In this week’s column, the focus is on children’s health and fitness. During 2020, I noticed a lot of kids dealing with changes like less outdoor time and the temporary cancellation of team sports.
For kids, it’s great to encourage movement – and lots of it! This keeps them healthy and encourages growth – mentally, emotionally and physically. Teaching kids how to do basic movements that are safe and help the body develop and grow is the way they should train until they are physically ready to move onto a beginner’s weights program, if they choose.
Something that would be great to encourage this year are walks, jogs and bike rides, all of which are great for spending time together and having a chat about what’s going on in their world, as well as to focus on their health and fitness.
I find that mixing up the activities is a great way to keep them interested.
Get outdoors
Head down to your local park; you can do this from your own backyard. This one is a great cardio exercise.
- 10 min bike ride around the park or block
- 10 min walk around the park or block
- 10 min jog/run around the park or block
When you’re done, make sure you finish with the following stretches:
- Hamstrings: sitting with one leg out straight, slide your hand down the straight leg and hold for 20 seconds, repeat on the other leg
- Back rolls: lying on your back, knees to your chest, roll your legs left to right slowly for 20 seconds
- Quads: standing, hold your ankle and pull it up to your buttocks and hold for 20 seconds, repeating on the other leg
Use your body
For this body weight workout, all you need is a bench.
- 3 mins step-ups
- 1 min standing squats
- 30 secs toe taps, each leg
- 3 x 10m hopping, each leg
- 1 min push-ups
- 1 min seated overhead punches
- 1 min dips
- 3 min step-ups
For more like this:
