Tips for Working out with Kids By Jemma Thomas, Personal Trainer and Founder of online fitness community for women – Jemma’s Health Hub (www.jemmashealthhub.com).
The summer is here when we’re spoiled with all the lovely time we get to spend time with our kids! But how can we motivate them to get outside and exercising – in an affordable and fun way?
Top Tips for Working out with Kids
Here are my top tips for working out with kids
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Give rewards
Taking them to the park is such a fun and easy thing to do. However, make sure you set them tasks to run around a set area (so that you can still see them!), do so many hop scotch games, or skip for an allocated amount of time. If they manage to do it tell them they can get a certain amount of time playing on the iPad at home, or watching their favourite TV show. Try not to make the reward about food or drink. Make sure you set yourself some targets too so they can see you’re pushing yourself. They will learn about the importance of exercise from you and be inspired by how hard you push yourself!
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Don’t let them lie in too long
Doing exercise first thing in the morning will help to create a routine for those long hazy summer days – and get them out of bed. The last thing you want is for them to laze in bed all morning and not want to go to bed at night. Exercising helps to wear them out so they’re ready for another relaxing night’s sleep when the time comes.
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Find a hobby they can love
Test the waters with a number of hobbies so that they can see which ones they like best, whether that’s a team sport such as football, a solo sport like swimming or athletics or something like tennis that you can easily do together. If they love it and start to get good at it they won’t see it as a chore but a fun activity they love!
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Yoga for kids
There are some brilliant kids yoga companies out there that you can do in classes, once they open, or online together. Not only does this help to strengthen their body but helps them to think about their breathing – something that is very important as kids face the changes brought on by the pandemic in reducing their anxiety.
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Make the most of free online workouts
If you want to do some working out together at home, research the best online workouts for kids! Joe Wicks has obviously dominated in recent months with his PE lessons but there are lots of other great work outs for kids out there that you can do together in the comfort of your own home – perfect for rainy days.
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Don’t pressure them too much!
Don’t be ‘competitive mum’ or ‘competitive dad’! You never know whose athletic abilities your child may have inherited so whatever you do don’t push them too hard so that they feel bad about themselves if they can’t do something, or start to resent you and hate exercising! It’s about having fun, reaching their potential and getting healthy remember – not winning, especially if they’re so young!
Tips for Working out with Kids
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Find exercise buddies
Perhaps your child has a friend whose mum or dad is also keen to exercise? If you can do it together as a group that will motivate you, and them, much more and gives you both a sense of accountability so you can’t cancel! It’s also a nice excuse for a coffee and a chat with the mum or dad after while your kids are playing.
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Take them to the playground
The playground is like a brilliant outdoor gym for kids and they’re free! Not only do they get their running in – playing games like ‘it’, but they play on the monkey bars like something out of Gladiators and are constantly bending down, running through tubes, climbing up ladders and sliding down slides! It’s a great work out and so nice seeing them running around and enjoying some fun with other kids.
Of course, make sure you adequately sanitise your child’s hands after doing each routine!
Membership to Jemma’s Health Hub is £29 per month and for that you receive three or four workouts a week taking place on facebook live at 6.30am. (Monday – leg day, Wednesday – arm day, Friday – cardio day, and kettlebells thrown in for good measure!). However, if you can’t make the 6.30am wake up call, you can log in and do it when it suits you. You also receive a downloadable ‘How To’ guide including over 35 wholesome recipes to try out, as well as a downloadable ‘tick chart’ for you to print up every 4 weeks and stick to the fridge so you can see your progress. But, most importantly, it gives you an amazing support network and an instructor who will be there for you, helping you feel supported and mentally stronger as time goes on.
For more information visit www.jemmashealthhub.com / @jemmas_health_hub (Instagram)
