We’ve put together some great exercises for kids at home. Kids love to move their bodies in any way they can, they love to explore movement in any environment. At the local park, specific classes, sports or out in nature. If you’re unable to get out and about then it’s great to get kids into a daily routine to mobilise, strengthen and stretch their bodies in a fun way. We’ve come up with a few ideas but let your kids explore for themselves, you’ll be amazed at what ideas they can come up if you give them the time and setting to do so. Throw down a mat, towel or take them outside into the garden and GO WITH THE FLOW!
Here are some examples of exercises for kids at home by 9 year old Lollie:
WALKING DOWN A WALL AND BACK UP AGAIN
Lollie has always been extremely flexible and has taken her a few years to practice this getting further and further each time. Start by leaning back and pressing the hands up against the wall and ….. walk the hands down the wall as far back as they can. You’ll see them progress more and more as they gain their confidence and flexibility. You could even mark the wall (if you do it outside) to see how they progress.
Just let them do what feels natural. Up against a wall is good for beginners until they build their strength and confidence. Get them to hold themselves up against the wall as long as they can, time them so they can see their progress.
SPLITS (NOT FOR THE FEINT HEARTED!)
Lollie has been doing gymnastics and acro classes for a few years and loves to see how far she can take her splits. Simply sit open the legs out as wide as they go. You can do this up against a wall and push inwards to stretch even more to gain more flexiblity. My daughters gym class used to make them stay there for a few minutes so the muscles relax and stretch gently.
SIT UPS
Not a favourite of Lollie’s (or anyone’s!) but she likes to fit them into her routine every now and then. Chin to chest and raise up as far as they can go, can they touch their knees, can they go all the way up?
HEADSTANDS – VARIOUS SHAPES
Use a pillow or thick mat for this one, really hurts your head but great fun! Like with the handstands you can do this up against the wall to avoid falling backwards. Or put lots of cushions and pillow or duvets behind and around them.
BACK BENDS
Definitely an advanced move for most adults but it’s surprising how flexible kids are. You can put cushions under neath to support them to begin with. This exercise requires lots of arm strength so something they can build themselves up to.
SQUATS
This is our favourite family competition, how many squats can you do before the other gives up. We usually do our squats on the settee so we all get down low enough 😉
FORWARD ROLLS
Always great fun exercises for kids at home! Forward rolls are great for spin mobilisation and flexibility. Great for kids who spend a lot of time studying/hunched over a laptop or device.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
These are great cardio killers! We usually time these against each other or do a circuit of 20 second bursts. The trick is to get them to keep their bottoms down and kick their knees inbetween their arms towards their elbows and kick back to the original position….all as quickly as possible.
PLANKS
One of my family favourite exercises at home, planking competitions! My 11 year old boy once had a friend over and he challenged him to a planking competition, Blake gave us after 2 minutes which I thought was rather impressive, but his friend kept going, at 5 mins we were all bored and left him!
Make movement and exercise fun! Choose a good time of day to do it, mornings are usually good when they’re full of energy and rested. Getting them mobile early will fire up their immune systems and release happy endorphins ready for the day.
Let them FLOW!