March 19, 2020

Get Your Kid Fit and Healthy with This Kids’ Workout | Intersport Elverys

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Stuck at home or stuck for time to actually get out anywhere? You might be looking to take your kids through a little bit of activity to let their energy out from being cooped up inside.

It’s important that, whatever kind of activity you choose, they ease gradually into it. Rushing into workout routines is a great way to get injured or even burnt out.

We’re talking about why kids need to exercise and a few of the elements of fitness our exercise for kids target.

And then, we’re listing a fun HIIT workout to get your kids active while also getting an intensive workout done for yourself. Plus, it can be done at home, at your local park or pitch, or wherever works for you and your kids.

The key thing when working out with kids is making it fun and adding a little bit of friendly competitiveness, all while making sure everyone is enjoying themselves.

Why Do Kids Need Exercise?

There are plenty of benefits for everyone who regularly exercises, and that includes kids. Just like you, kids need to exercise and lead healthy, active lifestyles. And when they do, they’ll benefit from these things (plus plenty of others):

Less risk of becoming overweight or obese
Less risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Strong muscles and bones
Better mental health
Better night’s sleep

Plus, with sports seasons coming up quickly, your kids will be ready to go if you start working out sooner rather than later.

What Are The Elements of Fitness?

There are three main elements of fitness no matter what kind of workout or activity your kids do:

Strength
Endurance
Flexibility

Focus on incorporating all three things in you and your kid’s workout routine.

Endurance focuses on aerobic activity, which strengthens the heart muscle and helps improve the body’s ability to provide oxygen to all of the cells.

If you’re looking for outdoor kids workouts (that don’t always feel like a workout), try playing basketball or football, go swimming, play tennis, or go for a light jog.

Strength doesn’t always mean you have to lift weights, but doing certain movements like press ups, pullups, situps, and crunches can help build and strengthen muscles.

Finally, flexibility promotes better joint and muscle movement. As we get older, we can easily lose our range of motion. Start your kids off on the right foot by implementing stretching routines or even simple yoga flows so they can prevent losing their own range of motion later on.

How Much Exercise Should Your Kids Get?

You know that your kids should be exercising, but how much exercise should they actually get? It’s recommended that kids and teenagers should get around 60 minutes of moderate to heavy physical activity every day. If you’ve got kids in sports, that should be no problem! And if it’s the off season, or your kid doesn’t play a sport, we’ve still got a great kids workout for you (in just a minute).

Young toddlers should have 60 minutes of active play every day. And young school-age children should try to get two hours of active play every day. That can be anything from free play to an adult-led activity.

What Equipment Do You Need For Kids’ Workouts?

Before you get started with your exercises for kids, you might need to grab a few things that can help them (and you!) get a better workout in.

If you’re looking for ways to add more endurance training or cardio into your kids’ workout, try adding in a skipping rope. It’s a fun way to get in an intensive workout in just a short amount of time.

And if you’ve got older kids (at least 8 years or older) who are well-versed in fitness, you can try introducing them to resistance in their workouts other than their bodyweight. Start with resistance bands or tubes, and then work into small weighted kettlebells, medicine balls, or hand weights. Make sure you are always there to supervise them when they are using this kind of equipment!

Some equipment is good to have on hand, especially if you’re trying to make sure your kids lead active lifestyles. Things like basketballs, basketball hoops, footballs, or even tennis and volleyballs. These can encourage your kids to go outside and play in their own backyards, which is a great way for them to get their activity in for the day.

Looking to add to your equipment for your kids’ workouts? We can help you with that!

Exercise To Do At Home With Your Kids:

A great way to get an intensive workout for your kids and you is to do a quick high intensity interval training workout with them.

Warm Up:

First, shake off any cobwebs! Start off by:

Swinging your arms forwards and backwards for 5 seconds.

Warm up your hips and get your core activated by placing your hands on your hips and moving them in a circular motion for 10 seconds. Then do it in the opposite direction for 10 seconds. Use a hula hoop if you have one or pretend that you’re using an imaginary one.

Jog on the spot then move into a sprint in place for 10 seconds.
Do jumping jacks or clap jacks for 10 seconds.
Skip on the spot for 10 seconds. You can use a skipping rope if you’d like!
Repeat this warm up two more times.
Once you’re all warmed up, get a quick drink of water and move onto the HIIT workout!

The HIIT Workout (6 Rounds)

For each round, do 20 seconds of the fun HIIT workout with your kids. Try to complete as many reps as possible in 20 seconds (and you can get a little competitive, too!).

Then, adults do 10 more seconds of burpees while your kids rest.

After your round of burpees, both you and your kids rest for 30 seconds.

Round One: Press Ups

Adults complete 8 press ups.

Kids complete 4 press ups (and their knees can be on the floor if needed!)