4 Ways to Include Your Kids in Your Workouts
Engage your kids in your fitness routines and set them up for a healthy, active lifestyle. Get-Fit Guy has 4 tips on how to include your kids in your workouts – and have a ton of fun!
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My twin 6-year-old boys and I were recently driving to the gym where I planned to run on the treadmill while they played in childcare. But as we drove by a grassy park bathed in sunshine, I made a change of plans. I pulled into the parking lot and we all jogged around the park for 5 minutes then:
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They threw a frisbee, I sprinted, chased it down, and brought it back – then we all did 5 body weights squats together. We repeated the cycle for 10 rounds.
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Then they each kicked one soccer ball. I sprinted, chased down the soccer balls one by one, brought them back, and we all did 5 burpees together. This cycle was also repeated for 10 rounds.
By this point, I was already tired! But I decided to throw in a bit more:
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We then had a race in which I carried one boy (on my back) and raced the other boy 100 yards, then had a 20-second rest, and repeated the process with the other boy. We went for a total of 10 rounds.
Whew! By the time we finished, the kids were laughing, I was gassed, and we all had a great workout.
In the episode How to Get Your Kids Fit, my fellow Quick and Dirty tips host Mighty Mommy and I discuss how important it is for our children to see us exercise and to take part in our exercise routines whenever possible.
In the episode, How Much Should Kids Exercise?, you learn that kids need a minimum of 7 minutes of brief bouts of intense exercise – accompanied by a full day of standing more, walking more, and staying generally physically active – to maintain optimal health and to keep them from childhood obesity or other cardiometabolic risk factors.
4 Ways to Include Your Kids in Your Workouts
So in addition to playing “fetch” in the park and doing races while carrying your kids on your back, what are some other ways you can include your children in your workouts? These 4 ideas should get your wheels churning:
Tip #1: Use Your Kids as Weights
My wife and I recently took our boys on vacation to Legoland in Florida. While the dank, indoor hotel gym wasn’t exactly rife with fancy exercise equipment or space, the outdoor, sunny hotel pool area offered a perfect venue for workouts.
On day one, my wife and I each grabbed one of the boys and did the following circuit:
20 feet backward and forward crabwalks with the kids riding on our waist
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20 reps overhead child presses with a squat
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20 feet bear crawls with a kid the back
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10 push-ups with a kid on the back
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20 feet crocodile crawls with a kid on the back
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10 arm curls holding a kid upside down by their legs
This workout finished with a broad jump and a leap frog contest between us and the kids.
Tip #2: Get in the Pool
On day two of our Legoland vacation, we hopped in the pool and did the following circuit, each of us with a boy on our back:
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2 lengths underwater swimming
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2 lengths doggy paddle
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20 reps pool pull-outs
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2 minutes treading water
This one finished up with an underwater breath holding contest and then a biggest splash contest with the kids.
Tip #3: Play “Follow the Leader”
Whether we’re at the mall, the zoo, walking to the library, strolling through an airport, or exploring a park, Follow the Leader is a fun fitness game that our children often spontaneously announce has begun.
The rules are simple: once the game begins, everyone behind the leader must do exactly what the leader does, including:
Walking backwards
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Crawling
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Hopping or climbing over obstacles
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Sliding sideways
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Twisting and turning
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Broad jumping
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Lunging
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Balancing
This is a fun game that can be done anywhere – with the only risks being funny looks from other people. This game is also a great build-up to more intense workouts, such as doing “fitness exploring” park circuits, which we’re currently doing with the kids to prepare them for an upcoming Spartan race.
Tip #4: Keep Your Creative Wheels Churning
When it comes to even more ideas to keep your kids excited about fitness, there is a multitude of additional resources you can use in addition to what you’ve just learned. Some of my favorites include:
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MyKidsAdventures.com, a blog that includes step-by-step instructions and ideas for activities such as Photo Scavenger Hunts, Glow-In-The-Dark Home Bowling, and Backyard Treasure Adventures.
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CrossFitKids.com for child-friendly workouts. For example, today’s Elementary level workout of the day was doing as many rounds as possible of:
50-meter run
10 body weight squats
10 box jumps
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Darryl Edwards’ TheFitnessExplorer.com for workouts based around animal moves like the bear crawl, crab walk, and bunny hop.
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Dr. Kwame Brown’s DrKwameBrown.com is a membership site that delivers workouts and plans based around the concept of active play.
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Frank Forencich’s book The Exuberant Animal Play Book: Secret Moves and Games of the Play Masters.
There are of course many other resources, but I’ve found each of those listed above to be dependable, fun, and creative!
Since our kids were born, we’ve also used jogging strollers for uphill sprint repeats and runs and pool kickboards for the kids to kick beside us when we swim laps. We also have mini kettlebells and mini medicine balls at home for the kids to join in our living room workouts.
If you have more questions about how to include your kids in your workouts, or want to share your own workout ideas, then leave your questions and join the discussion over at Facebook.com/GetFitGuy.
Family jogging and stability training images courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.
