The Busy Dad Program might just change your life. It changed mine. But how do you start? Nothing could be easier. All you need to do is test in to the program.

In Test-In Week, you will simply perform two 20-minute workouts. In the first workout, you will perform as many 6-counts as you can in 20 minutes, and keep a record of your number of reps. In the second, you will perform as many Navy Seals as you can in 20 minutes, again keeping a record of your rep count. On the basis of those two Test-In Workouts, assign yourself a Level according to the BDP Level System, and: you’re in! Welcome to BDP! From next week, you can start putting in your 80 minutes and building toward the next training level!

Don’t kill yourself in these Test-In Workouts. All we’re trying to do is set a baseline to work from. You don’t want to scare yourself in the first workout. I cannot emphasize enough that the Busy Dad Program is more than willing to meet you wherever you are. I want you to move through the program at your own pace and on your own terms. If you’re adding one rep per week — for that matter, if you’re adding one rep per month — that’s still progress, and you have my complete respect.

Too many people hear the word ‘burpee’ and think of pain, hardship, misery. I cannot count the number of times people have explained to me why they don’t train burpees by saying, “I’m not like you, Max – I’m not a masochist!” BDP has nothing to do with masochism. Your journey through BDP is entirely your own; it is something to cherish and be proud of. My mission is to persuade you that even if you don’t have a mashochistic bone in your body, you will love burpee training as part of BDP. The satisfaction and pride BDP practitioners feel when they move up through the Level System is real, and it is profound.

If both of your Test-In Workouts assign you to the same Level, then go ahead and devote 40 minutes per week to each of the Sacred Movements. In most cases, people find that they test in to the same levels with both movements. If one of the two movements is stronger, though — if, say, you test in at Level 1D with your Seals and 1C with your 6-counts — then you need to focus your training on the weaker movement. Budget 60 minutes of your training week for the weaker movement, and just 20 for the stronger movement.