The beta version of BTN Fitness originated in the spring of 2015, several frenzied months after the birth of our first child. Babies have a way of ruining your workout routine. My baby boy was no different. I felt my energy being sapped. The last thing I wanted to do was workout. Nor was I sufficiently motivated to put on pants and go to a crowded gym for an hour, leaving a demanding 6 month-old and exhausted wife to fend for themselves.

I started working out in the living room of our 700 square foot apartment — 15 to 20 minutes every morning. Weightless squats and lunges, burpees, push-ups, and sit ups. That was it. I gradually added light kettlebells and dumbbells, and incorporated a suite of diverse movements to engage different muscle groups. The workouts never went longer than 30 minutes. On busy mornings I’d do 20 minutes; on hungover days I’d do 10.

The key was consistency — trying to hit a workout 5 out of 7 days in the week. It took time but it was working. I had more energy and my clothes started fitting again.

After these sessions my wife would ask, “How was your workout?” to which I’d casually respond, “better than nothing.” This was eventually truncated to simply, “BTN baby.” And voilà, BTN Fitness was born.