Improving Core Strength and Spinal Mobility for Fathers: A 30-Minute Workout

Introduction

Are you a father looking to improve core strength and enhance spinal mobility? Join our 30-minute workout video designed specifically for you. This workout places special emphasis on spinal health, mobility, and shoulder stabilization, offering a holistic approach to fitness.

No matter your fitness level, this workout is suitable for everyone, provided you don't have any injuries or pre-existing conditions. We understand the toll that sitting at a desk job can take on your body, leading to tightness in the muscles around the lumbopelvic hip complex and resulting in lower back pain.

How to Eliminate Back Pain

To combat this pain and achieve a pain-free lifestyle, developing a strong core and stretching the tight muscles caused by prolonged sitting is essential. While the best solution is to avoid long periods of sitting altogether, we recognize that it's not always feasible. That's why we encourage incorporating periodic stretching throughout the day to alleviate tension and promote spinal health.

During the workout video, prioritize listening to your body and honoring its cues. If an exercise or stretch doesn't feel good or seems incorrect, it's crucial to dial it back and find a range of motion that suits you best. One of the advantages of home workouts and online coaching is the increased self-awareness that often arises. Without the pressure of external factors, you can focus on your well-being and work out with a reduced ego.

The Workout

Join us in this invigorating 30-minute session, where you'll improve core strength, enhance spinal mobility, and nurture a healthier body. Take control of your fitness journey and experience the benefits of this targeted workout designed exclusively for fathers like you.

If you've enjoyed this invigorating workout, we'd greatly appreciate your support! Simply copy and paste this link and share it on social media. And if you're REALLY loving it, don't forget to share it with a friend, because sharing is caring, and spreading the fitness love is always a good thing.

For a wide range of workouts that cover everything from full-body routines and core exercises to rejuvenating yoga sessions, all you have to do is sign up for my monthly newsletter. By doing so, you'll also gain access to valuable nutrition tips, delicious recipes, life hacks, and even some entertaining bad dad jokes (we all need a little laughter in our lives).

Now, it's time to have some fun! We sincerely hope that this workout not only helps strengthen your core, and improves spinal mobility, but also brings a genuine smile to your face. Your well-being and satisfaction are our top priorities, and we're thrilled to be a part of your fitness journey.

If you are interested in digging more into the rabbit hole of the benefits of exercising, check out this post HERE

Here is the written transcript of the workout -

So lets begin just by stretching out some of

the muscles that connect down into your

hips

so inhale raising both hands up over

your head

and then kind of draw your shoulder

blades down away from your ears

i'm going to drop one hand down to the

floor it doesn't matter which hand

and then that hand is going to kind of

support you so you can maintain length

through your spine

and then bend at the elbow and reach

that top arm over

you're going to roll your shoulder blade

back so your heart looks up towards the

sky

or ceiling taking a deep breath

then on the exhale push yourself back up

both hands come up to the sky

and then switch sides and that arm is

kind of posting so you can maintain that

length along your spine

and then bending at the elbow and

extending that top arm

as far as you can so you get that good

stretch down through your lats all the

way into your hip

and push them back up and then both

hands

come down to your sides cool

so make around your hands and knees to

begin

so with your knees underneath your hips

hands underneath your shoulders

we're going to come into cat and cows

still warming up your spine

so inhale to look up and then exhale

curving your chin to your navel

and just kind of moving through the

whole range of motion as you kind of

feel your

spine wake up and as you push your spine

up towards the ceiling see if you can

actually flex your abs

to make that contraction happen

essentially it's your abs that are

squeezing to bring your chin towards

your belly button

we'll do one or two more passes up and

down

and then we'll meet in a nice neutral

spine

so extending your right arm out in front

of you and your left heel straight back

away from you

and then tucking your belly button into

your spine so you get like really hollow

through the midsection

you're gonna take in a breath and then

on the exhale connect elbow to knee

under your body

and then inhale to extend reaching out

and we do that five times

exhaling to connect for two to extend

and then for three standing out

for four extend out

one more time making the connection and

then one more time reaching out

and then coming back onto all fours just

take a moment to resettle

again drawing your belly button into

your spine reaching your left arm out in

front of you and your right heel

straight back away from you

take in a breath and on the exhale

connect elbow to knee

inhale to extend exhale to connect

there's two you have to extend

to connect three extend

back to four extend

one more time making the connection one

more time reaching out

and coming back down onto all fours

so we're going to do just a little

spinal mobility work so bring your right

hand behind your head

and then pushing your heart away from

the floor so your left shoulder is

really strong and engaged

we're going to bring your right elbow to

your left elbow and then open out to the

side

as far as you can

bring it back in we're going to do that

five times just kind of moving through

the breath

each time you do it you can kind of feel

that stretch happening across the middle

of your back

one more time

and then after you've done your five

we'll come down and do the same thing on

the other side

so bring your left hand behind your head

and pushing your heart away from the

floor so that right shoulder is really

strong

connecting elbow to elbow and then

opening out to the side just about as

far as you can

making movement with breath so you give

a big exhale as you're coming up

oh and then after you finish that five

we'll curl under your toes

and come into a downward facing dog

so from the downward dog just pausing

for a moment kind of pedaling out

through your heels

give a little stretch in your calves or

your hamstrings and kind of shake your

head if you want him

and then we're gonna go for an alternate

toe touch from a downward dog for 20

reps

so reaching touching your opposite toes

and trying to keep your legs and back

just about as straight as you can

so

and once you finish the set of 20 you

can come back down onto hands and knees

it'll make your way all the way onto

your back

we'll get ready for a set of crunches

so we're gonna go for 25 crunches uh

heels can be either on the floor or up

in the air creating a tabletop with your

shins

doesn't really matter but each time you

come up you want to give a big strong

exhale

so your core is empty by the time you

get to the top and getting that good

strong squeeze

and always maintaining space between

your chin and your chest

so you're never pulling on your head but

it's your abs that are bringing you up

so

once you finish your set of 25

bring your hands underneath your bum and

we're going to straighten out your legs

and come to a set of 25 leg lifts

so raising your heels up off the floor

stopping until you're just shy of above

your hips

and then lower them down so that they

hover just above the ground

so going for 25 of these as you get to

the bottom so you can just kind of point

your legs a little bit further

just to create that length through your

core

hmm

one two

25

cool once you finish the set of 25 we're

going to cross your right ankle

over your left knee and thread your

hands through to grab onto your left

thigh

and just pausing here for a moment just

giving a little gentle pull

and stretch out your right bum cheek

and then releasing that leg you can

either let your left leg stay floating

or bring your left heel down to the

ground and we're going to come into

crunches straight up and down

for a set of 15. so coming up giving a

big exhale

do

once you finish the set of 15 just

switching sides crossing your left ankle

over your right knee

and then threading your hands through

your legs that you grab onto your

right thigh just give it a gentle pull

to kind of stretch out that left

palm tree and give a little rock to side

to side without melting the stretch

now release your right leg bring that

foot back down to the ground we're going

to come into your next set of

figure four crunches so 15 straight up

and down

and maintain that good space between

your chin and your chest

so

cool it's all done with those

we're going to come on up and kind of

sit on your bums

with your hands pointing away from you

i'm going to straighten out your legs

and what we're going to do is pretend

like you got a little a little box of

something precious right him

at the end of your mat so we're going to

lift up your legs bring it to one side

of the mat

and then raise it up over that little

box of something precious i imagine like

a box full of kittens

because that's just so precious and it's

like kind of a big box

so we're raising it up and over but the

box can be whatever precious thing you

want we're going to go for 20 of these

total

or if you're like my kids you want to

keep it kind of dangerous it's a

box of hot lava

once you finish the set of 20 come on

down and post your feet about hip width

apart

and raise your hips up off the ground

we're going to come into an alternating

crab kick

so reaching out touching opposite toe

also for a set of 20 reps

all right

20. cool once you're done with that sub

20 you can come to laying down

flat on your back once again

going to bring your big toes together

and your heels just about touching

and then let your knees drop out to

either side

give a little rock from side to side to

kind of open up your hips

i'm going to put one hand over the other

like you're diving into a swimming pool

and we're going to crunch really high up

driving your hands

right through the center line of your

body so we're going to go for a set of

25 of these

again think about giving a big exhale on

the way up so your core gets empty by

the time you get to the top

uh

once you're all done with your set 25

we're going to come into a vertical hip

raise

because that's where you put your hands

underneath your bum legs are straight up

over your hips and you kind of use your

lower abs

to kick your butt up off the floor and

then lower down softly we're going to go

for 20 of these

try to keep your feet directly over your

hips and think about coming up fast

and lowering down slow if you can pause

for a moment at the top that's even

better

one two

three four

25. well once you're done with those

we're going to straighten out your legs

reaching your hands over your head just

give them a little abdominal stretch

taking a deep breath long exhale

and then bring them both knees into your

chest a little rock from side to side

and continuing working on spinal

mobility we're going to straighten out

your left leg along the floor

and bring your left right knee across

your body

all the way out to the side and then

reach both arms out to the sides

so you got your knuckles in line with

your shoulders

we're going to carry your right arm up

until your palms are touching

to your left and then open all the way

back out to the side

we can do that five times just going

slow and going at your own pace and as

you bring that right arm all the way

back out to the side see if you can let

your right shoulder

come all the way down to the ground

while maintaining your right knee on the

floor

one more time

once you finish your five repetitions up

make around your back again hug in both

knees into your chest

we're gonna do the same thing on the

other side so straighten out your right

leg along the floor

with your right hand carrying your left

knee across your body reaching your left

arm out to the side

then reaching your right arm out to the

side and then carrying your left hand up

towards the sky until your hands are

touching

and then opening out

for five repetitions trying to link

movement with breath

so

and once you finish all five of those

make your way onto your back again give

them one more little hug

because hugging yourself is a good thing

i don't think most people hug themselves

nearly enough

okay so now we're going to come into a

set of butterfly

crunches oh sit-ups that's where you

straighten out your arms and legs into a

big

sort of happy shape taking a deep breath

and then on the exhale floating all the

way up onto your bum

until you come up and you're balancing

on your tailbone

and then you come out of it the same way

that you got into it

so taking in a deep breath and then on

the exhale squeezing up

nice and tall and then lowering all the

way back down

there's three

that's four we're gonna do one more

then the last one we're gonna hold at

the top for a moment

and imagine someone is like pulling you

from from the front of your shirt so

your shoulder blades kind of come back

raise both hands up over your head and

then lower really slowly all the way

down

to the mat and then we're going to

connect elbow

to knee over your body now making that

connection with your elbow to your knee

we're going to extend your left arm and

your left leg all the way out

come back together and then switching

sides for a set of 20 reps total

[Music]

cool once all done with those we're

going to hook

your right ankle over your left knee

we're going to come to a single leg

uh hip raise so pushing off your left

heel raising your hips up as high as you

can

and then lowering slowly back down we're

going to go for 10 of these on each leg

going at your own pace but trying to get

that good strong squeeze so you're

butting your hamstring

so high that you almost feel a stretch

in your hip flexor this top part

right up there

once we finish a set of ten switching

legs

and doing ten on the other side

so

let's go once you've completed that set

of 10 we're going to come all the way

onto your side

resting on your forearm and keeping that

shoulder really strong so you're not

like slouching and

lounging and hanging out but you're

active and doing an exercise

and then your hips are going to float up

off the ground we're going to come into

10 rib breaks

so your top hand is a rake rake

underneath your ribs

and then bring that hand up over your

shoulder

we're going for 10 of these the further

you reach under the more productive the

exercise becomes

and always keeping that left shoulder

girdle really strong

once it finishes out of 10 switch sides

again shoulder girdle is engaged top arm

is your rake

rake under your ribs come all the way up

five

six

seven eight

nine ten

cool once you're done with those we'll

make your way onto your belly

we're gonna do our last uh mobility

exercise

so we've done this one a few times in

the past

it's pretty good so it's where you're

resting on your tummy

i'll talk through the first few and then

we'll go into it

so you're resting on your tummy both

arms come up and you bring your knuckles

down to your lower back so your hands

are on top of one another

and then draw your elbows back towards

each other stretching through the

shoulder girdle

lower back down and then bring both arms

all the way out in front of you again

we're going to go for five of those just

going at your own pace

and kind of breathing through the

movement

and really kind of listening to your

body

and then once you finish your set of

five of those we're going to come on to

a forearm plank

for 60 seconds and while you're holding

the plank if you want to

make a little bit more fun we're going

to rock your hips from side to side

so starting in three two

one you're in your plank and everything

is going great

then if you want to make a little bit

harder you kind of drop one hip down to

the ground and then your other hip down

to the ground

so we're just rocking side to side while

holding the plank

but that's just kind of like an option

if you want to make it uh

spicy

we're at 30 seconds

think about keeping your upper spine

high away from the floor

good 15 seconds left

five four three

two one come all the way down

if you want to rest for a second child's

pose kind of stretch out your lower back

for a moment

and we'll come forwards all the way back

onto your belly we're going to do

a lower and upper back strengthening

movement and that is the superman to

cactus arms

so both arms are straight out in front

of you and you're flying up like

superman legs and arms come up off the

floor

draw your elbows down towards your rib

cage

and then straighten back out and then

lower back down softly to the ground

we're gonna go for five of these

again moving at your own pace

and in a range of motion that's right

for you

once you finish the set of five come all

the way back into your child's pose

and while we're holding this child's

pose you're just going to kind of gently

walk your hands to one side

it doesn't matter what side

taking a few deep breaths

then you're going to walk both hands

over to the other side

again taking in a few deep breaths

then come back towards center

and then coming all the way up

sitting on your bum cool that's it

good job everybody um

hope you all have a great great weekend

and

if you can say something nice or do

something good

you should always take advantage and do

it because you may not get the

opportunity