As parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, kids are part of your life.
Plus, you were once a kid and can agree kids are fun, high-energy and keep us all youthful!
Most RF Warriors are parents and grandparents wanting to stay healthy, active and mobile so that they can keep up with the kiddos and grandkids albeit playing sports, running around the yard, attending choir concerts, or enjoying vacations together.
Being an active part of your kids’/grandkids’ lives depends on three key factors:
- Health: Being healthy means free range to do what you want with limited to no setbacks or restrictions!
- Strength: Being strong guarantees daily functions are easy and pain free: walking, standing, pushing strollers, picking up kids/grandkids, throwing a baseball, kicking the soccer ball.
- Mobility: Being mobile gets you from point A to point B: bedroom to the bathroom, airport check-in to security, car to the ball field or auditorium for the choir concert.
When you’re healthy, strong and mobile, not only can you enjoy quality time with loved ones, you set and lead an important example for the little ones!
When your kids and grandkids see you take care of yourself via exercising and eating healthy, they naturally follow your lead!
These tiny humans look to YOU and emulate your actions, behaviors and choices. It’s a high-pressure situation as this sets the precedent for years to come!
Without question, one of the greatest ways you as parents and grandparents can lead by example is by living a healthy lifestyle.
Taking care of your physical and mental health shows kids and grandkids being active and healthy is part of life, something you do as a family and something that is FUN!
In today’s blog, you are learning how to make fitness FUN for your kids and grandkids so they, too live healthy, happy and strong for life:
- How to lead by example + why it is important.
- Tips for helping kids/grandkids build healthy habits.
- The best kid-friendly exercises!
HOW TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE
As adults, you know exercising and eating healthy makes you feel good, look good and keeps you healthy, happy and strong!
Not to mention, the mental resilience you build by doing hard things like exercise translate into life outside the gym by building confidence, improving personal/professional relationships, understanding how to deal with stress and anxiety, and enforcing you CAN do anything you put your mind to!
As parents and grandparents, you want to teach integrity, respect and demonstrate how hard work pays off!
Buuuut, your seven-year-old or too cool for school teenager might not think going to the gym with mom/dad/grandma/grandpa is fun so how can you engage and help them understand why exercising and being healthy is important?
Answer: leading by example!
#1. Talk About Exercise: Create an environment where you talk about exercise in a positive and fun way! Doing so creates curiosity, especially knowing how much kids want to emulate parents and grandparents.
Share photos of where you go, what you do and what your gym looks like to paint a picture. From there, demonstrate exercises to show off your skills and strength! You will be surprised by how much this impresses them!
#2. Share WINS: Help your kids understand what you are able to do outside the gym because you exercise: “Here is why I go and why this is important to me“. Since your kids/grandkids are a main reason, they’ll love you do this for them!
Examples: exercising allows you to run ’round the yard, pick them up, play in the pool, pull the wagon at the zoo, coach the sports team, etc.
#3. Do healthy activities together: Add activities into your regular routines both you and your kids/grandkids enjoy and can do together!
Just like you plan and schedule time for exercise, plan and schedule time for physical activity as a family. Repeating this over time makes regular activity part of your family dynamic / norm.
Exercise: Engage your kids / grandkids by choosing activities that fits their age and interests: playing Four Square in the drive, shooting hoops, playing catch, walking the dogs, playing tag, walking around at the zoo or local park.
[Your kids / grandkids will look forward to whooping your butt in kickball!]
Nutrition: Eat together as a family and prepare well-balanced meals and snacks featuring tons of real foods! This does not mean you can’t enjoy Friday night pizza or chicken nuggets from the drive through. This just means making well balanced meals and real foods the ‘norm’.
During meals and snacks, introduce kids/grandkids to healthy options early on to develop tastebuds and increase tolerance for the good stuff!
Instead of saying “You have to eat your broccoli“, find veggies and fruits they genuinely like!
Setting the precedent early on to eat well-balanced meals with tons of real foods establishes healthy habits and patterns to create and eat well balanced meals.
KID FRIENDLY EXERCISES!
When it comes to helping your kids/grandkids be fit, active and healthy, what are the best and safest kid-friendly exercises?
Should kids stick with basic activities and sports?
Is strength training safe for kids?
At what age should kids start exercising?
First, any activity is a good activity!
Finding activities, sports and exercises your kids enjoy keeps them moving, grows their confidence, enhances their mobility, and builds overall strength!
Second, find exercises that contribute to their overall health and well-being.
Here at Results Fitness, we are huge advocates of strength training because of its endless benefits, which apply to your kids/grandkids, too!
Now, you may be thinking “What?! You want my kids/grandkids lifting weights? Is that safe? Are you crazy?!”
First, strength training is safe for kids! There has been research on this topic and when properly performed under the direct supervision of a coach, kids can begin strength training around age 7.
Now, it is important to note strength training programs for adults looks much different compared to programs designed for kids and teenagers.
When it comes to strength training exercises for kids, the focus is lighter weights and controlled movements.
Remember, strength training does NOT have to involve super heavy, bodybuilder weights.
Strength training simply means using a form of resistance and that can be a 5-pound dumbbell, 2-pound medicine ball, a stretchy band, or just body weight.
As kids grow and develop into teenagers, the programs should safely and appropriately be modified and become more challenging. The key is finding a coach and program that understands how to build programs for each age and experience level (our specialty here at Results Fitness!).
Introducing kids/grandkids to strength training establishes and normalizes exercise from the start, builds healthy habits they can maintain into adulthood and reduces the risk of obesity and other health-related issues.
Most importantly, strength training plays a crucial role in physical and mental development!
Here are 5 reasons why you want to consider strength training programs for your kids/teens/grandkids:
#1. Improves bone health: Strength training promotes bone growth and density which is perfect timing since childhood through adolescence is a critical period for bone development! Plus, strengthening muscles, joints and ligaments around the bones enhances mobility and skeletal support.
#2. Improves body awareness: Gaining body awareness helps kids gain control over basic movements – sitting, standing, walking, and running – which improves mobility!
#3. Builds strength, balance + coordination: Being able to pick up and throw a ball during recess/gym, ride a bike, run, jump, skip, push off the ground to propel a scooter, carry a heavy bookbag or balance a lunch tray, all require strength, power, balance and coordination. These skills are developed and improved by strength training!
$3. Enhances mental health: Research proves strength training reduces anxiety and depression, releases feel good endorphins, promotes self-worth, and boosts confidence!
Being a kid and teen is hard enough so it’s important to take all measures to increase self-confidence as early as possible. Think about how good you feel after exercising; your kids/grandkids feel the same!
Another thing to keep in mind while bonding over exercise is HOW you talk about health, fitness and nutrition:
At all costs, avoid speaking negatively about body shape, body size or obsessing over the latest diets / cutting foods in front of impressionable ears. If your daughter hears you hate your ___(arms, stomach, thighs), the “I’m not enough’’ seed has been planted.
Speaking with positivity goes a long way and starting early with body positivity empowers your kids to have high self-confidence and acceptance from the start.
#5. Improves physical fitness + athletic performance: Strength training is the most effective form of exercise for improving overall fitness (something we ALL need for everyday life) and athletic performance.
Being physically fit allows you to perform daily tasks with ease: getting out of bed, standing up, walking, running, picking up groceries, carrying laundry baskets, etc.
Same applies for your kids and grandkids!
For young, developing athletes, strength training increases the strength, agility, speed, and power necessary to throw a baseball, tackle in football, kick the soccer ball, jump in basketball, maintain balance on the balance beam, perform a back handspring, run / sprint / hurdle, swim….you name it, being strong is beneficial and necessary for every sport!
When it comes to kid-friendly strength exercises, the goal is keeping it simple and stripping movements down to the most basic level.
This involves working with a skilled coach who can adjust exercises appropriately and teach how to properly perform basic movement patterns (exactly what we specialize in here at Results Fitness).
Basic movement patterns mimic what your kids/grandkids do in everyday life as well as in sports:
- Squatting
- Lunging
- Jumping
- Pushing
- Pulling
As your kids / grandkids get older, these basic movement patterns evolve to match their skill and fitness levels.
Example: at younger ages (think 7/8/9 years old), programs will focus on teaching proper body mechanics with minimal to no resistance. As kids grow into teenagers, more resistance can be added as muscles and strength continue developing.
HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS STARTED
Being on summer break, NOW is the perfect opportunity and time to find and explore different types of activities and exercise to do with your kids/grandkids!
If you are considering strength training, our certified team of coaches here at Results Fitness can help!
Fun fact: lots of RF parents and grandparents have engaged their kids / grandkids in our strength training programs to build confidence, create structure, instill discipline, infuse more activity, and develop sports performance.
Before starting any exercise program, you and your kids/grandkids meet with our team first so that we can understand their starting point, individual needs and goals.
From there, we create personalized exercise programs appropriate for their ages and skill level and provide 1:1 coaching so your kids/ grandkids feel safe, comfortable and have FUN!
It’s been amazing to work with and witness young RF Warriors become more resilient, stronger, happier, and more confident than ever before!
If you are interested in meeting with our team to learn how we can work with your kids/grandkids, click HERE to book a free intro session!
