attention, I even wrote it down.
- I said, "Oo, this is this is actually good." >> Your kids are 80% likely to become the you that you are right now. >> Yeah. And if you're modeling behaviors around exercise, around fitness, around healthy recipes that everyone enjoys, around drinking water, then they are that much more likely to actually become their better versions of themselves and little mini use.
- [laughter] >> So my 2-year-old actually comes to me now and says, "Dad, there's your bottle of water." >> There you go. Right. There you go. >> Try to probably steal it, too. >> Drink some of it. Right. >> She drink She does now drink it. She does now drink it. >> It's great. >> That's hilarious. I love it. >> She's quite funny with it as well.
- >> I would back in the day. I I I still do it, but not as much. I just end up eating food instead of drinking a smoothie. But I have a SuperShake PDF. If anyone's listening, they want the SuperShake guide. I've got it. You just got to email me, brianbrian.com. I'll shoot it right over. But it's the there's a a build to it.
- You have a protein, you've got a vegetable, you have a fruit, you have some liquid, maybe a healthy fat, depending on how many calories you need to eat. And in this, I will actually add for my vegetable. I've done as many as four cups of frozen broccoli. The reason why it's frozen is because it it blends well and it it it ices it up and it it masks the flavor.
- And for me, I've evolved from that. It's not just what I was doing before. I used to have just all all fruit and yogurt in a sense for the more carbohydrate sugary times, but now I' I've had to adjust that just to have a better balance. And that's what I do. You might call it weird, but uh everyone has weird food behaviors and it's something that actually works.
- But my kids would drink it even if it looked a little green and they enjoyed it too. >> Yeah. >> And but there's lots of different ways to do it. So, the guide has a lot of opportunities around a protein, some sort of a vegetable, a fruit, search of carb, healthy fat, and some liquid if you need to. But there's there's that.
- That's awesome. >> Sounds great. Says >> uh yeah, it actually it is. It's super filling. It will last me four, five, six hours of fullness and because it'll be a whole big picture full of this blended up and it'll be about 5 600 calories at most. And lasting that long is incredible because who doesn't want to feel full as long as they can.
- And and that's probably one of the more important things here is is to make sure that they you are full. You are uh build up on higher quality food. That's important for you to be able to enjoy absolutely what you're eating and all. So >> excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Now, if you were to tell someone listening in, think of the easiest thing there would be an out of shape version of Chris.
- What would you tell them? They're juggling a lot of kids. They're juggling a lot of a lot of things going on in their day-to-day life. What is is are you going to tell them? What advice? So prioritize yourself as well, right? >> Yeah. >> Because that clearly if you're in that sort of shape at that time at this moment in time, you're not prioritizing yourself enough. Right.
- This is a big thing for anybody or you know a lot of guys as well go through this where they're not prioritizing themselves enough to create that better lifestyle, create that better habits >> to create a better person. >> So give yourself some good habits. So, change your habits. Go for a walk. What? That's That's something This is simple, right? Something simple.
- >> Go for a walk every day. >> If that's where you're at right now, you're at that point where you're out of shape. Go for a walk every day. Start with a good habit every day. >> Yep. I can't tell you how many people I talked about Andy in episode 53. He did the million step challenges. He just did my call to rise program. It's 100 days.
- She did 10,000 steps a day and it ultimately ended up being a million steps. That's just simple math. And it all started with walking. The guy lost 38 pounds and that was a a a basic of what we did and how he was able to maintain it and he prioritized it in his day. He did. He walked with his wife. He walked with his dog.
- He walked with his kids. He walked on his own. He walked in between meetings, different things. And that was an easy easy way for him to be very successful. And I challenge you to to to move that much every day. It's it's pivotal. And and those are two uh that's one of the two things that guys really thrive.
- Usually, it's 10,000 steps or more and 1,800 calories or less in a day around nutrition to start losing belly fat. That's that's mostly uh who and how I help people. So, excellent. Excellent. So, being intentional, focusing on prioritizing yourself and your health, having a lot of tips and tricks around getting your family involved, say the recipes, and having those other people around you model your behavior and lead is so important.
- And those are some of the things that Chris was able to share. Now, uh, let's go into some of your coaching here for a little bit. The the person that you coach and train, who are they? What are they doing? What are the goals? Things like that. >> Yeah. So, for me, I coach um health people as well as squash performance, right? Yeah. >> So, let's keep let's focus on the health the health people because >> we're driven for healthier, right? So, um, I've currently had a client, yeah, clients with me that are looking for sustainable weight loss, better habits,
- better food choices, different mindset habits, changing those old patterns that are stopping you from breaking into better patterns for your life and your choices in food, your your health and cuz it's the combination of exercise, the nutrition, and the lifestyle as well, right? So and it also comes into the mind habits and the daily habits.
- >> Yep. Okay. Excellent. Excellent. Now when you are focusing on those things, what is the biggest challenge that you have to overcome with them? Say what's the one of the first things that you say, hey, here's where we need to start. >> Yeah. So for me with my clients, I've noticed a pattern, right? These type of clients I work with, the first month, you have to really push them.
- >> Yeah. You have to really be like drive them through the first month because that's when they find the most challenging. >> Yeah, definitely. >> An object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays in rest. And they're usually an object at rest. I feel it too. >> And and you have to show up with a little more intensity or >> most importantly leadership, energy, inspiration, encouragement, and then be able to push them a little bit more so that they can find their own pace they can get on their own feet to move in the
- direction they want to. >> So actually I'll add another thing as well. I do personal development within this type of client that I work with as well. So I encourage them to I'll recommend them books to read. I'll recommend them I will also send them teachings to listen to from me >> um in regards to you know personal development if they we we look at their goals specifically for them as well what they want and I tailor the whole program around that.
- and and I've I recently had a a good review on Facebook. So, if anyone's, you know, wanting to train with me, go to my Facebook. I got a a a recent uh review this month, which is a great review. It will give you the whole breakdown of how she worked with me and what results she got. Right. >> So, I work with guys and women in health as well.
- >> Yeah. That's great. That's great. And now with your squash players, what are you looking to do with them? Cuz that's a little bit different. Yeah, a little bit different. Right. So for me it's about the per performance perspective. So we look at we also develop the person there as well because I believe >> of course it's in hand >> as we discussed um in previous times Brian about when you're an athlete if you just develop your sport and you just develop your food you're actually missing a key point because you'll come
- to a point with the sport nutrition where it's just pressure pressure and because you haven't developed up here as well and developed yourself the pressure may just become too much at a That is where you want to avoid that before it gets to that point. >> Right. >> So with with the squash players, I'm a squash player myself as well.
- I've played club squash. I've played competitions. I'm going to play masters in Scotland >> um this year. Or >> you mentioned coaching in Egypt, too. That might happen. That's pretty cool. >> Yeah, that may happen. I've got possibilities of going into Egypt to coach some summer camps at some point, >> possibly this year as well.
- So yeah, absolutely. So I think back to that point of pressure for athletes, there's a lot of pressure for athletes at that level, right? Any level, whether it's beginner, advanced or intermediate, they all have the point of pressure that comes to that next stage. And if you want to get to that next stage, you have to deal with that pressure.
- And how you deal with that pressure for me is a holistic approach to coaching squash performance. It's not just about the sport. It's not just about the the food. It's about the holistic person. how the person deals with themselves as well as the sport. >> Very much so. The person is a whole person and it's you're just not an exerciser.
- You're not just a food plan follower or something like that. You're not just a father. Nope. Husband. There's so many roles that you have to play and you have to figure out how to blend them all with intentionality and that's some of the the biggest things here. So, that's excellent. Well, thank you so much for sharing all those things, some of the gems and all.
- Where do we go? Where do we learn more about Chris? You mentioned your socials, your your website. Certainly, those things will be in the show notes >> for everyone. >> If people want to reach out to me, best place to catch me is Instagram or LinkedIn. >> Um, those two places, Brian will probably have my website on this on there, so you can look at that as well.
- And but if you want to message me directly today, next week, this week, whenever, Instagram or LinkedIn is the best place to catch them. >> Yeah. Okay. Excellent. Excellent. And they'll be in the show notes for people to check you out. And then if I do have a squash person that loves squash, and definitely check out Chris and what he can do for you, especially in that very specific coaching opportunity.
- Well, Chris, thanks so much for coming. I hope that everyone that has listened in. We're two men that are juggling a lot of things. Self-employment, four kids, how to manage your your misses, how to live with intentionality, want things to move in the direction that you want for your life and the experience along the way because that's all we have is the journey and we want it to be an enjoyable one as well.
- So, thank you for checking in to episode 80 of Tripping for Health. And off we go to the next one. Thank you.
