Kid Friendly Workouts

by Kayla

Getting physical activity into your daily routine can be hard, period. Have you ever tried exercising when your children are around and end up being their personal jungle gym? Instead of thinking of it as a burden, maybe you can try to use it to your advantage.

The cool thing is, physical activity is good for everyone, yes even little ones. The current recommendation is that children get 60 minutes of physical activity in EVERY DAY. Not only does it provide them with a good physical outlet and promote healthy growth and development, it also helps with emotional regulation and behavior. Kiddos on the other hand, get physical activity in the form of play and don't necessarily need it to be structured. If the kids get to count play as exercise, so can you!

If you are having a hard time finding time to exercise alone, try these activities or your own variation at home. You might be surprised by how difficult some of these things can be for you and how it gets your heart pumping!

1)      Simon Says - pick movements that incorporate balance and body weight movements like air squats, planks, jumping, etc.

2)      Follow the Leader  

  1. Start by picking a few different animals that you can mimic their movements, like frog hops, bunny hops, bear crawl, crab walk, horse galloping, etc. 
  2. Do one movement for about 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds then move on to the next animal movement. Do this for about 8 rounds or as much as your kiddo can tolerate. If needed you can play “follow the leader” with this to keep them engaged even more.

3)      Yoga/Stretching - we are not talking anything crazy here people; think kid friendly movements that they can relate to.

  • Example: Pretend to be a seed by getting into child's pose. Pretend that the seeds get watered and then they can grow up into big trees that reach up high to the sky.

 


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