Zad Bod

On today’s show, I tell you all about my new home’s new home gym! I converted our one-car garage into our own personal barbell club, and I describe that process from soup to nuts. Then I tell you all about what it’s been like having it, both for me and for my entire family. Spoiler alert: IT’S SO GREAT!

We did it! We made it to Episode 100! So why doesn’t it feel like a triumph? Maybe because times are tough and vibes are bad. Why is it that the generation that railed against toxic masculinity and encouraged asking for help has just as many sad dads suffering in silence as every generation that came before it? I have a guess, and I lay it bare for all my fellow dads out there. Thank you for liste...

Sorry guys, no episode again this week, but independent of why, it has also been a tough week for us and our almost 5 year old, Ernie. So, I thought it would be fitting to listen back to an old episode about a landmark tough week we had with him last year. The description of that episode follows. "Sure, bringing another baby into the world is pretty good for me and my wife, but what about our...

On this episode, our move to a new home is causing a developmental explosion in our boys. We have a baby turning into a toddler, and we have a schoolchild turning into the host with the most, showing off his new playroom to his friends but also learning how much work it takes to keep things in order. All that and more, on this episode of Zad Bod!

Sorry guys, no episode today but I'll be back next Friday. Thanks for understanding, have a great week, and I'll talk to you then!

Strange episode today, as Ernie has started school and Al has started walking, but what I want to talk about instead is the weird, wild reaction to the recent Sydney Sweeney ad that has everybody all hot and bothered, for both good and bad. I try to read between the lines and decipher what’s really behind the vitriol, and it leads me to wonder whether there is such a phenomenon I like to call a Mo...

I have been a broken record about how hard this move has been on me, but you know who seems to be taking to it quite well? The kids! Ernie and Al are putting me to shame with how settled in and comfortable they are in their new home, and on this episode I talk about how they got there and the possibilities that we see in them now that they’re moving around like they own the place. All that and mor...

We have moved! We are in our new house, and it is different, and it is a strange feeling having one’s home be an unfamiliar place, and calling an unfamiliar place home. And I’m an adult, so you can imagine how the kids are doing. Actually, they’re doing great, but they are like candles that burn bright but get extinguished quickly. And amidst this one big change for us all, both of my sons are on...

Good news: we’ve moved! Even better news: we are done getting ready to move! It is such a relief to be in the new house, because I am as worn out as I can remember being. Also, you are hearing this after the move, but I recorded all this on the eve of Moving Day, so when I say I’m worn out, I’m saying it before the move has even taken place. Who knows what state I’m in now. In any case, this episo...

We are smack dab in the middle of moving madness, and stuck between two houses! We have the keys to the new house, but we want to keep our stuff in the old house so that it looks nice to potential buyers, but then what, do we sleep on the floor? I don’t mind doing that, but what about our sweet, beautiful, small children? Is this too much to ask of them, or a great opportunity for them to learn ho...

We’re moving! We are in the process of selling our house and buying another one around the corner. And moving is a big enough job on its own, but moving while having kids is proving to be a different kind of animal. On this episode, I talk about what’s different, what’s tougher on us, on them, and what is better than we could have ever imagined. All that and more. Thanks for listening, and enjoy t...

You’re not going to believe this, but your resident kettlebell evangelist re-joined the gym! On this episode, I tell you about how I fell out of love with kettlebells, how a friend’s innocuous comment re-ignited my interest in barbells, and how one vacation turned into a workout boot camp, complete with a weightlifting lesson from a former Olympian. All that and more, so please enjoy and thank you...

After a lengthy absence, last week’s episode wasn’t quite the summer recap pod that was promised since it focused on one single highlight, so let’s have that catch-up episode now, shall we? On this episode, I abandon my complaints about the summer holidays so that I can continue complaining about the winter holidays. Baby Al is kinda talking and almost walking, but barely has any teeth. But that d...

NEW EPISODE ALERT! This is not a drill. We. Are. BACK! On today's episode, a retelling of the Ocean's 11-style caper required to throw a surprise birthday party in my family. Months of subterfuge and deception led to the highlight of our summer so far, and I tell you all about it right here, so listen up and enjoy!

Ugh, sorry guys, I'm away for one more week. This time, though, it's not (as much) my fault. Even so, we will all have to content ourselves with two more old episodes, two more blasts from the past. First, it's Episode 15, "To the Zadmobile!," in which I sing the praises of a silly but effective old car I have found to be the perfect Dad Wagon. Then it's on to Episode 18,...

Welcome to (hopefully) the last week of summer reruns! We (think we) will be back next week with a brand new episode, and maybe I'll get into what's kept me away all this time, but the short answer is just that summer has gotten away from me. Just as it does every year, as evidenced by 2024's Episode 27 - "Cruel summer," and 2025's Episode 51 - "The heat is on!,&quot...

Hot Rerun Summer continues with another flashback bod pod! Episodes 7 and 8 were a two-part series in which I realized just how much of my understanding of fitness was polluted by bodybuilding. Somehow, this niche interest had become the dominant vantage point in exercise, at least in my own mind, even though I'm not interested in it for myself, and so I spend two episodes listing all the ways...

I don't know what I was thinking when I said I'd be back with a new episode this week. Now I'm going the other way and waving the white flag on putting out a new episode until July 17th! Until then, the summer of reruns continues, and today I give you the very first two episodes of this show, and the very first two bod pods! Episode 1 - "Work out as little as possible," and E...

The run of reruns continues, and this time I'm going back not one but two years and digging up two episodes from June of 2024. In Episode 22, I tell you about taking a then 2 year old Ernie to the driving range for the first time, and in Episode 23 I do little more than whine at all the little inconveniences of playing with my child. I don't have any episodes from three years ago, so I bet...

No new episode again this week, unfortunately. But I decided to try to fill the void by offering not one but TWO episodes from around this time last year. In Episode 48, I talk about then 3 year old Ernie's development as a savvy traveler, and all the benefits we see these experiences provide. And in Episode 49, I tell you about a time when my wife was pregnant with Al, busy with work, and kin...

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu is upon us, and the Disney Machine has aimed its superlaser at this Star Wars-agnostic podcast host and convinced me to watch the show, "Andor". Then I watched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story . And then I wanted to watch Episode IV: A new Hope (aka "Star Wars"), and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back , and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi , and I...

It's been a tough week here in the Zad Abode. My 4 year old is both acting up and having a sleep regression. My back hurts. My golf game was oh so close before falling off again. It's the perfect storm! But listen in as I try to convince you (and myself) that the secret to getting my son and my back and my golf game back on track is one and the same: Making our beds the moment we open our...

We’re coming up on the end of my 4 year old’s tee ball (or is it t-ball?) season, and the end of my time as their coach, so it’s a good time to think back on how far we’ve all come. These kids have improved tremendously, and I’ve learned a thing or two myself. So I recap all their madcap adventures, make my case for why baseball is the best youth sport, and share the great secret I have learned re...

It's a special Mother's Day episode of Zad Bod! My wife, the mother of my children, has been a recurring character on this show as a pillar of strength, a voice of reason, and a comedic foil. But today she is simply the woman of the hour as I tell you all about how exceptional a partner, parent, and person she is; how lucky I am; and how together we are going to change the way we even cele...

A couple weeks ago I complained about how messy it is to let my baby teach himself how to eat solid food. Then last week I let that baby make too big a mess, and told you about other big messes I have made in the past. And when it rains it pours, I guess, because now baby is scooting around the floor and pulling things off of shelves. my 4 year old is tracking dirt into the house and drawing tatto...