Welcome to the topic “6 Strength-Training Exercises For Kids”
Strength training is one of the most important forms of exercise for kids. It can help your child increase their endurance, make them less prone to injuries and help them maintain a healthy weight. Whether your children want to boost their performance in sports or become stronger and more confident, I’m sharing the simplest and most effective strength-training exercises that they need to start doing today. Here are 6 strength-training exercises for kids.
Planks
This is a great exercise that actively engages your core and spine, improving posture and overall balance.
Directions:
Start in a push-up position with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart, directly underneath your shoulders.
Ground your toes against the floor and lift your hips.
Your spine should be straight, with your head aligning perfectly.
Hold for about 20 seconds. Remember to keep breathing!
Try extending the time by a few more seconds as this move becomes more manageable.
Side planks
This plank variation is an excellent drill for runners as it improves both their strength and balance.
Directions:
Start on your side with one leg on top of the other.
Keep your legs stacked and lift with either your hand or your forearm.
Maintain this pose for about 20 seconds before switching sides and repeating the above steps.
Burpees
This is a full-body exercise designed to elevate your child’s heart rate and build strength in the upper and lower bodies. If your kids find this a tad too challenging, they can skip the push-up and jump part.
Directions:
Start by squatting with your back straight and feet shoulder-width apart.
Bend down and touch the ground with your hands.
Putting your weight on your hands, kick your feet back so that you’re in a push-up position.
Do a push-up and then jump back into your starting position.
Reach your arms overhead and jump up so that you’re back to Step 1. Repeat.
Inchworms
This workout increases flexibility alongside building your child’s arm strength.
Directions:
Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart.
Reach your hands towards the floor and start walking your hands forward till you’re in a plank position.
Keep your legs as straight as you can and walk your hands back to your starting position.
Stand back up and repeat the exercise.
Squat jumps
Jump squats are a simple yet effective way to work your thighs, hips, and hamstrings.
Directions:
Stand tall with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart.
Squat down until your thighs are a bit higher than your knees.
Jump upwards and land on your feet with your knees bent.
Return to your starting position and repeat.
Hip lifts
Another exercise that targets your glutes, hip lifts are responsible for increasing your muscle strength and endurance for the lower half of your body.
Directions:
Lay down on the ground with your head and back, touching your mat and your arms by your sides.
Lift your legs so that they point towards the ceiling. You can choose to bend or straighten out your knees.
Pull your navel inwards and lift your hips a few inches upwards. Make sure your head remains in contact with the ground.
Lower your hips back down and repeat.
Nate, my eight year old son has really taken an interest in strength training and enjoys it. I see the difference in his day when he does or doesn’t exercise. Not to mention, they sleep so well throughout the night. I hope these exercises helps in your household and be sure to let me know what your favorites are.
Welcome to the topic “Why Your Child Should Start Mixed Martial Arts?”
When we think of physical exercise for our kids, mixed martial arts isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind. While soccer or basketball seems like a more conventional way to get your child into exercising, self-defense practices such as Judo, Karate, and Taekwondo are a really good substitute for sports and other physical exercises. Apart from helping them feel more confident, the activities are sure to ensure that they will have all the benefits of physical activity they need while also being able to defend themselves should the need arise. I’m sharing with you all the positive reasons why your child should start mixed martial arts today.
Individual Growth
While most sports focus on a teamwork aspect, which is an excellent skill to have in its own right, individual growth is also a crucial part of a child growing up. While teamwork is nice, it can often put a lot of pressure on children to compete and perform well relative to their peers. This is not the case in martial arts, where they are guided to only focus on self-improvement and do not have to worry about letting anyone down.
Achieve Specific Goals
Sometimes, especially in team sports, it can be hard to feel a sense of accomplishment for children unless they win something as a team. While this isn’t impossible, it is significantly more difficult than in martial arts, where to signify their progress and skill level, they would get different colored belts. This also acts as a great motivator for them and boosts their self-esteem to help them feel more confident in themselves and their abilities.
Concentration and Self-control
Martial arts are often very demanding in terms of the concentration and attention levels required to learn some of the movements and techniques taught. This is usually not focused on team sports, where individual members may sometimes go off on their own or not be entirely focused on the game itself. In martial arts, the instructor would call the students’ attention by getting in the ready-pose to prepare them for the next activity.
Help Develop Coordination Skills
While team sports are also an excellent way for kids to develop good coordination skills, doing martial arts helps in an individualistic manner. The child would be focusing on coordinating only their body and its various parts. By removing the aspect of teamwork, they would be able to focus solely on improving their motor skills and understanding how they can use the power of their mind over their body.
Enforce Good Structure and Discipline
As you may have observed, if you’ve ever seen anything martial arts-related, their composure and structure are always impeccable and highlight the strong focus on discipline enforced by the art. For your child, this structured development would come from a good instructor who would define clear rules and behaviors and reinforce them throughout the class. In this way, the children develop good habits not only at the lessons but outside as well, at places such as school and home. Some instructors may also consider assigning these behavior guides as homework where they can coordinate with the parents to reinforce them!
I’m sharing with you a few pics of Nate getting his tips on his white belt and a video of him getting his yellow belt. It is a big deal for kids and such a huge accomplishment.
Welcome to the topic of “5 Ways to Make Exercise Fun For Kids”
Let’s face it, every child is unique in so many different ways and sometimes that means that they don’t feel enticed by the thought of spending an afternoon playing soccer with friends or going to the skating rink for a bit of fun and exercise. This does not mean that they will never enjoy any form of exercise, it just means that you will need to get creative and find things that do interest them. I’m sharing five different ways for you to make the activities that much more fun and exciting for them! Let’s get into these awesome tips that is sure to get your little ones moving.
Getting Simple Equipment
These would include anything from an agility ladder, jump ropes, hula hoops, or even frisbees among other things. Essentially, you can head down to your local dollar store and get anything sports/exercise-related that catches your eyes. I’m certain it will have a positive impact on your child’s experience with physical activity. Adding these elements to their everyday exercise will always have something new and different to interact with. They might even find a new favorite activity through them, thereby solving the issue of exercise seeming more like a chore to them than something they truly enjoy.
Consider Sticking To The Classics
By this, we mean trying out the old school games that you played as a kid in your backyard, just as your parents did, and their parents probably did too. There are several options to choose from here, and a quick google search should certainly reveal a lot of games that you may not even have heard of before. Some of our suggestions regarding this include potato sack racing, tug of war, tag, and, if possible, making unique and intricate obstacle courses. Who doesn’t love obstacle courses?
Get Their Friends Involved
What better way to help your child get over their stigma of physical activity than to have them do it with a friend they enjoy hanging out with. Organizing playdates such as this would allow the kids to partner up, which would act as a great motivator for both of them. Moreover, they will perform several duo exercises such as planks, bridges, and back-to-back squats, something they are guaranteed to have fun doing. Additionally, adding an aspect of coordination and teamwork like this also helps them develop essential skills that will be critical for them later on in life.
Participate in Community Organized Events
You’ve certainly seen mentions of local marathons or races in the newspaper or TV ads or social media and we believe these are great opportunities for you to give your child a unique, fun outlook on physical activity in which the entire community participates. At the same time, we recommend joining the activities yourself too. Hence, it becomes more of a family thing that everyone enjoys together, thereby helping the child feel less lonely or under pressure.
Be a Good Role Model
Kids will always look at their parents as their first role models and you must ensure that you are doing an excellent job at this especially when it comes to physical activity. Apart from the benefits that it will have for your health, role modelling is often considered one of the most effective techniques of showing children that exercise can be fun and necessary for the entire family. Your positive attitude will go a long way to helping them feel the same way about it.
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