Remember the old times when we were kids and did not have March electronics available to spend on screen time? I remember being a pretty active kid myself. It is pretty much necessary to engage the little ones and some of the other kind of physical activities. Exercise for kids is not going to the gym or running on a treadmill or having to lift a weight. But it is more on being physically active and able to be energetic at school, class or playground.
Like adults, workout for children is pretty much necessary. Most of the children would need not less than an hour of physical activity each day. Fun exercises for kids are many which have plenty of benefits as well. It helps them to feel less stressed, know themselves better and feel good about self, be ready to learn and grasp actively in the school, concentrate well, keeping a healthy body weight, keep growing and having healthy bones muscles and joints, and being able to sleep better at night.
Kids today spend more time watching TV, playing on-screen games and spending lesser time moving out of the house for games and kids workout. As a parent is your family duty to limit the TV and computer time or any on-screen game time. You must set a good example as well as being a parent yourself by spending some time exercising rather than being a couch potato yourself. Children learn from the parents and once they see you indulge in to exercise games, they are bound to develop interest too. Encourage them to walk or bike to the school or any other classes.
Regardless of what is your child is, there are many exercises for children and fun physical activities which are very important for them to do in daily life. There is no surprise that with the increasing technological things in the world, kids are becoming overweight and inactive. It is vital to educate your children about the importance of workout for kids. Whether it is raining or snowing or even too hot to go outside in the park or the backyard, exercise for children is a way to get everyone in the family busy and away from the screen for a while. There are plenty of indoor and outdoor exercises for kids that can be followed regularly.
What is the Benefit of Exercising?
Why we kept saying that there are plenty of benefits of exercise for children, below is why we say that:
- Exercise help tips to have stronger muscles and bones
- Exercise for kids help them to have a leaner body
- Kids are less likely to become overweight
- It decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes which is very common in kids
- It helps in lowering the blood pressure and blood cholesterol level
- Kids who regularly exercise have a better outlook for life
Keeping all the health benefits of exercise separate, kids who indulge in a lot of activities also sleep better at night which is very vital for their growth. Kids are able to handle physical and emotional changes better write from running to catch a bus to preparing for different exams.
All exercises incorporate both cardiovascular and strength work which involves most of the whole body exercise that encourages the kids to train their sense of balance and coordination which is an integral part of the progressive development of a child’s physiological systems.
The health benefits can be derived simply from getting more physically active and get a great benefit from engaging in planned and structured exercise. Cardiovascular risk factors can reduce and physical fitness enhanced with low to moderate levels of physical activity.
Having spoken about the benefits of exercising for kids, we must also take a look at the elements of fitness.
1. Endurance: Endurance develops when kids start exercising and get into the aerobic activity. During aerobic activity, the heart beats faster and the person has to start breathing harder to cope up. When it is done regularly for an extended period of time, the aerobic activity strengthens the heart while improving the body’s ability to deliver enough oxygen to all its body cells. The various sports which involve this aerobic activity are Basketball, ice skating, cycling, tennis, running, walking, jogging, inline skating.
2. Strength All these sports activities improve the strength without having to lift the weights really. It could also do some pushups and stomach crunches along with full of and other exercises to help and tone their core muscles and strengthen it.
3. Flexibility Stretching exercises improve flexibility, Allows the muscles and joints 2 bends and move easily into motion. Kids get a lot of changes over the day to stretch, especially when they want to reach for the toys practices split or a cartwheel. This is the best part about fitness for kids as they have natural flexibility which can remain for ages when in practice.
List of Exercises for Kids:
Before you could start kids exercise games, you have to remember to ask the kids to warm up first to avoid any injuries. About 5 to 10 minutes of light activity can serve as a warmer for any further activity coming through like walking, jumping jacks, bend or stretch. Listed below is some brain exercise for kids along with a combination of fun workout for kids.
- Headstands: the awesome activity for your core muscles to get the blood going into the brain. Kids often do it naturally.
- Jump rope: let your kid go outside for this jump rope. Let your kid have fun with the jump rope.
- Obstacle course: Create an awesome obstacle for your child with the existing furniture in your apartment and with chalk you could make the course. Add specific mental or physical challenge to keep them going.
- Wheelbarrow: Hold one of the tough positions of a crab, a bear-walk race or any other to give your kid a real workout.
- Animal race: let your child hop like a frog or a bunny and squat while they would love to waddle like a duck and so on.
- Balloon ball: There are endless plays with a balloon. Try to keep it off the ground or just play a catch.
- Dance Party: Turn on the music and let them shake it up.
- Freeze dance: when the music stops, freeze in the position and pose and hold it until the music begins again.
Above were some kids exercise games, but if you wish to indulge them in some physical exercise routine daily, the below is a list of few of such exercises for them to do.
1. Jumping Jacks:
A very simple exercise for children where all they need to while standing up, you have to squat down about her for me and then lean slightly forward. Keep the left arm in front of you and the right now right in the back like in a running position, and right while trying to pay your arms in the opposite position and keeping the feet together. You must now be to the right of the original position with the right arm in front of you. The left arm is in the back and your feet together with the knees bent in a crouched position. Now lean back and jump again to your original position whilst drinking your aunt to their original position. When you are comfortable with these exercises, you can increase the intensity and effectiveness by adding ankle and wrist weights when doing the same. Perform 2 sets of 15-20 reps each.
2. Ski Jump:
The exercise starts from a position where you are standing with the left leg and the left arm in front of your right leg and the right arm. So basically the right neck and the right arm is slightly in the back while you tried to bend your knees in a running position. Jump up while swinging the arms and the legs in the opposite direction before landing the floor. You must now have to lift your left leg and ARM in the back of you and you are a right leg in the am in front of you such that you jump again while swinging your arms in the opposite direction before landing on the floor. When you have put your left and the left around in front of you, and the right leg and right arm behind you as same as the original position, you have completed rep. You must try doing 15 to 20 reps of each day and perform two sets of it. again you can increase the effectiveness of the activity by adding a way to the ankle and the wrist.
3. Squat Thrust with an Added Push:
When you are standing straight up and your feet about few inches apart and crouch bend down with knees until you touch the floor with the hands in front of your toes. This is the squat position. With our hands on the floor flat in front of your feet, kick your feet straight outside towards the back of you. This will be the push-up position and while keeping your legs and back straight, you have to bend your elbow and Lower the body until your chest touches the floor. Now you can straighten up your elbow to raise your body back up and to the push-up position. Jump back to squat position while keeping the hands on the floor. you can now stand up straight to the original starting position and perform 2 sets of 10 reps.
4. Alternate toe Touch:
Right from standing position with your back straight and feet about a couple of feet apart, out your arms straight out beside you. While you keep the elbows and arms straight, bend forward and twist your body further to touch your left toes with your right hand. Your left arm should be straight up above you. Now, go back to the original straight up position and arms straight out beside you. Repeat this technique to touch the right toes with the left hand, and return to the original position. You could perform 2 sets of 10-20 reps.
The current recommendations state that kids and adolescents must strive for at the least 20 minutes daily moderate intensity physical activity.
There are many exercise equipment for kids which can be used for exercise for kids. From kids trampoline to punching bags for kids and many more such kids’ workout ideas can be made use of.
There are plenty of exercise videos for kids available as well along with the exercise music for kids which could be utilized for a fun time.
