Bodyweight Routines With My Kids

I’ve been having a lot of fun recently with my kids and wife doing bodyweight exercises.  I’m doing a lot of research into them for an upcoming project and so I figured we could do them as a family.

Now, I’m very much a solo weight trainer, meaning that I like working out by myself.  The “me time” and the focus I get by working out alone is priceless.  But so is my family. If you’re like me, you really should get your whole family involved.  I don’t really recommend kids getting into weight training until their teens, and my two youngest daughters are pre-teen, so bodyweight exercises are perfect.

I’ve outlined a sample routine below – it’s only 15 minutes or so.  But let me make some comments first:

• Ask your kids what they do in school for calisthenics and let them contribute.  They’ll accept the routines better if they have a part in the process (and many of these “bodyweight” exercises are really just calisthenics that training gurus decided to rename so they could charge their clients extra $).  And if they play on the monkey bars, you may be surprised at their upper body strength.
• Slowly introduce fitness terms to them but not all at once; you want them to start thinking and talking in terms of fitness but most kids will resist if you try to turn it into an “educational experience”.
• Don’t push too hard – it’s ok to push them by saying “ok, let’s do two more!” but DO NOT make them feel inadequate if they can’t do as many reps as you think they should be able to do.
• Emphasize good form. This is the only thing I’m a “tyrant” about with my family – they have to learn the right form.  If you don’t know the right form yourself, get one of Craig Ballantyne’s ebook routines (they’re very inexpensive).  And if you own the Truth About Abs, there are several in there too.
• Make this fun! Joke around in between sets, make up funny names for the exercises, whatever you need to do to laugh in between exercises.
• Vary the routine a little bit each time you do it. Most kids will be more likely to get excited about it if it’s a little different each time.  Keep most of the exercises the same from week to week though, so kids don’t feel like they are starting over.
• Do not turn this into a bribe/reward. Kids will love these because a) they are doing something with their mom/dad whom they love, and b) these things are just plain fun.  Some incentive for them to try it the first time might be ok, but after that it should be fun in-and-of-itself.  Whatever you do, don’t reward them with junk food like “once we’re done, you can have a cookie”! Ok, enough on parenting…
• Eventually, let them run the show! This will keep the engaged and give them additional self-confidence.

Routine

Here’s the basic routine we do.  I give a brief description of the exercises below, but this isn’t meant to be a “techniques” post – this is about doing things with your kids.  I also don’t dictate the # of repetitions – you need to go at their ability.  If you have many kids, you’ll find that some can go for more reps than others – that’s ok.  I do not suggest turning this into a contest but that’s your call as a parent.

1.  dynamic stretches – generally you want to do stretches that get the blood flowing, stretches that are active; we do some jumping jacks, some standing knee raises, walk around like a duck, light kicks, etc.; these should be fun!
Lower Body
2.  squats – just bodyweight squats; sometimes we do prisoner squats (hands behind head) or genie squats (arms folded in front like a genie); sometimes flying squats (arm’s straight out to the side)
3.  step-ups – just get a wooden chair and step with one leg up on the chair; then down again; then switch legs; kids really like the fact that they are suddenly allowed to climb on the furniture!
4.  jumps – these are the most fun for everyone!  Just get down in a good squat position, head looking up, but have your arms down almost near your heels; then swing your arms up as you come out of the squat and jump as high as you can!
Upper Body
5.  push ups – if your kids need to, they can go on their knees but try to move to straight-leg push-ups as soon as they are strong enough; try variations on arm spread/leg spread to spice it up; it’s fine if you have to help them keep their body straight
6.  pull-ups/chin-ups – lift them up to the bar; they can use an overhand or underhand grip, whatever they prefer (but have them try the alternative next week); have them do as many as they can, even if you have to help them; get them used the concept of a “negative” by coming down really slowly on the last rep; note – careful of accidentally tickling them when you spot them to get through a rep – kids are so ticklish!
Core

7. planks – this is where you rest on your forearms and elbows, but your body is like a pushup; all you do is hold that position for as long as you can!  Most kids can only do this for 10 to 20 seconds (you may not be able to go much longer yourself!); the goal is to get to 60 seconds while keeping your body perfectly still and straight.
8. mountain climbers – start like a push up, then bring one leg up to where your foot is about next to your hand; then while you return that leg back, bring the other leg up; switch quickly; these are fun!

And then, go for a short run together! I suggest either a 1 mile run or a set of sprints.  You have to gauge their fitness level and work up slowly – if you make it too difficult at first, they will likely rebel!

For more ideas and more complete descriptions, check out Craig Ballantyne’s bodyweight training programs.  They are only like $10 each or something like that.  Click here.  He’s got some great guidebooks, but for kids you want to avoid any that require dumbbells or kettleballs.  More on his programs in a future post.

Would you all like more on bodyweight exercises to do as a family with your kids?

Just starting out with weightlifting? Want to get bigger muscles this winter?
Get my full-body lifting routine here: FullBodyAttack!

Related posts:

1. Time-Volume Training – A Mass-Building Program For Bodyweight Exercises
2. Fat Kids
3. Why Do Lifting Routines Assume A 7 Day Week?

Tags: bodyweight exercises, kids