If you're asking your kids to exercise, then you better do it

The words of Caitlyn Jenner—“If you're asking your kids to exercise, then you better do it, too. Practice what you preach.”—burn with the fire of both simplicity and power. They remind us of an eternal law of life: that example is greater than command, and that children will follow the footsteps of their parents long before they obey their voices. To practice what you preach is to align word and deed, to embody the very lessons you wish to instill. Without this alignment, words fall like leaves in the wind—heard, perhaps, but never rooted.

The ancients understood this truth well. The Stoic philosophers, such as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, taught that virtue was not to be proclaimed but to be lived. A father who urged courage but trembled in fear, or who demanded discipline but lived in indulgence, was not a guide but a hypocrite. The young learn not by hearing alone, but by observing. Jenner, herself an Olympic champion, speaks from the authority of one who has borne the weight of discipline, sweat, and sacrifice. Her call is not merely about exercise, but about integrity itself—the unity of example and instruction.

History is filled with mirrors of this lesson. Consider the great educator Confucius, who declared that the ruler who demanded virtue of his people must first be virtuous himself. His students recorded not only his words, but the way he walked, ate, and treated others. In this, they found their teacher’s true power: not in doctrine alone, but in example. Likewise, parents today who urge their children to rise early, to strengthen body and mind, must themselves rise and live in such discipline, or else their commands ring hollow.

Jenner’s words strike at the heart of a parental paradox: children see through hypocrisy with sharper eyes than adults imagine. A parent who urges honesty yet deceives, or who demands kindness yet speaks with cruelty, does more harm than silence ever could. But when a parent’s life embodies their teaching, the child learns not only the lesson, but the beauty of living it. Thus, to practice what you preach is to become the living text, the book from which a child learns without ever needing to be told.

The meaning runs deeper still, for exercise itself is a metaphor for all training in virtue. The strengthening of the body reflects the strengthening of the spirit. If a parent would have their child endure hardship with resilience, then the parent must endure hardship with grace. If they would have their child embrace discipline, then they must embrace it in their own lives. In this way, the parent is not merely an instructor but a companion, walking alongside the child on the path of growth.

The lesson for us is clear: you cannot demand from others what you do not demand from yourself. In the home, in the workplace, in leadership, this truth stands eternal. Those who guide must lead by example, for example has the power to stir the heart in ways no command can. A father who runs with his child teaches more than fitness; he teaches perseverance. A mother who shows patience in difficulty teaches more than calm; she teaches strength.

Therefore, let your actions be these: live the virtues you wish to see in your children. Do not merely tell them to be disciplined—show them discipline in your habits. Do not only ask them to be honest—live in truth before them. Do not urge them toward generosity—let them see you give freely. And when you ask them to train their bodies, join them in the training, so that they see the joy of shared effort and the honor of shared discipline.

Thus, Caitlyn Jenner’s words, though framed in the language of fitness, reveal a timeless truth: to lead is to live the lesson. Let future generations remember this: that words may instruct, but example transforms. And in the home, where the eyes of children are ever upon their parents, to practice what you preach is not only wise but sacred—it is the foundation upon which all true teaching stands.