Helping Parents Feel Their Physical Best

On-Demand Class · Parent Wellness

Helping parents prepare for the physical challenges of parenthood, so they can feel good and prevent the common injuries associated with caring for our adorable growing squirmy kettlebells.

Class Description

Hey Newish Parent! Given the fact that you have a child (or a few) I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’ve got some pains that you’ve most likely been avoiding dealing with in favor of conquering 1,000 other responsibilities before falling face-first into bed at night in utter exhaustion...fear not! Using my experience as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Dad – I will be shedding some light on ways to reduce the typical stresses on the body that we all deal with while caring for our kids. You'll leave this course with a bunch of practical ideas and concepts that you can build into your daily life to help protect your body so you can keep kicking butt, because let's face it, as modern parents, we don't have time for injuries.

Class Materials

No extra materials are needed. Just a desire to open your mind and think about how the physical challenges and opportunities that parenthood provides.

Sessions Overview

  1. Section 1: Welcome!: Welcome to the Powerful Parent Club! In this section, you'll learn more about the course and what we'll be covering. Let's get started!
  2. Section 1: Capacity vs. Load: Brief overview of the concept of capacity vs. load to get you to start thinking about what your body is currently able to handle, and how to progressively increase your body's ability to tolerate more physical stress.
  3. Section 1: Center of Mass Part 1: In this section, I'll discuss how our center-of-mass effects our body and how we move, especially while caring for small children.
  4. Section 1: Center of Mass Part 2: Continuing the discussion on Center-of-Mass.
  5. Section 1: Levers and Pulleys: Our body is made up of a bunch of levers (bones) and pulleys (muscles/tendons/ligaments) that impact how we are able to move our bodies and carry other objects. This concept is important to consider as we think about how we are able to lift and move our children and all of their additional gear.
  6. Section 2: Kids are Heavy: Introduction: If you’re not used to lifting 30+ pounds of weight on the regular, you’ll notice how hard it is to keep our kids safe and bring them from point A to point B. In this section, we'll discuss practical tools to start thinking about and doing to reduce stress (whether your "little one" is 15lbs or 45lb…
  7. Section 2: Setting the Foundation: Without a strong foundation, it's much harder to lift. Let's consider building a stable base to work off of from the ground up.
  8. Section 2: Deadlifting for Daily Life: With little ones there is probably no more regular task than the deadlift. We are constantly bending over and picking kids up from the floor, high chair, bath, crib, etc. If you can master a good deadlift you'll make all that repetitive lifting more efficient and safe.
  9. Section 2: Unilateral Deadlifting to Spare your Spine: The cleanup never ends for us new parents. When you're dealing with lighter objects you can spare your low back by hinging at your hips and lift with your larger and more efficient muscles.
  10. Section 2: Squatting for Success: When it comes to picking up our kids, having the mobility and strength to execute on a good squat can make a huge difference in reducing the load and strain on the low back. Stabilize your core, hinge at your hips, and use your glute on the way back up! You got this!
  11. Section 2: Biceps for Baby: Stronger arms = more efficient lifting and better endurance for carrying the kid's longer distances.
  12. Section 2: Kids are Heavy: Mini-workout: Fit in a trial workout and see where else you can get creative with working more squats, deadlifts, unilateral deadlifts and more into your day.
  13. Section 3: Kids Don't Follow Instructions: Kid's don't follow instructions - what can you do about it?
  14. Section 4: Kids force us into difficult positions: Kid's force us into difficult positions. In this section we'll discuss what we can do about it.
  15. Section 4: Want to put a kettlebell into a middle car seat?: Nobody ever trained for putting a squirmy kettlebell into a middle car seat. Let's think about how we can do this differently to make it easier for everyone.
  16. Section 4: Bathtime Considerations: Bathtime for the kids is hard on the body (even before thinking about how to brush their hair). Let's think about how we can do bathtime without sacrificing our backs.
  17. Section 4: Never Ending Laundry: The Laundry never ends - but you can think about it differently, spare your back, or add in some extra exercise in the process.
  18. Section 4: Carrying a child for a long period of time: Carrying kids is tough to begin with, and it turns out that our kids want us to do it for a long long time. That being said, it also feels great to be able to carry our kids, and I want to empower more parents to be able to do this for as long as they want. In this section, we'll discuss what you c…
  19. Section 4: In and out of the crib: You're doing it multiple times a day - why not do it right? Let's discuss how we can make this task easier on you.
  20. Section 4: Thoughts on Baby Carriers: I get this question a lot and did a lot of research before getting my own carrier for my kids. In this section, I discuss current best practices and thoughts on how you can utilize baby carriers.
  21. Section 4: Wrapup: Wrapping up section 4. These are just a few of the most common positions and physical challenges for parents and other caregivers to manage. You can utilize some of the main concepts discussed here as you think about other tasks that are difficult and should reach out about additional questions.
  22. Section 5: Time is finite, so lets make the most of what we've got: Session introduction: We only have so much time in a day, so lets consider how to make the most of it and ensure you're not sacrificing your body at the same time.
  23. Section 5: Squats all day: How do you fit more squats into your day? Simple - you're already doing it with going from sitting to standing - lets consider adding a few more into your day.
  24. Section 5: How Strong are your calves?: Standing around? Going up and down the stairs? Why not strengthen your calves? Stronger calves = easier time walking and moving around with kids. Extra bonus - if you're holding your kids safely while doing heel raises you already have some extra resistance to work with :)
  25. Section 5: Rows and Arm Strength to the Rescue: Lets talk about using rows and having stronger arms to spare your back and make all those difficult parenting tasks easier.
  26. Section 5: Getting creative with your kids and your fitness: No time to exercise? Let's get creative. Think about what you like to do, figure out what can realistically fit into your normal week, and let's get started. Every little bit of movement counts.
  27. Section 6: Kids are expensive: Turns out kids are expensive - that means we've got to spend a lot of time working to support them. Let's think more about how we can be smart about how we work to feel better at the end of the day.
  28. Section 6: Do your low back muscles ever get a rest?: Does your low back ever get to rest and recover? What does that mean for the rest of your body? We'll talk about it in this section
  29. Section 6: The texting challenge: Add some accountability into your day. Challenge yourself and your friends and family to lift their phones up to eye level when they are using it. You'll get stronger arms, reduce unnecessary scrolling, and you'll take some pressure off your neck and back.
  30. Section 6: Working Smarter: You've gotta work - so why not work smarter. Let's talk about desks, chairs, and moving beyond ergonomics.
  31. Section 6: Kids are Expensive: Mini-workout: Some initial ideas for exercise at your desk or around your home office to fit some movement into your day.
  32. Section 7: Wrap Up: Congrats on finishing this course and welcome to The Powerful Parent Club. You can follow along on FB and Instagram @thepowerfulparentclub for more inspiration. If you have questions or other areas you'd like more clarification on don't hesitate to let me know. email: jason@focused-physio.com

Your Instructor

Jason Levine

Jason Levine is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and creator of the "Newish Parent Guide to Avoiding Unnecessary Pain." His practice, Focused Physio ( www.focused-physio.com ) is committed to helping provide education and self-empowerment for his patients and community in order to help others feel and move better so they can do what they love while reducing the need for opioids, injections and surgeries. He is a firm believer that each individual has the power and capability to improve their own health and wellbeing if they choose to do so. He has 2 young girls (1 and 5-years-old) and is passionate about helping busy professionals, parents and grandparents reduce the physical stressors of daily life on the body.

Degrees and Certifications

Doctor of Physical Therapy and Creator of The Powerful Parent Club

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