I think it can be done, you just have to be extremely flexible with schedule, and have to do everything around your family’s needs. Youre not going to get the best training outcomes though, compared to being 100% locked in and having the ability to plan around your goals or have a strict schedule balancing family obligations and gym/ meals.
I did a cycle prepping for a PL meet when my daughter was born and it went fine. I didn’t get exactly the results on the platform I wanted, but I was able to balance the prep and being a new dad. I wouldn’t recommend a cycle with body building or physique goals with a new born because the diet is very important and so is timing of meals and the training session especially if you’re an insulin user. A strict schedule and routine would basically be impossible or you would be missing out on things with family and would be giving your wife an undue amount of pressure and workload in the household.
Training only for strength in competition wasn’t a problem. Not doing a strict meal prep or long hypertrophy training sessions made it very doable. SBD & variations 3x a week didnt have a huge effect. If you don’t mind your body comp getting worse, but just want to get a bit stronger with some big compounds, ok sure. But youre going to be run down all the time. There’s no way youre going to get the highest quality recovery either because sleep will be impacted and you’re gonna be busy all the time, whether it’s helping the wife, working, household chores, or babt duties.
It was fine, they slept a lot lol, and the gym was a 5 minute walk from our home. If my wife and daughter woke up, she would just text me and I’d come back, then go do deadlift or whatever after they took another nap. Make sure you’re available quickly, if you plan to do it. I was super tired though especially when I had to care for my daughter if my wife needed a break, due to accumulating fatigue until peak weak, and got sick immediately after competing because it was too much for my body.
